PFAS in Dental Floss: What to Avoid and Safer Alternatives (2026)

Many "smooth-glide" flosses use PTFE – the same PFAS family as Teflon.

Quick answer

Some dental floss contain PFAS ("forever chemicals") and some do not. Many "smooth-glide" flosses use PTFE – the same PFAS family as Teflon. Third-party testing has flagged specific brands (below); safer options include Dr. Tung's Smart Floss – silk + natural wax, no PFAS and RADIUS Vegan Xylitol Mint Floss – plant-based. The same chemicals contaminate drinking water, so the highest-impact step for most people is filtering their tap.

How we source this: we report published third-party testing (Green Science Policy Institute, Consumer Reports, Mamavation, Ecology Center, Silent Spring Institute, and peer-reviewed studies) and name the study behind each finding. We do not test products ourselves.

How PFAS gets into dental floss

PFAS coatings (especially PTFE) are added to dental floss to make it slide easily between teeth. The Silent Spring Institute 2019 study found women who used PTFE-coated floss had higher levels of PFHxS (a PFAS) in their blood compared to non-users.

What testing has found

Silent Spring Institute (2019) tested Oral-B Glide Pro-Health and found it contains PTFE. Mamavation expanded testing in 2022-2023 found PFAS in multiple "glide" and "comfort" flosses across major brands.

Brands flagged in testing

  • Oral-B Glide Pro-Health (PTFE coated, per Silent Spring 2019)
  • CVS Health "Easy Slide" floss (Mamavation 2022)
  • Solimo (Amazon) "Glide" floss (Mamavation 2022)

Safer brand alternatives

  • Dr. Tung's Smart Floss – silk + natural wax, no PFAS
  • RADIUS Vegan Xylitol Mint Floss – plant-based
  • Cocofloss – coconut oil coated, no PFAS
  • Tom's of Maine Naturally Waxed floss – beeswax coated
  • Eco-Dent GentleFloss – plant-based wax

How this connects to your drinking water

Discarded floss adds PFAS to landfill leachate, which contaminates municipal water supplies and aquifers. PFAS in personal-care products also enters wastewater treatment plants, which cannot remove PFAS – they discharge it back into rivers and oceans.

What to do right now

  • Avoid any floss with "glide", "comfort", or "smooth" in the name unless explicitly PFAS-free
  • Switch to silk, beeswax-coated, or plant-wax floss
  • Check the brand against Mamavation's PFAS-free dental floss list
  • Read ingredients – PTFE = PFAS

Frequently asked questions

Do all dental floss contain PFAS?
No. Several brands have been third-party tested PFAS-free, including Dr. Tung's Smart Floss – silk + natural wax, no PFAS, RADIUS Vegan Xylitol Mint Floss – plant-based, Cocofloss – coconut oil coated, no PFAS. The PFAS-containing products are usually those marketed with words like "stain-resistant," "waterproof," "long-wear," "non-stick," or "grease-resistant."
How do I know if my dental floss have PFAS?
Check the ingredient list or product spec sheet for: PTFE, PFOA, PFOS, perfluoro-, polyfluoro-, fluoro-, or "fluorocarbon" prefixes. If the product is labeled "stain-resistant," "waterproof," or "non-stick" without an explicit PFAS-free certification, assume PFAS until proven otherwise.
What's the safest alternative?
For dental floss, the cleanest options include Dr. Tung's Smart Floss – silk + natural wax, no PFAS and RADIUS Vegan Xylitol Mint Floss – plant-based. Avoid any floss with "glide", "comfort", or "smooth" in the name unless explicitly PFAS-free.
How does this connect to drinking water contamination?
Discarded floss adds PFAS to landfill leachate, which contaminates municipal water supplies and aquifers. PFAS in personal-care products also enters wastewater treatment plants, which cannot remove PFAS – they discharge it back into rivers and oceans.
Are PFAS in dental floss regulated?
Federal regulation is limited. In February 2024 the FDA announced that manufacturers had stopped selling PFAS-based grease-proofing agents for US food packaging, a voluntary phase-out rather than a ban. 13+ US states have passed PFAS-in-products bans (Maine, California, New York, Washington, Minnesota, others). Personal-care PFAS are not federally regulated, though several states are considering bans.