Dental Floss

Floss is a format decision before it is a brand decision. Picks and string are stocked at close to parity here, and the two are used differently enough that most households settle on one. Pack counts run from 2 to 300, and cost per use falls by roughly two thirds at the top of that range.

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Floss Picks and String Floss

Picks and string split this collection almost evenly, and brand is the fastest way to tell them apart. Plackers and DenTek are pick lines. Oral-B's 19 listings are almost entirely string, while GUM and Grin carry both under the same name.

The formats are not substitutes. String wraps the tooth and reaches below the gum line; a pick holds a fixed span of floss on a plastic fork and trades that reach for one-handed use. Households with tight contacts tend to end up on string whatever they set out to buy.

Pack Count and Cost per Use

Counts here run 2, 3, 10, 30, 60, 75, 150 and 300, with 30 the median pack. Cost per use falls sharply at the top: the 150 and 300 count tubs bring a single use under about three cents, against roughly ten cents on a 30-count pack.

Buy the tub if you already floss daily.

Buy the 30-count if you do not, because the failure mode on a 300-count tub is a year-old tub of picks and no habit to go with it.

Waxed and Unwaxed Floss

Waxed floss slides through tight contacts and resists shredding. Unwaxed is thinner and squeaks against a clean surface, which some people use as a finish signal. Waxed is the majority of the string stocked here.

Tape is the third option, wider and flatter than round floss.

It suits wider gaps and is the wrong choice for tight ones, where it will not pass at all.

Refillable and Recycled-Content Floss

Refillable dispensers appear on 3 listings and recycled-content packaging on 5, mostly from Grin and Cocolab. These are a small part of the range rather than a parallel line, so the selection narrows considerably if either is a requirement rather than a preference.

Floss and Water Flossers

A water flosser is a different device with a different cost structure, not an upgrade path from string. It runs $28 to $103 for a unit and commits you to a tip line, against $9 to $18 for a floss pack that commits you to nothing.

The soft picks and interdental brushes that sit between the two formats are filed under oral accessories, with the tongue scrapers.

Floss Formats Compared

FormatCounts stockedPrice bandCost per use
Picks, small pack10 to 60$9 to $15About 10 cents
Picks, tub150 to 300$13 to $25Under 3 cents
String, single1 to 3$9 to $18About 2 cents
String, multipack3 to 6$15 to $30About 1 cent
Tape1 to 3$10 to $18About 2 cents

Cost per use assumes one pick or roughly 45 cm of string per session. String is cheaper per use in every band, which is the argument against picks for anyone who will reliably use either.

Dental Floss Questions

Are floss picks cheaper than string?

No. String runs about one to two cents per use against three to ten cents for picks. Picks are bought for one-handed convenience rather than economy.

What is the largest pack stocked?

300 count, in the Plackers pick tubs. That is where cost per use drops below three cents, roughly a third of a 30-count pack.

Which brands make picks rather than string?

Plackers and DenTek are pick lines. Oral-B is almost entirely string. GUM and Grin carry both formats under the same name.

Is waxed or unwaxed floss better for tight contacts?

Waxed passes tight contacts more easily and shreds less. Unwaxed is thinner but catches on rough edges. Tape is wider than both and will not pass a tight contact at all.

Does a water flosser replace floss?

It is a different device with a different cost structure. A unit runs $28 to $103 and commits you to a tip line; a floss pack runs $9 to $18 and commits you to nothing.