Reach · Dental Floss
Reach Ultraclean Dental Floss Mint Plaque Remover
Lower concern, standard nylon floss with no known PFAS use, but brand discloses nothing.
Reach Ultraclean is conventional nylon dental floss with no disclosed coating, waterproofing, or stain treatment. Nylon filament itself is not a PFAS carrier in typical dental floss formulations. No public lab testing, brand claims, or certifications available; the silence reflects typical category practice rather than a red flag.
Shop Reach on Amazon →Material
Nylon filament (standard dental floss)
Brand disclosure
Brand is silent on PFAS
Lab data
No public lab test
Why this grade
Category baseline
cosmetics is a category where PFAS exposure is more common.
No PFAS disclosure
No public statement about PFAS in this product.
Safe base material
Made from a material with no inherent PFAS use (ceramic, mineral, or natural fiber).
The full breakdown
What it's made of and why it matters
Reach Ultraclean is a nylon monofilament or multifilament dental floss, the industry standard for oral cleaning. Nylon does not leach harmful compounds into saliva at normal oral temperatures, and mint flavoring (typically menthol or synthetic mint oil) is food-grade and not absorbed systemically in the tiny quantities used. The "plaque remover" designation refers to floss texture or wax coating, not chemical action, so no novel additives are implied.
The brand's record and disclosure
Reach (owned by Johnson & Johnson) is a mainstream consumer oral-care brand with no established product safety recalls or controversies specific to dental floss. The brand does not publicly disclose detailed ingredient sourcing or third-party testing for floss products, which is typical across the category. Johnson & Johnson has faced broader litigation on talc and PFAS in other product lines, but no direct safety allegations apply to this floss.
How it compares in its category
Dental floss products are among the lowest-risk consumer goods because they contact oral mucosa briefly and are not swallowed. Reach Ultraclean sits at the conventional end of the market alongside Oral-B and store brands; alternatives such as silk floss or natural-fiber floss are marketed as premium but carry similar or unknown safety profiles. Flavored variants (mint, cinnamon) are standard across all major brands and do not introduce documented hazards.
If you buy it
Use floss daily as directed by dental professionals; there are no heat-storage concerns or coating degradation risks with dental floss. Replace the spool or container once the floss is depleted or contaminated; storage in normal bathroom humidity poses no safety issue. If mint flavoring causes mouth irritation or allergic response (rare), switch to unflavored; this is a user sensitivity, not a product defect.
Beyond PFAS: other things we checked
Established hazard classes for this product type, assessed from public information. These never change the PFAS grade; a Likely flag caps the Verdict at “Buy with care.”
Mint flavoring (menthol) allergenicity
Menthol and synthetic mint oils are generally recognized as safe in oral products at food-grade strength. Rare individuals with mint sensitivity or contact dermatitis may experience mild oral irritation, but this is a known idiosyncratic response, not a chemical hazard in the product itself.
Nylon filament microfiber ingestion
Dental floss is designed to break down in the mouth and saliva without fragmenting into microplastics. No established reports document microfiber ingestion from dental floss use under normal conditions.
Wax or coating additives leaching
Most dental floss (including Reach Ultraclean) uses food-grade wax or silicone-based coatings for glide and texture. These are not absorbed by oral mucosa and pose no known toxicological risk at the exposure levels and contact durations involved in flossing.
Heavy metals in colorants or additives
No regulatory or third-party testing has identified heavy metal contamination in mainstream dental floss products. Mint flavoring does not require pigments or colorants that would introduce this hazard.
What we don’t know
This grade is a model-based estimate from public materials, coatings, and brand disclosure at 72% confidence. It is not a lab result.
No independent PFAS lab test is on record for this exact product. A lab test could move the score in either direction.
The brand has not made a specific, verifiable PFAS-free statement, so part of this score reflects that missing disclosure rather than a confirmed material.
Formulations and coatings change between production runs. Always check the current label before buying.
Safer alternatives in Dental Floss
Cocofloss
Refill Trio
Coconut fiber, based floss with plant-based coating
Lower-concern dental product; natural materials and transparent PFAS stance, but no independent verification.
⚠Risky category by default
Dental Lace
Refillable Silk Dental Floss
Silk floss with compostable refillable packaging
Lower concern; silk floss with credible PFAS-free positioning and third-party certification.
✓Verified PFAS-free by a third party
Dental Lace
Plant Based/Vegan Floss Refillable Glass Container PFAS-Free (2 Spools/4-
Plant-based vegan floss (likely plant cellulose or silk fibers)
Lower-concern product with explicit PFAS-free claim; no third-party verification limits certainty.
⚠Risky category by default
More dental floss grades
How we score: every product runs through the same public 0–100 rubric based on materials, coatings, brand disclosure, lab findings, and recalls. See the full methodology → Spotted a mistake? Report an error.