Dental floss & pre-threaded leader

An integrally formed dental floss and leader for use with bridges, implants or other structures such as teeth and prosthodontic devices, comprising in combination:

• a leader having a free end for threading into interproximal dental spaces and a tethered end which supports said floss,
• said tethered end including said floss tethered thereto,
• said tethered end including a door means extending from said tethered end and connected to said tethered end through a hinge means,
• said tethered end including a reinforcing means to support and receive said door,
• wherein said door means is pivotable about said hinge means and connectable to said tethered end with said floss captured between said door means and said tethered end,
• wherein said reinforcement means of said tethered end includes said tethered end configured to have a greater cross-sectional area than said door, and
• wherein said reinforcing means of said tethered end is said tethered end having a constant thickness along edges thereof, said tethered end having a thickness less than a thickness along said edges at a location between edges of said tethered end defining said support channel, said support channel having a contour which conforms to a contour of said door, and wherein when said door is pivoted about said hinge means said door rests within said support channel, whereby cross-sectional dimensions of said tethered end remain unchanged by receipt of said door thereagainst.

A method for attaching floss to a leader for use between interproximal spaces of a user's mouth, the steps including:

• forming a tethered end of the leader with a door connected thereto through a hinge, the tethered end having a support channel embedded within the tethered end on a side of the hinge opposite the door;
• orienting the floss adjacent the hinge;
• pivoting the door about the hinge;
• and
• securing the door directly within the support channel of the tethered end.

An integrally formed dental floss and leader for use with bridges, implants or other structures such as teeth and prosthodontic devices, comprising in combination:

• a leader having a free end for threading into interproximal dental spaces and a tethered end which supports said floss,
• said tethered end including said floss tethered thereto,
• said tethered end including a door means extending from said tethered end and connected to said tethered end through a hinge means,
• said tethered end including a reinforcing means to support and receive said door,
• wherein said door means is pivotable about said hinge means and connectable to said tethered end with said floss captured between said door means and said tethered end, and
• wherein said tethered end has a before door closure thickness not less than an after door closure thickness and a before door closure width not less than an after door closure width, whereby the thickness and width of said tethered end is not increased by closure of said door means.