Dental floss. History of invention and production

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Dental floss. History of invention and production

The history of technology, technology, objects around us

Directory / The history of technology, technology, objects around us

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Dental floss (floss) - a special thread for cleaning interdental spaces. Using a toothbrush can clean only three out of five surfaces of a person's tooth. The remaining two surfaces between the teeth need special care, since plaque and pieces of food from the interdental spaces cannot be removed with a brush. Therefore, caries often begins here.

The use of thread for the treatment or prevention of gingivitis is inappropriate. To date, dental floss is the main tool for cleaning the interdental spaces (approximal surfaces) of the teeth. It is advisable to use it after every meal. Or at least during the evening brushing your teeth.

Dental floss

Compared with the toothbrush, the first mention of which in Chinese chronicles dates back to the XNUMXth century, another oral hygiene tool - dental floss - is relatively young. In the XNUMXth century, the hereditary dentist Levi Spear Parmley, practicing in New Orleans, once again drew attention to the terrible condition of the teeth of his patients. This was quite understandable: toothbrushes were then very expensive, tooth powder was simply expensive, and those who brushed their teeth at all (and they were a minority) did this with a wet cloth that was dipped in gunpowder or salt.

In 1819, Parmley published a book entitled A Practical Guide to Dental Care, in which he described a toothbrush, paste or powder, and waxed silk thread. The latter, in his opinion, was the most important element, since, as he wrote, it "extracts the remains of food from the interdental spaces, which are the real source of the disease."

In 1836, Parmley's work was continued by his colleague from New York, Shirjashab Spooner, who published the pamphlet "The Way to Healthy Teeth", where he proposed the use of a twisted silk thread containing pumice powder. But then this idea was not recognized: silk, thin and durable, was very expensive, and the cotton thread did not pass between the teeth and was torn.

The first factory-made dental floss (Codman & Shurtleff) did not appear until 1882. A truly mass production of silk dental floss was started by Johnson & Johnson in 1896. When, during the Second World War, Japan stopped supplying silk to the United States and Europe, a replacement was quickly found: a new material, recently developed by DuPont, nylon was thinner, stronger, cheaper and produced in large quantities.

Despite improvements in technology, a variety of materials and coatings, dental floss as a means of hygiene did not become widespread until the 1990s. But the small thickness, combined with high strength, made it a very versatile tool. In 1988, three criminals escaped from a prison in New York by descending from the sixth floor on a rope made from dental floss.

Later, a West Virginia inmate traded enough dental floss for cigarettes to tie a rope and climb over a six-meter prison wall. And in 2002, an offender sentenced to two months in prison managed to use floss and toothpaste as an abrasive to cut through a barbed wire fence and escape from a prison in Okanogan (Washington). But, of course, not only criminals used dental floss as a tool.

There is a known case when it was possible to save the life of an underwater hunter who suffered from a shark attack by making a tourniquet out of dental floss to prevent blood loss before being taken to the hospital.

And in 2002, Florida yachtsman Terry Watson, caught in a severe storm on his way to Europe, kept his yacht afloat for two months, including using dental floss to repair sails. So it's no surprise that dental floss is now included in most survival kits: it can be useful for repairing equipment, making fishing tackle and snares, and for many other purposes. She can also brush her teeth.

Invented for oral care, flossing can serve as a useful, versatile tool in many different areas of life.

Author: S.Apresov

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