Certain things seem common but will annoy us until they are fixed. Foods stuck in the teeth or gums are one of them. We often get food debris lodged in the teeth spaces, under the gum line, especially when we eat meat, vegetables, fibrous foods, and some snacks like popcorn.
Such small traces of food stuck in the teeth involve numerous problems like plaque-build up. They will act as a catalyst to speed up the cavity.
As the food stuck between the teeth for an extended period is quite annoying, some people use strange and dangerous accessories to dislodge the debris. Toothpicks are widely used for this purpose. Few people utilize twigs, safety pins, cutlery, fork, fingernails, and even strands of hair.
They are not aware that using such obscure objects to remove the wedged in-debris will damage the oral tissues. Likewise, this will forcibly create space between the teeth and it is followed by numerous problems.
Here are the safest ways to remove food trapped in the teeth.
1) Rinse with water or mouthwash
Gargling your mouth is the simple way to get rid of food debris lodged in the teeth spaces. Take a cup of water or mouthwash and swish it around in your mouth. The liquid’s sheer force created while you rinsing will push the fluid through the spaces between the teeth. Thus the practice takes care of extracting the lodged bits of foods whilst washing your mouth.
In the meantime, this approach does not help dislodge some stubborn pieces of food.
2) Gently floss your teeth
Flossing – The oral hygiene activity that is specifically designed to dislodge the particles trapped between the teeth. So it removes the wedged food particles as well. You should do it gently and maintain controlled movements else the flossing wire will push the accumulated food particles deeper into the gum line. Similar to flossing wires, you can use appliances like waterpiks or water flossers.
3) Brush your teeth
Brushing is also helpful in bringing out the particles stuck in the gums and teeth. Moving the toothbrush bristles in different motions like circular, back-and-forth will remove the particles stuck between the teeth.
Likewise, use an interdental toothbrush which is a compact-sized toothbrush and is recommended to people who feel difficult to floss with a flossing wire. It contains a small point of bristles that are designed to clean spaces between the teeth.
4) Toothpicks
The wooden and plastic toothpicks available in the market are not suitable for everyone. Prefer toothpicks only if you cannot dislodge the wedges in-debris with the approaches discussed above.
As the toothpicks have pointy ends, you should be careful while removing the particles between the teeth and gums else the appliance may poke into gum tissues. Place the toothpick in the region where food debris is lodged and push it slightly. If the particles are not dislodged properly, repeat it after a minute or two because the duration allows the teeth to move slightly.
Bottom line
Anything stuck in the teeth space is quite annoying and painful at times. If the particles are not stubborn, you can easily extract them with your finger or tongue. Otherwise, prefer the listed approaches to dislodge them without injuring the teeth and surrounding tissues. So please don’t use sharp utensils to extract the debris trapped between your teeth.
