Brian, Thank You!!! I had a glob of floss stuck between 2 crowns, I went through spools of floss. The floss glob was not stuck at the bottom, I could see it at the top wedged between the crowns. I tried tweezers & everything. I had to go to work with that uncomfortable feeling. I came home, threaded the floss on a soft pick to pull through the bottom near the gums between crowns. When I pulled the floss up MORE shredded floss. I threaded the floss on the soft pick, pulled it through (at the bottom of the crowns - gum line), then took the soft pick out. When I coated the floss between the crowns and gums with Vaseline, the floss came right out at the top and did NOT shred. It took 3 Vaseline coated tries. The 2nd & 3rd time I could floss down (ward) between the crowns the normal way and finally the glob of floss popped out. Saved me a trip to the dentist. Brian, thank you so much for the advice, my wallet thanks you! If that didn't work I would have gone to the dentist.

Periodontal disease is not contagious at least as far as anyone knows. That must have been an old wives tale at the time. They don't really know what causes it entirely though excellent oral hygiene (including flossing daily) and thorough dental cleanings supposedly prevent it. However I think there are hereditary factors and perhaps others too that are unknown. I've had excellent oral hygiene since I was a teenager and thorough cleanings and I still have recession and bone loss. Both my parents and my brother had advanced perio at a pretty young age so I think there's a hereditary factor. There is a condition known as "trench mouth" named such because soldiers in the trenches got it. It's a very acute form of gum disease and some thought that it can spread among people but you also need to have all the other factors including poor oral hygiene, stress, rundown, etc. It's also known as ANUG (acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis).

socks, the material called sealant is applied to the biting surface of molars. The adult molar erupts behind the last "baby" molar. The adult molar sometimes has deep fissures in the biting surface. The tooth is more likely to catch food particles in that spot. The enamel is etched and a sealant is put into the fissure and hardened with a light. It does wear off after a time, but the fissure usually has enough to protect the biting surface. Fluoride treatments are usually done up to age 16 and account for far fewer cavities . Of course good home care and good food choices are also needed. I do not have full information on the implants that are complete in a very short time. The traditional implant usually takes 6 to 9 months to intergrate with the bone. Making it stable to have a crown, to bring it into chewing function. I really have never seen a person with a replacement done in a very short time. In the office that I worked, all implants were done by an oral surgeon. Then the patient came to the office to have the crown fabricated. The much shorter procedure is usually done totally by a general dentist. The oral surgeons usually do not do things outside of their speciality in this state. The important thing to know about the one day placement. Is what is the success rate over time for that procedure. What percentage are they seeing in a long term study.

Thanks for the many good suggestions. i like a lot of the GUM products, including the bristle things and the little green plastic bow saw looking flossers. I forgot all about using the rubber pointy thing. Is it to put pressure on the gums (blanch) to simulate circulation? mdln, I will try that GUM expanding floss. Is this the one that is a bit stretchy? Thanks for including thre images. FOAS, the Tom’s flat floss looks interesting. Thanks for taking the time to open the strand up and photograph it. I might try the cocofiber stuff — or maybe I could just rob some from a plant basket liner ;) HB — someone was selling 50’ of the Listerine floss on eBay starting at $52 for that one pack. That’s more expensive that some of the best knitting yarns. C Marlin — was your dentist able to find out why Johnson & Johnson stopped offering it? And, yes, I have seen other remarking online about missing the Listerine floss. I wonder why they quit it? Could they at least license it to some other company? I’d even be willing to buy it in bulk, like serger cones, and wind in on those little empty spools that fit in the white case. That floss has other uses too. To see if it could be done (as an article on removing embedded deer ticks while camping suggested), I tried it and was successful. I bet that tick felt honored (and knew that I cared about its mouthparts staying fresh) as well as surprised when he was suddenly surrounded by mint scented blue and white ”ropes” and pulled away from her lunch. IIRC I think I snapped a photo of it. I wonder if the Listerine division of J&J would be impressed enough to crank up their spinning wheels again. Think the eBay seller ($52!) will find a buyer?