Method and apparatus for a dental floss system

摘要

A method and apparatus for a dental floss system is disclosed, using an applicator having two resilient prongs on one end of a handle member and floss having nodules fixed thereto and spaced apart at distances shorter than the relaxed distance between the prongs of the applicator. The prongs have small shoulders on their ends with slots passing through the ends including the shoulders, so that floss can be loaded into the slots and the nodules thereon trapped behind the shoulders to retain the floss on the applicator. The floss is loaded onto the applicator by moving the prongs between two converging surfaces that hold a span of the floss in slots. This compresses the prongs together until the span of floss is intercepted by the slots in the ends of the prongs. The prongs are then removed from the convergent surfaces, whereupon they tend to spring into their relaxed positions, retaining the floss by trapping two of the adjacent nodules thereon behind the shoulders on the prongs. The second span of floss that lies between the following two nodules is then loaded into the slots of the convergent surfaces. The floss is then cut by a raised cutting tab on the surface of the floss container. The further functional nodule, relative to the position of the cutting tab determines the exact location at which the floss is cut.