Dental floss

Floss redirects here. For the computing acronym see FLOSS.

Dental floss is a bundle of thin nylon filaments or a plastic (teflon or polyethylene) ribbon used to remove food and plaque from teeth. The floss is inserted between the teeth and scraped along the teeth sides, especially close to the gums. Dental floss comes both waxed and unwaxed.

History

Dental floss in some crude form appears to have been used by prehistoric humans because grooves have been found in the teeth of prehistoric humans.Bellis, Mary. (2006). "History of Dentistry and Dental Care" — about.com.

Levi Spear Parmly, a dentist from New Orleans, is credited with inventing a legendary form of dental floss. He had been recommending that people should clean their teeth with silk floss since 1815.Sanoudos M, Christen AG. (1999). Levi Spear Parmly: The Apostle of Dental Hygiene. Journal of the History of Dentistry. 47(1): 3-6.

Dental floss was still unavailable to the consumer until the Codman and Shurtleft company started producing human-usable unwaxed silk floss in 1882. In 1898, the Johnson & Johnson Corporation received the first patent for dental floss. Other early brands included Red Cross, Salter Sill Co. and Brunswick.

The adoption of floss was poor before World War II. It was around this time, however, that Dr. Charles C. Bass developed nylon floss. Nylon floss was found to be better than silk because of its greater abrasion resistance and elasticity, which slightly helped prevent the floss from shredding.

After the Second World War the importance of flossing was highly stressed. Nylon, shredproof Teflon expanded polytetrofluoroethylene (ePTFE) or ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) flosses are still believed to be the three best materials for removing plaque from the teeth.

Dentists urge the daily oral hygiene regimen of toothbrushing and flossing. Nearly all Americans brush their teeth. However, the ADA indicates that merely about 12 percent of Americans floss daily, 39 percent floss less than daily, and 49 percent do not floss at all.

Benefits

Dentists often encourage their patients to floss in combination with toothbrushing to prevent gum disease, halitosis, and dental caries.

Directions

The American Dental Association (ADA) advises to floss once or more per day. For flossing like a dental professional, the Association advises to wrap the regular floss around the tooth in a 'C' shape, and to wipe the tooth from under the gumline (gently) to the tip two or three times, repeated on adjacent tooth and all other teeth too.

Branded products

Crest Glide ePTFE flosses and ePTFE dental tapes
Oral-B flosses and dental tapes
Johnson & Johnson flosses and dental tapes
Colgate Total floss
Poly-Floss UHMWPE dental tape

References

External links

American Dental Association advice on daily oral care

Dental equipment