Eating a snack or chewing a meal can sometimes make a piece of food get stuck in your teeth. This is rarely more than a minor nuisance, yet there are times when a hard meat fiber, popcorn hull or other piece of tough food can become stubbornly lodged between two teeth.
To help safely remove something stuck between your teeth, Dr. James Feldman offers the following insights.
The first thing to try is vigorously rinsing the area with lukewarm saltwater. This might help dislodge the food particle on its own. If anything, it could give you a better view of the problem.
You should never use toothpicks or other pointed tools to pry the object loose. This could injure your gums, damage teeth or lead to other complications.
Waxed dental floss is the best tool for clearing the object from between your teeth. The waxy coating allows the strand to slide easier between the teeth to work around the foreign object. You should never force the floss into place as it could seriously injure your gums. A floss threader loaded with waxed floss might also help you work at it from a different position.
If you live in the Washington, DC, area and you need help removing something stuck between your teeth, you should call 202-362-8412 to have it professionally extracted at Feldman Dentistry.