The History of Dental Floss

After working outside, those mud-caked hands require thorough handwashing. It is important to clean between all the fingers by opening and soaping between the fingers.

When we clean our teeth, it is likewise important to clean between the teeth.  Flossing removes debris and other particles from between your teeth that a toothbrush cannot reach.

Before Columbus arrived Native Americans used pine needles, hair, thin sticks and the fibers from wood to clean between the teeth. These chewsticks and other methods were used by Indigenous tribes for hundreds of years. 

In 1815, a New Orleans dentist, Dr. Levi Spear Parmly, began advising his patients to use a thin silk thread to clean between their teeth. In 1882, the Codman and Shurtleft Company in Massachusetts began mass marketing an unwaxed silk dental floss on store shelves, and in 1896, the first dental floss made by Johnson & Johnson was made from the same material that doctors used for silk sutures. In the 1940s, nylon replaced silk as the material of choice for dental floss due to shortages and the rising costs caused by World War II. Waxed floss soon followed, and in the 1950s, dental tape debuted. 

James B. Kirby, the inventor of the Kirby vacuum, created the first floss pick in 1963. The floss pick is a small, angled dental flossing tool that doubles as a toothpick.

Today, there are many types of dental floss available – some are made with newer material like Kevlar, Gore-Tex and offer different textures, such as extra-soft or spongy floss. Floss with stiffened ends is intended to aid in getting around braces or other dental devices.

To make it easier to clean between the teeth, consider floss holders, interdental plaque removers or a water flosser.

Can flossing really increase life expectancy and improve health? YES! Because excellent dental health is closely linked to improving overall physical health, well-being, and quality of life. 

Here are some surprising uses for dental floss:

1. Slice foods such as soft cheese, cake, eggs, banana bread, and canned cranberry sauce.
2. Sliding floss under cookies can work better than a spatula.
3. Jewelry making and restringing broken jewelry.
4. Emergency shoelace: you may have to double for added strength. 
5. Hang Christmas ornaments and string popcorn. The option of green color will compliment any Christmas décor.
6. Hang picture frames; you may have to double for added strength.
7. Ring remover.
8. Cleaning crevices such as stove dials and other tight places with spongy floss.
9. Sewing repairs.
10. Prisoners have managed to escape from jail by weaving dental floss into a rope as thick as an electrical cord (not recommended).

Dental floss is produced in almost every country in the world.  The USA and China are the largest floss manufacturers, and there are thirty-three manufacturers in USA.  Toof for Tribes is a program specifically designed by and for Native Americans. 

Floss the teeth you plan on keeping and improve your physical health!!!

Dr. Jessica A. Rickert is a tribal citizen of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. A graduate of the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, in 1975, she became for the first female Native American dentist.

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