Patent ID: 7464715

Claim:
A unitary dental cleaning strip for cleaning interproximal surfaces and contact areas between teeth, comprising a length of a thin, flexible polymeric material having opposing outer surfaces, a thickness, a hardness and coefficient of friction, said flexible polymeric material having a plurality of spaced openings therethrough and extending along said length of flexible polymeric material, each opening peripherally surrounded by a hardened molten polymeric material having a raised, irregular volcanic-like contoured peripheral ridge protruding from both said opposing outer surfaces of said flexible polymeric material, said hardened polymeric material having an irregular, volcanic-like contoured surface for cleaning purposes, said irregular, volcanic-like contoured surface having a hardness greater than said hardness of said flexible polymeric material and a coefficient of friction higher than said coefficient of friction of said flexible polymeric material, whereby the hardened, less slippery, irregularly shaped volcanic-like contoured peripheral ridges extending from both sides of said strip facilitate the movement of said unitary dental strip and the removal of plaque from interproximal surfaces between teeth.