Pro-tip: if you use a floss pick, rinse it in water and dip it in mouthwash every time you move between teeth.
Using the same small piece of floss for all your teeth actually spreads bacteria, etc. throughout your mouth, causing all the things you're trying to avoid by flossing in the first place.
Dentists & hygienists never floss two sets of teeth with the same piece of floss. (And yes, they go through a crap-ton of floss.)
Hmm, is this actually an issue worth worrying about? Your mouth is already awash like one big swamp. It doesn't strike me that you could "contaminate" an area any worse than your tongue could.
The purpose of flossing is to dislodge food particles and plaque buildup in difficult to reach places. These are the energy sources for plaque/cavity causing bacteria. No energy source = no bad bacteria = no problem.
My evidence is anecdotal: I used floss picks for months, went to the dentist, and he accused me of not flossing.
My sister is a hygienist, and she told me that's her experience with patients as well, and that you need clean floss to avoid spreading bacteria into the places you're trying to clean.
Optimal form may also be hard to achieve with floss picks - you want to form a 'c' shape with the floss partially wrapping around your tooth. That's impossible to do with a short, taught piece of floss.
Using the same small piece of floss for all your teeth actually spreads bacteria, etc. throughout your mouth, causing all the things you're trying to avoid by flossing in the first place.
Citation needed; I've heard this one before, and I just don't buy it. I've always believed (perhaps wrongly) that flossing was meant to remove food debris the bacteria lives off of that a toothbrush can't get to.
Dentists & hygienists never floss two sets of teeth with the same piece of floss. (And yes, they go through a crap-ton of floss.)
Maybe my hygienist is doing it wrong, but she uses very little floss and uses the same piece for multiple tooth gaps.
Using the same small piece of floss for all your teeth actually spreads bacteria, etc. throughout your mouth, causing all the things you're trying to avoid by flossing in the first place.
Dentists & hygienists never floss two sets of teeth with the same piece of floss. (And yes, they go through a crap-ton of floss.)