Dental floss may be used providing you use it without injuring the gum. Most people snap the floss through the contact of the teeth and cut the papilla (gum between the teeth) damaging the tissue. A dentist can show you how to use dental floss correctly to avoid gum damage. By ‘blotting’ the mouth and teeth correctly, you’ll find that the debris left at the contacts (area between the teeth) is insignificant thus reducing the need for dental floss. Ordinary tooth-brushing plus dental floss cleans 10% of the mouth while ‘blotting’ the teeth and crevices with total mouth hygiene cleans 98% of the mouth without the need for floss.