Dental care appliance

Claim 1

A dental floss holder comprising in combination an elongated handle, a bifurcated head provided integrally at one end of said handle and including a pair of spaced arms formed in their extremities with notches for receiving a length of dental floss, and floss anchoring means comprising a button including a shank and a pair of enlarged knobs at the ends of said shank, said shank having an oval cross-section with flat sides and rounded ends, said head being provided with an opening having a shape complemental to the cross-section of said shank, the shank being axially slidable but non-rotatable in said opening, the length of the shank exceeding the thickness of said head so that the shank may slide in said opening within limits set by engagement of said knobs with opposite side surfaces of the head and separation of the button from the head is thereby prevented, said button being provided with passage means for receiving end portions of a length of floss stretched between said arms so that when the floss is inserted in said passage means it may be anchored in a tensioned condition by sliding the button in one direction in said opening, said passage means including A transverse kerf formed in one of said knobs and extending axially into said shank, said kerf being open-sided and also open at the outer surface of said one knob so that floss end portions may be inserted axially into the kerf, and a pair of grooves extending in a circumferential direction in the rounded ends of said shank substantially at the level of the inner end of said kerf, whereby floss end portions inserted in the kerf and into said grooves may stretch across the flat sides of the shank for frictional grip in said opening when said button is slid in said one direction.