Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Wiktionary
n. floss (used to clean the areas between the teeth)
WordNet
n. a soft thread for cleaning the spaces between the teeth [syn: floss]
Wikipedia
Dental floss is a cord of thin filaments used to remove food and dental plaque from between teeth in areas a toothbrush is unable to reach. As the build-up of plaque between the teeth is the primary cause of dental disease, such as gingivitis and dental caries, the use of floss is commonly recommended in order to prevent these conditions from developing.
Despite the availability of a number of interdental cleaning aids, dental floss has received the most attention, although it can be challenging to use as it requires a high level of dexterity, resulting in less use.
It has been widely accepted that the use of floss has a favourable effect on plaque removal and disease prevention and the American Dental Association reports that up to 80% of plaque can be eliminated with this method. Several reviews, however, have failed to find any clear benefit over toothbrushing alone.
Usage examples of "dental floss".
A person should have something stuck between his two front teeth and not be able to get it out and have to go to the drugstore for dental floss.
KV: And so the reader will want dental floss as much as the character does.
She rummaged through her purse and got her dental floss, then she tore off three- strings, one of which - was much shorter than the other two.
Emma pulled out a string of dental floss, which turned out to be long.
Three seconds after Ivy and I walked in the door, Kisten looked at my dental floss stitches, breathed deeply, and knew what had happened.
I shaved, sprayed on some deodorant, ferreted some food particles out of my teeth with dental floss, then sandblasted with the electric toothbrush and gargled with mouth wash.
Wiseguys value life about as much as they value used dental floss.
Comb, lipstick, dental floss, matchbooks, payroll stub, airplane tickets, used.
Harry took a pack of mint-flavored dental floss out of his coat pocket and broke off a piece.
His uniforms were always immaculately laundered, and his shoes always sparkled, and he was a lifelong devotee of dental floss.
You ought to cut out the sugar, continued the dentist, surveying so many signs of incipient decay, and some dental floss wouldnt come amiss with all this.
Back to the bathroom, where I wet and recombed my hair I was reaching for dental floss when the phone rang.
Indeed, the only sign that they had ever been here was a packet of dental floss left behind on the sill of a living-room window.