DENTAL FLOSS APPLICATOR

A dental floss applicator comprises a fork having a pair of elongated legs projecting from an elongated handle, a container on the handle for storing a supply of dental floss, and a reel on one side of the handle for being rotated to withdraw a continuous string of dental floss under tension from the container and pass the dental floss from the container along the length of one leg, across the distance between the tips of the legs, after which the floss extends along the length of the other leg and is then wound on a rotatable post on the underside of the handle. The reel and post rotate in unison so that as they rotate, the dental floss is continuously fed from the container across the distance between the tips of the legs where the floss is held under tension for use in teeth cleaning. The relative diameter of the post and reel provide a differential tensioning arrangement for applying a controlled tension to the dental floss across the distance between the tips of the legs. Further controlled tension can be applied to the floss by a movable clip for engaging a stop over which the dental floss passes before being wound on the reel.