If you do a thorough job, using dental floss once a day should be often enough to keep you in good oral health. You need to realize however that the key to this statement is that when you do floss you do in fact do a thorough job.
Every dentist knows that patient that states that they floss their teeth every time they brush (three times a day) but when the dentist looks in their mouth they would never guess it. The problem lies in the fact that although the person probably does pick up the dental floss three times a day, none of these individual flossing efforts involves using an effective flossing technique. The net result is that the person never reaches the level of oral health that flossing is meant to and can provide.
The best time to floss is during that part of your daily schedule when you have enough time to floss thoroughly. In theory it might be considered best to make sure your mouth is cleanest before you go to bed. At night the flow from our salivary glands decreases, thus minimizing the benefits that saliva provides in combating the effects of bacteria and their byproducts on our mouths. But if you find that you simply do not have the time or inclination to thoroughly floss your teeth before going to bed, and at another time of day you would, then hands down go with the latter.
It doesn't much matter which you do first, brushing or flossing. There is a school of thought that suggests that you should floss your teeth first and then brush afterwards. The idea is that your tooth brushing activities can aid in removing the food and dental plaque debris that has been dislodged by your flossing efforts but not yet expelled from between your teeth. While we don't feel strongly one way or another on this topic, we do feel that it is important that you swish your mouth with water or mouthwash at some point after you have flossed, so the debris you have loosened up is rinsed out of your mouth.
The amount of time that it will take you to floss your teeth will most likely depend on your level of dexterity. You can expect that when you are first learning to floss each flossing experience will be tedious and frustrating. As time goes by, however, your skills will improve. There should be a point when you discover that flossing your teeth has become quite second natured.
As flossing does become easier for you, you'll probably find that you no longer need to look in a mirror when doing it. Try to come up with some other activity you can do while you floss. This can be a time saver for you as well as a way of ingraining flossing into your daily routine. Many people watch TV while they floss their teeth.
Possibly you have noticed that when buying dental floss there is no shortage of different types of flosses to choose from. Waxed, unwaxed, string, ribbon, flavored, unflavored, and teflon dental flosses are just some of the different types of flosses that are available. In most situations we would argue the case that the best dental floss is the one you find easiest to use. This is because the easier the process of flossing your teeth is for you, the more likely you will be to do it.
In theory, the type of dental floss that can be adapted most intimately to the contours of your teeth and provide a good cleaning friction would be the best choice. This line of thinking would suggest that unwaxed, string dental floss should be chosen. However, if some characteristic of another type of dental floss makes it easier for you to floss your teeth, and therefore you will do it more often, then that type of floss would be the better choice.
We would imagine that most dentists and dental hygienists would tell you that they personally feel that they can do a better job of cleaning their teeth when flossing "by hand" as opposed to using any sort of dental floss holder, flossing handle, or electric or pre-threaded flosser. At least a part of this opinion would probably be based on the belief that they have greater control over manipulating the floss and contouring it against the side of their teeth when flossing by hand.
For you personally, we'd suggest that you put some effort into
learning how to hold the dental floss with your middle two fingers on each hand and manipulating the floss with your index fingers and thumbs. This really is a great way to floss. Short of that, if using some type of flossing aid means that you will floss whereas otherwise you wouldn't, then sure, go ahead and use one. On the short term you will accomplish a greater level of dental plaque removal than you would have otherwise. On a longer term basis, hopefully the improvements you see in your mouth when using the flossing aid will make you more aware of the benefits of flossing and be a source of motivation to experiment more fully with flossing by hand.