What you will need
Procedure
- Fold the floss in half so that the two ends are both pointed in the same direction and even with each other.
- Twist the ends of the floss together so that they get as close to each other as possible and stay that way for the next step. It is best to keep the middle part of the floss open rather than allowing it to stick together. You want the two ends to stick together, but not the rest of the floss.
- Use the lighter or other flame producer to make a flame and hold the ends of the floss in the tip of the flame until the nylon ends melt into a tiny ball. If you get two tiny balls, that's ok. Efficient use of the flame can create this tiny ball in about a half a second. If you melt too much floss, it might drip and/or burn you, and you won't have enough floss left to floss your teeth.
- Blow on the tiny ball to make sure it is cool and won't burn you.
- Tie an overhand knot in your folded dental floss. The knot should be close to the melted end of the floss. You now have a loop on the melted end and a loop on the folded end. The latter loop should be bigger.
- Pull the folded loop open with enough steady force to make the knot move toward the melted ends. The knot will stop at the melted ends because the ball will not fit through the knot like the rest of the floss did.
- Pull the knotted and melted end of the floss loop to make the two sides of the loop get close together. This will make it easier to thread it through the hole in one of the implements.
- Insert the knotted and melted end of the floss loop into the hole in one of the implements.
- Open the knotted and melted end of the floss loop (but be careful not to pull it out of the implement), and insert the folded end of the loop through the loop on the knotted end (on the other side of the hole in the implement). You should now be able to pull quite hard on the folded end of the floss and on the implement to put the floss under tension.
- Insert the notched end of the other implement or the toothbrush's head into the floss loop.
You should now be able to guide floss under high tension around in your mouth using the two implements. When you are done flossing, a quick deliberate motion pulling the two implements away from each other can be used to snap the floss and then you can pick it off the implement to which it sticks (usually the one with the hole) using your
fingertips and throw it away.
I've been flossing my teeth this way for years. It has greatly improved my
manual dexterity and slightly improved my
concentration skills. This procedure may have been a tooth saver for me as I probably would not have continued flossing if I didn't find a
convenient way to do it without hurting my
fingers.