Which one is better for your teeth, a toothpick or floss? Well, comparing these is a little like comparing apples and oranges. You can’t really pick just one over the other, as they both have their purpose. Toothpicks are good for getting that little piece of short rib that is stuck between your teeth, but it does not clean around the tooth and below the gums like floss can when used properly. Our recommendation then when flossing is to move the floss below the contact, curve it around the tooth (making a C-shape with the floss) and rub the floss up and down gently, making sure to go beneath the gumline. While the flosspicks are quite popular, the floss end of them is harder to curve around the tooth, and thus is likely not as effective as a string of floss could be.