Apparatus for using beaded dental floss

Abstract

A coilable structure having segments of dental floss mounted thereon, in parallel, tandem arrangement, is stored in a housing. A spindle in aft chamber thereof is attached to one end of the structure (in this case, a tape). Rotating the spindle aftwardly advances the tape so that the next floss segment is placed on the top of a partition between the chambers, positioning the segment slightly above and between a fixed and a sliding top member of the housing, where it can be grasped by an applicator having a handle and a pair of resilient prongs with slitted shoulders on their ends for retaining beads on ends of the floss segments. Aftwardly-convergent guides on the sliding top member compress the prongs together, as they are moved aftwardly between them by a user, prior to grasping a floss segment. Aftwardly-divergent guides on the fixed top member allow the prongs to expand without losing the floss they have grasped, as aftward motion of the prongs is continued. The coilable structure can also be stored in a removable cartridge that can be installed in the housing. Alternative embodiments are cited for advancing the coilable structure and for allowing the applicator prongs to expand in a controlled manner after having grasped a segment of floss.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.