the.com/dental floss
The only string that makes you feel both virtuous and like a dentist is watching.
means A thin filament you slide between your teeth to scrape out the food debris your brush can't reach.
from 'Dental' comes from Latin 'dens' (tooth); 'floss' likely comes from French 'floche,' meaning a tuft or down of silk, which traces back to Latin 'floccus' (a tuft of wool). The 'floche silk' used in embroidery gave its name to the fine silky thread — someone noticed that cheap, loosely-twisted silk thread worked nicely for cleaning between teeth, and by the 1800s dentists were recommending it by that name.
- origin
- invented using silk thread in 1815 by a dentist
- usage rate
- most people floss right before dental visits only
- material shift
- modern floss often made from nylon or Teflon
- gum truth
- bleeding gums mean you should floss more, not less