Dental Floss Holder with Tensioner V2

This design represents a dental floss holder that fixes the main problem of almost all floss holders - tensioning! Floss tends to stretch almost immediately, causing handling problems.

My design uses a movable part that serves the function of both holding the floss in place and providing a way to tighten it. Look at the pictures and you will understand how to use it. I use mine daily and it really works exceptionally well for me. Of course, your mileage may vary.... ;-)

I recommend printing in PETG for higher elasticity, 0.15 mm layer height, 40% infill without supports. PLA also works well, but can be a bit more brittle in the long run.

This is a print-in-place design - after printing just wiggle it a bit to release the moving part.

Note: The design is widely tested for nozzle sizes of 0.4 mm or smaller on different printers. For bigger nozzle sizes (e.g. 0.6 mm) I have added a STL file using bigger tolerances for the tightening sled (0.35 mm instead of 0.2 mm) in the file “DentalFlossHolder_0.35-spacing.stl”. Just load it in the provided PETG or PLA Prusa Slicer files, replace the main object and slice it with the given settings.

Required parts:

• 1 x “DentalFlossHolder.stl"
• Dental floss… ;-)

Here is a tech drawing:

Change history:

• 2023-09-24 - Version 2
  • PETG versions of Prusa Slicer file and GCODE
  • Rounded fork attachment for greatly improved mechanical load-bearing capacity of the forks (optimization of the force lines)
  • Improved version with 40% infill instead of 15% as before
  • Increased center hole for easier insertion of the dental floss
  • Improved layer adhesion for tightening sled knob
• 2022-08-22 - Version 1
  • Initial version