Patent ID: 7011099

Claim:
A hand-held flossing device, comprising: a housing having a handle and a head, the head having a top and a bottom; a dental floss supply disposed within the handle; a winding gear rotatably mounted within the handle and configured to securely hold a free end of the dental floss supply, the winding gear having at least a portion accessible from outside of the housing; a first elongate tine and a second elongate tine extending downwardly from the bottom of the head, the tines diverging relative to one another as they extend downwardly; an exit aperture formed in the first tine and an entrance aperture formed in the second tine; a floss path extending from the dental floss supply, through the handle, through the first tine and out the exit aperture, into the entrance aperture, through the second tine, and to the winding gear, the winding gear configured to advance floss along the floss path; and a lock disposed along the floss path and moveable between a locked position and an unlocked position to selectively inhibit the advancement of floss along the floss path; wherein a supply path is defined from the lock to the first tine, and a return path is defined from the second tine to the winding gear, and a septum separates at least a portion of the supply path from the return path so that the supply and return paths generally diverge from each other from the head toward the handle.