Despite the clear benefits of flossing regularly, many of our patients struggle to get in the habit. After all who wants to spend 5 minutes every day flossing their teeth? If we’re perfectly honest, it’s not exactly the most fun thing to do!
That being said, flossing regularly is one of the most effective ways to improve your dental hygiene, and it doesn’t have to be as difficult as we often make it out to be!
Having helped dozens of our patients get into the habit of flossing, we’ve found a simple trick to help increase your chances of building the habit!
Commit to flossing ONE tooth.
The concept is simple, based on the latest leading science on habit change. One of the reasons we fail to build any habit (not just flossing) is we often make our goal way too big! If you want to get into the habit of running, for example, telling yourself to run 10 miles a day probably won’t be very motivating, and you’ll likely set yourself up for failure!
When applied to dental hygiene we’ve found that when you commit to flossing just ONE tooth a day, you can quickly build the flossing habit. The way it works is simple, instead of telling yourself you’re going to floss every day, just commit to flossing one tooth. If you floss one tooth, you’re good for the day. Really. You can call that day a success.
Some days you might just muster enough energy to floss your one tooth, but many times we’ve found patients continue flossing their tooth after they get over that initial hurdle of just one tooth.
Don’t underestimate this incredibly simple habit hack, that we’ve seen work with many of our patients! If you’ve struggled to build the habit of flossing give it a try.
Commit to flossing one tooth every day, and you’ll quickly discover how easy the habit of flossing can be!
In need of a check-up? Looking for a GREAT cosmetic dentist near Palm Beach Gardens? Contact us today! Mark L. Civin, D.D.S. provides general, cosmetic, and restorative dentistry services and is ready to help you with whatever oral health needs you may have!
