Dental Floss and Picks(1000+)

Dental floss

Dental floss is an essential part of any oral healthcare routine. Scrubbing the surface of your teeth isn’t enough to fight cavities, tartar buildup and stains. Neglecting the space between your teeth can lead to a variety of oral-health problems, including gum disease and bad breath. You might find it hard to floss regularly, but the range of products in this section should help make it a bit easier by introducing some appealing options that you can easily incorporate into your routine.

Choosing between dental floss types

Ultimately, there’s no one type of floss that’s better than others. As long as you’re cleaning between your teeth diligently, the type you choose isn’t really that important. Your personal preference is what matters.

Waxed vs. unwaxed: Some flosses have a wax coating that adds some volume and lubrication to the strand, while others are uncoated. Options among uncoated varieties include thread-like strands with fibers and synthetic tapes that are smooth and uniform. Waxed strands can be a bit easier to slide between your teeth, particularly teeth that are very close together, so that may make flossing feel a bit easier. You might prefer the texture of uncoated floss, with the yarn-like floss varieties potentially offering more bulk and scrubbing power between your teeth. If you don’t like that sensation between your teeth or find waxed floss too bulky, you'll probably enjoy the slick texture and thin profile of synthetic tape floss.

Flavored vs. unflavored: It's possible you'll find that flavored floss adds a little extra benefit to the act of cleaning between your teeth. Flavored flosses are safe to use and don’t include sugars and other potentially harmful ingredients. These flosses also don’t necessarily work better than unflavored floss unless the flavor helps you use it more regularly. The only exception is if an extra ingredient, such as fluoride, accompanies the flavor — this can enhance tooth health. Common flavors of floss are similar to those you'll find in toothpaste, such as cinnamon and mint. Some mouthwash brands also make floss that uses familiar oral-rinse flavors, which can be an enticing option if you have a preferred mouthwash and enjoy that taste.

Dental floss alternatives and accessories

There’s a whole world of dental-care accessories beyond floss, including options for large gaps between teeth and tools to help if you have limited mobility or hand strength. If you have trouble flossing or find floss ineffective, you should explore these alternatives before making a purchase.

Floss picks: You might dislike wrapping floss around your fingers or have trouble reaching floss to the back of your mouth. If that's the case, you may prefer using floss picks. These plastic tools have a thin piece of floss suspended between two prongs that you can easily grasp with two fingers and press between your teeth. Some picks also come with a slightly sharpened pick point on the opposite end to allow for direct cleaning around your gums and between your teeth. Children, senior citizens, people with bad arthritis and those with only one mobile hand may find these picks to be a useful alternative to traditional floss. Floss picks for children are generally smaller than those for adults and may also come in fun colors or shapes to entice kids.

Floss threaders: It’s hard to thread floss through braces brackets and other dental devices, but it’s still important to clean between the gaps in these areas just as you would with your teeth. Floss threaders act as a helping hand in getting floss to hard-to-reach places, and they’re an essential oral accessory for braces wearers and others who have trouble getting floss where it needs to go.

Interdental brushes: Interdental brushes have a similar form and concept to floss picks, but they’re much more voluminous, making them suitable for use in large gaps between teeth or the spaces between braces brackets. These little brushes have a much rougher texture than floss does, too, so they’re also useful for scrubbing away tough tartar and other undesirable buildup in the spaces between your teeth.

Extra-thick floss: If you have large gaps between your teeth or wear braces, you might find that standard dental flosses and tapes don’t provide enough volume to really clean between those open spaces. There are extra-thick and fluffy floss options available in this section to address this specific need. These floss varieties often use words like “ultra” or “super” on their packaging to indicate their voluminous profile. If you need extra-thick floss but lack the dexterity to use it, you may prefer interdental brushes as a similarly effective alternative.