A Guide to Great Dental Flosses

Reach Dental Floss Waxed Unflavored 55yards

Waxed dental floss was a good alternative for me before the newer, "slipperier" flosses started to come onto the market.  While regular dental floss would fray often, the worst thing that happens when I use plain waxed flosses, like Reach's Waxed Dental Floss, is that they would occasionally get stuck between two very close-set teeth. 

Dental floss getting stuck is a huge annoyance, and it's uncomfortable, so I don't buy plain waxed flosses anymore.  But they do a great job of cleaning out between teeth that aren't super close together, and they are often a bit cheaper than the fancier, slippery flosses.

Colgate Total Mint Dental Floss Box Of 72

Colgate's Total Dental Floss is my second favorite floss - it's very similar to Crest's Glide.  I probably never would have even tried this one except that my dentist frequently sends samples of this one home with me.

This floss doesn't shred and it moves between teeth easily.  I think it may be a bit thinner than Glide, so it doesn't feel quite "right" when I handle it.  But it works equally well and I really like it.

I've only tried the "mint" flavor in this floss, and thankfully it's a pleasant mint, not overwhelming at all.

Oral B Satin Floss Mint 55 Yds 3 Pack

Oral-B's Satin Floss is a floss that I like but don't love.  It's more expensive than the Glide that I usually buy, and it doesn't have the same "feel" to it.  I suspect this is because it is flatter and thinner.  It works decently, but it doesn't make sense for me to spend extra money on something that I like less.

The good news is that this floss also gets between teeth easily and doesn't shred.  It works; it just feels a bit less sturdy to me.  I would recommend it over the regular waxed flosses, but if you have the option to buy the Glide or Colgate Total, they seem to work better.

Oral-B Glide Dental Floss Flip Top Vial Original F

Crest's Glide Dental Floss is the floss that I usually buy for myself; it works best for my teeth. 

This floss is flat and smooth, but thicker than the Oral-B Satin floss.  There's something about the way it is constructed that makes it the easiest to use for me.  It glides easily between my teeth, it never shows any sign of shredding... and it's just the floss that I like the "feel" of best.

I usually buy the regular, unflavored version of this - in fact, I'm not sure that they even make flavored versions. 

The one thing I don't like about this floss is that the packaging for it sometimes becomes a problem.  When you buy it in a tube form (as pictured here), the floss sometimes gets caught somehow as it is dispensed, and then it's a huge pain to try to fix it.  I'm willing to live with that, though, when I have found a product that is otherwise perfect for me.