If you’ve been keeping tabs on our social media lately you may have seen our amazing Oral Health Therapist, Preethy hosting a series of videos giving you handy hints and tips on how to keep your mouth and gums in tip top condition throughout the lock-down and beyond.
Thousands of people across the globe have been sharing creative ways to pass the time and keep fit and healthy whilst at home during the lock-down. Whilst it’s important to make sure you are also making plenty of time to rest and relax, all of this new-found time and space is actually an ideal opportunity to build new healthy habits as we are taken out of our usual daily routines.
If you’ve ever tried (and failed!) to build a habit of flossing daily, you’ll know how easy it is to slip back out of the habit and simply forget to floss the next time you are done with your toothbrush.
There’s a plethora of advice out there on how to form solid habits which we will link below but in the meantime, we’ve put together some handy hints on how to incorporate a flossing habit into your daily routine
How to build a flossing habit
- Pick your trigger: This could be something as simple as brushing your teeth – or going to brush your teeth first thing in the morning or in your evening routine before bed.
- Set yourself up for success with a visual reminder: Have your floss sitting right next to your toothbrush, or place it in front of your toothbrush so you have to actively reach around it or move it out of the way to get to your brush. This will act as your cue to start flossing.
- Floss just one tooth. This might seem silly but agreeing with yourself to just floss one tooth can eradicate any excuses that might pop up such as “I don’t have time” or ‘I’m too tired”. Add in another tooth the next day until you’ve built up to flossing all of your teeth.
- Use a physical calendar. Print one out and pin it to the inside of your bathroom cabinet or somewhere you will see it around the time you brush your teeth and cross off each day with an ‘X’ when you’ve successfully flossed your teeth. This process can help build up the reward loop in your brain which is key to implementing new habits. Keep going for at least 3 weeks to neurologically install your new habit.
- Finally, focus on the rest of the rewards, like how clean your mouth feels or the thought that you are actively preventing future oral health issues by taking care of yourself.
Some of our favourite resources on habit building are books, such as Atomic Habits by James Clear; zenhabits.com by Leo Babauta; and The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.
Why not challenge yourself during the lock-down to build a brand new habit that will improve your health and wellbeing for years to come?
For more information on flossing and dental treatments, contact the friendly team at Bite Dental.
