11 Surprising Uses for Dental Floss

Your dentist may remind you to use floss after every meal, but there are plenty of other reasons to keep a roll handy — particularly the unwaxed, unflavored kind that shoppers often pass over at the pharmacy or grocery store.

Dental floss has been commercially available since 1882, when the Codman and Shurtleft Company of Randolph, Massachusetts, made it out of unwaxed silk. The switch to nylon came during World War II, and wax-coated floss also debuted in the 1940s, according to toothbrush manufacturer Oral-B. Nowadays it is everywhere, with U.S. consumers spending more than $1 billion a year on the lightweight, stretchy and surprisingly strong floss.

Most is likely used to remove food debris stuck between our teeth, but you’ll want to keep a spool in your pocket once you see all the creative and handy ways dental floss can be used. Here are 11 ways that it’s become the new duct tape.

1. Remove skin tags

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It’s best to check with a doctor first, but Susan Massick, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, says small skin tags can be removed painlessly with dental floss. These small outgrowths of regular skin attached to a thin stalk, or base, are usually harmless and often appear as we age. Tie dental floss tightly around the base of the skin tag, and within a few days it should fall off. However, if this is painful, remove the dental floss right away.

2. Remove a ring from your finger

If you have a swollen finger, it may be difficult to remove a ring, but dental floss may help it slip off, according to the American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Here’s what to do. Begin by lubricating the finger with liquid soap or cooking oil, then wrap it in ice and raise your hand overhead for five or so minutes. Grab about a foot-long piece of dental floss and thread it under the ring so that about four inches extends toward your wrist. Then wind the longer length of floss around your finger to compress the swelling, starting at the top of the ring and moving up and over the knuckle. After that, pull the shorter length of floss over the stuck ring and, using that end, begin unwinding the floss to hopefully pull the ring up and over the knuckle.

3. Cut food

Slicing hard-boiled eggs, a wheel of Brie or even cheesecake can be accomplished with ease using a piece of tautly held, unwaxed floss. It’s also a perfect way to divide a cake into layers, according to Condé Nast’s Epicurious website. Position the floss around the outside edge of the cake, hold the ends tightly with both hands, then pull through. A couple of toothpicks placed along the edges halfway up the cake can act as a guide.

4. Save old photos

If you find a photograph stuck in a frame or an old photo album, you can use floss to remove it without tearing. Starting at one corner of the photo, place the floss between the picture and the surface it is stuck to, then carefully pull the floss between the two surfaces until the picture is freed, according to Flintlock Dental in Liberty, Missouri.