Standard floss picks don’t fit behind orthodontic archwires, but orthodontic-specific floss picks have a thin, tapered end designed to slide between the wire and your teeth. These specialty picks make flossing with braces faster and less frustrating than threading regular floss with a needle threader, though the technique requires a bit of practice to get right.
Why Regular Floss Picks Don’t Work
A standard floss pick has a U-shaped frame that’s too wide to fit beneath an archwire. The plastic arms can’t pass between the wire and your gumline, so the floss never reaches the space between your teeth where plaque builds up. Trying to force a regular pick behind the wire risks popping a bracket or bending the wire.
Orthodontic floss picks solve this with a different shape. They have a thinner, flattened end that slides behind the archwire from below, letting you guide the floss down between two teeth without removing or disturbing any hardware. Platypus Ortho Flossers and GUM Orthodontic Flossers are the two most widely recommended brands. Both feature angled tips and sturdier construction than standard picks.
Step-by-Step Technique
Position the thin end of the orthodontic floss pick between the archwire and your teeth. Slide it gently until the floss portion drops into the gap between two teeth. Once the floss is below the wire, push it gently toward the gumline and move it back and forth in a zigzag motion, cleaning the side of each tooth. Pull the pick out carefully and move to the next gap.
Repeat this for every space between your teeth, both upper and lower. The process takes longer than flossing without braces because you’re threading the pick behind the wire at each new gap rather than just sliding along. Expect it to take five to ten minutes the first few times. With practice, most people get it down to three or four minutes.
A few things to keep in mind: don’t force the pick if it feels stuck, because too much pressure can damage brackets or irritate your gums. If a particular gap is too tight for the pick’s tip, try approaching from a slightly different angle. Back molars are the trickiest spots. Tilt the pick so the thin end enters at a shallow angle rather than straight on, which gives you more clearance under the wire.
How Well Do Floss Picks Actually Work?
A clinical study at Loma Linda University compared a floss aid device to conventional finger flossing in 34 orthodontic patients over several weeks. Both methods significantly reduced plaque, gum inflammation, and bleeding. The floss aid showed slightly more improvement in all three measures, but the difference was small enough that researchers considered both approaches equally effective in practice.
The takeaway: using an orthodontic floss pick is not a compromise. It cleans just as well as traditional floss, and because it’s easier to use, you’re more likely to actually do it every day. The American Association of Orthodontists recommends flossing at least once a day during treatment, and consistency matters more than which tool you choose.
When to Use Other Tools Instead
Orthodontic floss picks work well for tight spaces between teeth, but they aren’t the best choice for every situation. If braces have created wider gaps between certain teeth (common around molars or after adjustments), an interdental brush fits better and cleans more surface area. The American Dental Association recommends interdental brushes specifically for patients with more open spaces between teeth, while floss is better suited for closed, tight contacts.
Another option worth knowing about is super floss, which has a stiff, needle-like end for threading under the archwire, a spongy middle section for cleaning around brackets, and regular floss for the tooth surfaces. Brands like Oral-B Super Floss and GUM Easy Thread Floss are designed for exactly this purpose. Super floss takes more time per tooth than a pick, but it covers more surface area around the bracket itself.
Many orthodontic patients end up using a combination: floss picks for daily maintenance because they’re fast, interdental brushes for wider gaps, and a water flosser to flush out food debris that gets trapped in spots none of these tools reach easily. The goal is removing plaque from every surface around your brackets and between your teeth at least once a day. Whichever tool gets you to do that consistently is the right one.