When I was 22 years old, I went to a dentist appointment and was told I had 8 cavities–all in teeth that I’d already had filled before. The dentist was adament that I get them taken care of right away, before they became root canals or worse.
So I went and saw a specialized dentist who was recommended to me. When I saw that dentist, her recommendation was two-fold: she said I needed to have inlays done, where they basically hollow out the inside of your tooth and then create a custom-made filling to replace what they removed; and I had to start flossing every night.
The process cost around $7,000 and it took three visits to the dentist–two to drill and hollow out the teeth and then take the impressions to send to the lab that would create the fillings, and then one to actually put the inlays in when they were ready.
I probably don’t even have to tell you how painful the hollowing out process was. Let’s just say I needed to have 7 shots of novicaine on one side of my mouth and I still felt everything, because some of the cavities were so deep they touched the nerve of my tooth. And on top of that, I had the worst headache of my life the next day after the novicaine wore off. At one point, I actually thought my head was going to explode.
It was by far one of the most torturous things I’ve ever been through. After it was all over, I made a decision: from that day forward, I would brush and floss my teeth every single night, no matter what. Even if I was tired. Even if I didn’t feel like it.
And I did.
There hasn’t been a single day since then that I haven’t brushed and flossed my teeth before going to bed. Even on the nights when I’ve fallen asleep on the couch, slept there for half the night and then woke up at 4 a.m. and wanted to go sleep in my bed. I still forced myself to brush and floss my teeth before I was allowed to go to bed.
I created this habit almost immediately and became super disciplined about it, so I’d never have to go through anything like that or get another cavity filled ever again. (And I haven’t since!!)
BUT you DON’T have to wait until not changing gets so painful that you’re basically forced into it.
Here are five things I did to immediately create the habit of flossing my teeth every night (and this works with ANY habit you want to create or stop):
1. Decide
After that painful (and expensive) inlay experience, I made the decision that never again would I let a day go by without flossing my teeth. If flossing my teeth was the one thing that would stop me from getting cavities, I was going to do it and do it daily.
Make the decision that you will start (or stop) your habit and mean it.
2. Commit
Once the decision was made, I committed to it. Fully. I was all in on it.
Commit to starting (or stopping) this habit, mean it, and then do what it takes, for however long it takes, until it sticks and then keep going.
3. Create A Trigger
I created a trigger to help me make it easier to consistently floss my teeth every night until it was a habit. My trigger was that I put the floss with my toothpaste so I would see it every time I brushed my teeth. This made it much easier for me to actually follow through because I had a reminder every time.
How can you create a trigger that will remind you to do your new habit every day? Think of something and then implement it.
4. Know Why You’re Doing It
In the beginning, when it wasn’t a habit to floss my teeth every night yet, I had to remind myself of why I was doing this and why I wanted to create this habit. The why of what you’re doing is so important because it will keep you motivated and will help you push through when things get tough or when you “don’t feel like it.”
Why do you want this new habit (or to stop an old one)? Find that motivation and use it.
5. Keep On Going
When I first started flossing every night, it was definitely a challenge because I wasn’t used to it and I hadn’t been doing it long enough to see the full benefits from it yet. When you’re not seeing the results or benefits right away, it can be hard to keep going. But that’s what you have to do.
If you fall off track for a day or two, don’t make a big deal about it, just get back to it as soon as you can. The biggest problem with creating habits is that often when you fall off track you make it mean something it doesn’t mean. You’ll say it’s because you can’t do it or you’re not good enough or whatever.
But it has nothing to do with that. It’s just not a habit yet. And once it is, you’ll do it so automatically you won’t have to even think about it. So get back to it as soon as you can and then keep going.
Follow these five steps and you can create a habit around pretty much anything, whether that’s flossing your teeth or doing something else.
