as shown in fig1 a dental floss holder made in conformity with this invention comprises a furcated device with an elongated handle 1 and two prongs 2 flexibly mounted to one end of the handle . the arcuate prongs 2 are fitted with protrusions 3 . each of the prongs 2 , at its end opposite the handle 1 , is slit down its middle lengthwise by a slit 4 , to form pincers , over a length sufficient to ensure flexibility so that application of the slightest pressure to the opposed sides 5 , 6 of the pincer adjacent the slit 4 will cause the sides to press together . in a preferred embodiment of the invention , each slitted prong preferably is constructed to form a pincer about 12 mm long and the ends 7 , 8 of the prong , about 3 mm long , will form the jaws of the pincer . each of the two pincers is provided with a groove 9 which extends laterally relative to the slit 4 around the periphery of each prong about 3 mm from the end opposite the handle fig2 and 3 illustrate an enlarged view of part of the end of one prong . fig3 also illustrates the manner in which the floss is arranged at the end of a prong . in operation , a user will need about 10 to 12 cm of dental floss to load the device . this length can be measured by means of markings on the handle of the holder or by color marks on the dental floss itself . as shown in fig4 the user winds the leading end of the floss 10 around the groove 9 at the end of prong 2 about three times . the user then inserts floss into the slit between the jaws ( see fig5 ). as shown in fig6 while keeping the prongs tightly together until protrusions 3 abut , the user winds the floss thrice around in groove 9 at the end of the second prong . before releasing the prongs , as best shown in fig7 the user passes the end of the floss into the slit between jaws 7 , 8 of the second prong . each set of semi - prongs 5 , 6 is self - locking . when the user releases the prongs , after having loaded the device as described above , the prongs tend to resume their normal open position and thus stretch the floss , which tightens the windings in the grooves 9 and thus locks the jaws 7 , 8 of each prong onto the floss . any pull on the floss while cleaning the interdental spaces will increase the grip even more . the slit in each prong is approximately perpendicular to the tightened floss . thus , the slipping of the floss is prevented by the increased gripping effect , which arises by virtue of its being held in a plane approximately perpendicular to the pull . the movement of the jaws 7 , 8 , in a direction parallel to the pull of the floss , enhances the gripping effect , particularly while the device is in use . finally , the floss is also locked into position by the groove itself , which is at a right angle to the slit . for the purpose of inserting the thread into the jaws 7 , 8 the user will have to pull the thread in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the winding in the groove 9 . the sides 12 , 13 of the jaws 7 , 8 are triangularly tapered , relative to the slit , in a manner that allows the floss to slide easily between the jaws 7 , 8 after having been wound in the groove 9 . the adherence of the floss can be increased by roughening the surface areas of the jaws 7 , 8 adjacent the slit 6 and groove 9 .. the surface areas , for example , are covered with small projections or dots as shwon in fig2 and 3 .
a dental floss holder with an elongated handle terminating in a pair of furcated opposing prongs with dental floss attached thereto and with an arrangement of slits and grooves at the ends of the prongs for effecting locking of the floss attachment to the ends .