If you have arthritis, it can be difficult to manage a lot of your daily needs, including flossing. The clenching, squeezing, and pinching of the floss to maneuver it between your teeth can be extremely hard and painful for someone who has inflammation in their joints. If you're having a hard time flossing, here are three tips for ways you can still keep your gums and teeth healthy while making it easier on your hands and wrists.

Interdental Brushes

Interdental brushes are a lot like toothbrushes, but smaller so that they can glide in-between your teeth. In case you're concerned that interdental brushes might not do as good a job as floss, you'll be glad to know that there are studies that prove otherwise.

One study compared people using floss to those using interdental brushes over the course of a month. The interdental brushes actually outperformed traditional floss at removing plaque between teeth and at the gumline. While the additional plaque removed was minimal, interdental brushes definitely perform just as well as floss, if not better.

Flossing Tools

If you'd prefer to stick to traditional flossing, there is a way to make it easier: flossing handles. Many companies manufacture flossers that have a string of floss going across a plastic handle so that the user doesn't have to grip or squeeze the floss between their fingers. A handled flosser may make it easier for you to floss without inflicting pain upon yourself.

Water Flossers

Another option is to use a water flosser instead of traditional floss or a brush. Water flossers tend to have large handles that are easier to grip, and they don't require as much squeezing or twisting of your hands and wrists to effectively clean between your teeth.

Like interdental brushes, water flossers have been shown to be more effective at keeping your gums and teeth healthy than traditional floss. Water flossers are particularly good at removing plaque from between your teeth, and at improving the overall health of your gums. While all three of the choices on this list are good ones, water flossers are the best at keeping your mouth healthy, and they may be the easiest for your hands to manipulate.

Life can be harder when you have arthritis, because simple acts that people take for granted can be painful and difficult for those who have arthritis. If you're struggling to floss your teeth, give these tips a try and see if they make it easier for you. Visit http://greeleydentalhealth.com to learn more.