10 flosses worth knowing about, and what each one is for

The ten below all do the same job in different ways: woven floss, water flossing, pre-threaded picks for braces, holders, waxed and unwaxed nylon, PTFE floss, tape, disposable picks and little bristle brushes. An adult mouth of 28 teeth has 26 gaps between them, 13 in each arch, the way five fingers have four gaps between them, or 30 if the wisdom teeth are still in. Each kind is built for a different sort of gap, and this is what each one is for.

Why anyone bothers cleaning between the teeth

A brush head reaches the outer, inner and chewing surfaces of a tooth. The two flat walls where one tooth meets the next stay untouched, and across 28 teeth that leaves 26 spots out of the routine. Daily cleaning between them is the standard dental recommendation. The tradeoff is time, and a routine you can keep up beats one you abandon, which is why the choice below matters more than it looks.

What actually changes from one to the next

Three things. Fit comes first: a tight gap between two back teeth wants a strand thin enough to pass without sawing, while a gap opened up by receding gums wants width or bristles to touch the walls of the tooth. Durability comes second, since floss that holds together on an older filling keeps the session moving. The third is handling. A 45 cm length, fingertips to elbow, wound on two fingers gives a clean section for each of the 26 gaps, and handles, picks and water pressure are the ways to skip that step entirely.

Ten kinds of floss, ordered by how many mouths they suit

The named products here are a selection from one shop rather than a survey of the whole market. The lower places describe a kind of floss rather than a particular brand.

1. Woven floss, 30 m on a refillable dispenser

More than 500 threads woven together expand between the teeth as they pass and lift plaque on the way through, while a coating of coconut oil and vegan wax keeps each pass moving. One dispenser holds 30 m (33 yd), which is 66 sessions at 45 cm a night, and it refills. The blue threads show what has been picked up, which is more feedback than a white spool gives. Cocofloss is made with approximately 85% recycled polyester, the maker's own figure, without PFAS, parabens or sulfates. It is at its best on average to wide gaps, where all that texture has room to work.

2. Water flossing, 45 seconds a fill

A jet of water takes the fiddliness out of it entirely, which makes it the one to reach for if string has never held your attention. Three settings sit on the handle, Intense, Medium and Sensitive, and two nozzles fit it, an Oxyjet nozzle that adds air to the stream and a Precision Jet nozzle. Both share the same handle, so one unit serves more than one person. One fill of the Oral-B Water Flosser Advanced gives up to 45 seconds of continuous flow, Oral-B's own figure, and it sits on its charging base between uses.

3. Orthodontic picks for braces, 30 to a pouch

If you wear fixed braces, this is the one. Everything else on this list was designed for a mouth without a wire across it and then adapted; the Platypus Ortho Flosser was built for braces from the start, and it shows in the shape. A flat spatula end slides under the wire and presses against the tooth to hold the floss tight, so the floss arrives at the gap already threaded and the slowest part of the job disappears. The opposite end of the same handle tapers into a bracket brush, so the gaps and the brackets are handled with one tool instead of two. Platypus lists flossing the whole mouth in under two minutes. 

4. A holder that takes whatever floss you already use

A long handle with an angled head reaches the back teeth without putting both hands in your mouth, and a riveted disk clamps the floss so it stays put through the whole pass. Any floss loads into it, so a woven strand covers the wide gaps and a thin one handles the tight ones. A pack holds 4 Flossaid holders in assorted colours, enough for a household, and they are the answer for anyone whose reach or grip makes the back of the mouth hard work.

5. Waxed nylon on a spool

The default, and the benchmark everything else is measured against. Wax lets the strand pass a tight gap smoothly, and a 45 cm length wound on two fingers gives a fresh section for each of the 26 gaps. It is the one to buy if you want something that works everywhere and costs little.

6. PTFE floss, a single smooth strand

One smooth strand in place of hundreds of fine threads twisted together, which is why it slips through the gap that catches nylon every night. If one particular spot has always been a fight, this is the one that clears it.

7. Dental tape

A flat ribbon wider than round floss, meant for gaps wide enough to let it lie flat against the tooth. Spacing between the front teeth is where it earns its place, since tape touches more of the wall than a thin strand does.

8. Disposable floss picks

A short span of floss fixed in a plastic Y, used one-handed, which is why they earn their place in a desk drawer, a glove box or a bag. They are the option that gets used when the alternative is not flossing at all.

9. Little bristle brushes

Tapered bristles on a wire, sized to the gap rather than to the mouth, and sold as interdental brushes. They come into their own at the open spaces left by receding gums and around bridgework, where a strand barely touches the walls. Covering a full mouth takes more than one size on the shelf.

10. Unwaxed nylon floss

The thinnest of the nylon family. It squeaks audibly once the tooth surface is clean, and some people use that sound as the signal to move on to the next gap. It suits mouths without much dental work, where there is nothing rough for a bare strand to catch on.

How do the main ones compare?

Which floss fits your situation?

Which floss should most people buy?

Woven floss on a 30 m refillable dispenser is the sensible default, because it fits most of the 26 gaps in an average mouth and the visible pickup on the blue threads shows whether you are reaching the spot where the teeth touch. Two situations change the answer completely. With fixed braces, a pouch of 30 Platypus Ortho Flossers is the answer and no spool comes close, because the threading is the whole obstacle and these remove it. If string has never held your attention, a cordless water jet with three settings changes the routine instead of asking you to repeat one you already skip.

Where to start

Choose for the gap you struggle with rather than the one you clean easily. In brackets, start with the Platypus Ortho Flossers. For most of the 26 gaps in a mouth without braces, start with Cocofloss.