--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wrote a song about dental floss but did…" description: "\"I wrote a song about dental floss but did anyone's teeth get cleaner?\" — Frank Zappa" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71a/frank-zappa-702_cleaners_i-wrote-a-song-about-dental-floss-but-di_2343502.jpg" --- # I wrote a song about dental floss but did anyone's teeth… ![“I wrote a song about dental floss but did anyone's teeth get cleaner?” quote by Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71a/frank-zappa-702_cleaners_i-wrote-a-song-about-dental-floss-but-di_2343502.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71a/frank-zappa-702_cleaners_i-wrote-a-song-about-dental-floss-but-di_2343502.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71a/frank-zappa-702_cleaners_i-wrote-a-song-about-dental-floss-but-di_2343502.jpg) > “I wrote a song about dental floss but did anyone's teeth get cleaner?” [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A humorous self‑questioning about whether artistic effort yields practical results. **In simple terms:** Art may not improve the thing it describes. Key Takeaway Consider impact versus intent. Themes humor creativity skepticism Mood playful ironic Type satirical observational When to use this quote - songwriting - marketing - public health campaigns Key Concepts artistic intent effectiveness absurdity Questions to Reflect On - Does the medium affect the message? - Can humor drive real change? A Different Perspective Artistic expression does not guarantee functional change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cleaners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cleaners/) [Dental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dental/) [Dental floss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dental-floss/) [Did Teeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/did-teeth-5680521/) [Floss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/floss-298324/) [Floss Did](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/floss-did-5680520/) [Insult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insult/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Teeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teeth/) [Teeth Cleaner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teeth-cleaner-5680519/) [Tooth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tooth/) ## Related quotes > [Would I rather be dental floss or a toothbrush? is that a question? Um, I would actually rather be floss, I think, if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-mcadams/would-i-rather-be-dental-floss-or-a-toothbrush-is-that-a-question-um/) [Rachel McAdams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-mcadams/) > [No wonder he has such nice teeth. They probably pay him in dental floss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janette-rallison/no-wonder-he-has-such-nice-teeth-they-probably-pay-him-in-dental-floss/) [Janette Rallison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janette-rallison/) > [Of course I'm funky like fat people having intercourse. Basically, the funk is stuck in your teeth...so get the dental floss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/redman/of-course-i-m-funky-like-fat-people-having-intercourse-basically-the/) [Redman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/redman/) > [Moving to Montana soon, gonna be a dental floss tycoon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/moving-to-montana-soon-gonna-be-a-dental-floss-tycoon/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [You know, sometimes a man just can't satisfy all of a woman's desires. Which is why God invented dental floss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-know-sometimes-a-man-just-can-t-satisfy-all-of-a-woman-s-desires/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Dying is easy, getting the dental floss off your finger and into the trash is hard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregor-collins/dying-is-easy-getting-the-dental-floss-off-your-finger-and-into-the/) [Gregor Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregor-collins/) > [There's nothing slutty about a dental-floss bikini. You don't even think about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sofia-vergara/there-s-nothing-slutty-about-a-dental-floss-bikini-you-don-t-even/) [Sofia Vergara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sofia-vergara/) > [“I asked a nurse for dental floss and was told that I am not allowed dental floss. Apparently dental floss can be used for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-austin/i-asked-a-nurse-for-dental-floss-and-was-told-that-i-am-not-allowed/) [Emily Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-austin/) > [My wife is such a bad cook, if we leave dental floss in the kitchen the roaches hang themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/my-wife-is-such-a-bad-cook-if-we-leave-dental-floss-in-the-kitchen/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > […You should keep dental floss on you at all times; when your eyesight goes, quit driving; don't keep too many secrets, eventually they'll eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lutz/you-should-keep-dental-floss-on-you-at-all-times-when-your-eyesight/) [Lisa Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lutz/) > [YOU COULD LOCK the Gasman in a padded cell with some dental floss and a bowl of Jell-O, and he'd find a way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/you-could-lock-the-gasman-in-a-padded-cell-with-some-dental-floss-and/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [A person of good intelligence and of sensitivity cannot exist in this society very long without having some anger about the inequality - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/a-person-of-good-intelligence-and-of-sensitivity-cannot-exist-in-this/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [Trying to figure out God is like trying to catch a fish in the Pacific Ocean with an inch of dental floss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-chandler/trying-to-figure-out-god-is-like-trying-to-catch-a-fish-in-the/) [Matt Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-chandler/) > [When we hear a Mozart piano concerto today, we're most likely to hear the piano part played on a modern concert grand. In the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greenberg/when-we-hear-a-mozart-piano-concerto-today-we-re-most-likely-to-hear/) [Robert Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greenberg/) > [“Terrific! Have you done Step Three?" He waggled his brows as he opened up the top left drawer of my dresser. "No. Hey! Do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-bardsley/terrific-have-you-done-step-three-he-waggled-his-brows-as-he-opened/) [Michele Bardsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-bardsley/) ## More by Frank Zappa > [If you want to get laid, go to college. If you want an education, go to the library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/if-you-want-to-get-laid-go-to-college-if-you-want-an-education-go-to/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [While your children are sleeping, your puppy is crappin'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/while-your-children-are-sleeping-your-puppy-is-crappin/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [Very few people do covers of my tunes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/very-few-people-do-covers-of-my-tunes/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [Cocaine decisions that you make today, will mean nothing later on when you get nose decay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/cocaine-decisions-that-you-make-today-will-mean-nothing-later-on-when/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [Government is the Entertainment division of the military-industrial complex.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/government-is-the-entertainment-division-of-the-military-industrial/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [Do your job and do it right, life's a ball, TV tonight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/do-your-job-and-do-it-right-life-s-a-ball-tv-tonight/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [Fact of the matter is, there is no hip world, there is no straight world. There's a world, you see which has people in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/fact-of-the-matter-is-there-is-no-hip-world-there-is-no-straight/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [Broken hearts are for assholes, are you an asshole?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/broken-hearts-are-for-assholes-are-you-an-asshole/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [Anyone who is disturbed by the idea of newts in a nightclub is potentially dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/anyone-who-is-disturbed-by-the-idea-of-newts-in-a-nightclub-is/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [The bigger the cushion, the better the pushin'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/the-bigger-the-cushion-the-better-the-pushin/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [Give me the enchilada with the pickle sauce shoved up between the donkey's ass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/give-me-the-enchilada-with-the-pickle-sauce-shoved-up-between-the/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [Sit and spin 'til you rot on the cosmic utensil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/sit-and-spin-til-you-rot-on-the-cosmic-utensil/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [To me absurdity is the only reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/to-me-absurdity-is-the-only-reality/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [Is this something new, having people stomp on you? Is it what I need to do for your pleasure?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/is-this-something-new-having-people-stomp-on-you-is-it-what-i-need-to/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [Look here brother, who you jivin' with that cosmik debris?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/look-here-brother-who-you-jivin-with-that-cosmik-debris/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) [Explore all 400 Frank Zappa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) ## More Cleaners quotes > [If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/if-lawyers-are-disbarred-and-clergymen-defrocked-doesn-t-it-follow/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [It's a floor cleaner and a dessert topping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-curtin/it-s-a-floor-cleaner-and-a-dessert-topping/) [Jane Curtin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-curtin/) > [It's a topsy-turvy world in which a country can import the same amount of ice-cream, toilet paper and other goods to trading partners as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-simms/it-s-a-topsy-turvy-world-in-which-a-country-can-import-the-same/) [Andrew Simms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-simms/) > [ \[Americans\] can't understand that the water in our toilet is cleaner than 880 million have access to. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-damon/americans-can-t-understand-that-the-water-in-our-toilet-is-cleaner/) [Matt Damon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-damon/) > [I am Woman, here me roar...of is that my vacuum cleaner?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-carpenter/i-am-woman-here-me-roar-of-is-that-my-vacuum-cleaner/) [Liz Carpenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-carpenter/) > [The only thing that scares me in the tech area is that it moves so fast that you have to be ready to invest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daymond-john/the-only-thing-that-scares-me-in-the-tech-area-is-that-it-moves-so/) [Daymond John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daymond-john/) > [ Any small business owner wears many hats. We \[New View Window Cleaning\] are the salesman, bookkeeper, scheduler, cleaner, customer complaint department, etc. If you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-evans/any-small-business-owner-wears-many-hats-we-new-view-window-cleaning/) [Tony Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-evans/) > [We must all move shoulder to shoulder in a unified front to show this administration that the true majority of people are willing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/we-must-all-move-shoulder-to-shoulder-in-a-unified-front-to-show-this/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [I get to be the mayor of the capital city of the most polluting state of the most polluting country on the planet. ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-wynn/i-get-to-be-the-mayor-of-the-capital-city-of-the-most-polluting-state/) [Will Wynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-wynn/) > [I am an obsessive garage cleaner - my wife and the neighbors make fun of me. I remember that my father was the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-o-donnell/i-am-an-obsessive-garage-cleaner-my-wife-and-the-neighbors-make-fun/) [Chris O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-o-donnell/) > [The easy glamour of the French Riviera in the late 1960s - inspired by Romy Schneider's character in La Piscine - mixed with garden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tory-burch/the-easy-glamour-of-the-french-riviera-in-the-late-1960s-inspired-by/) [Tory Burch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tory-burch/) > [Marriage is like a vacuum cleaner. You stick it to your ear and it sucks out all your energy and ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlo-thomas/marriage-is-like-a-vacuum-cleaner-you-stick-it-to-your-ear-and-it/) [Marlo Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlo-thomas/) > [In 1966, while working on a feature about a Picasso exhibition at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, I recorded the pre-opening preparations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micha-bar-am/in-1966-while-working-on-a-feature-about-a-picasso-exhibition-at-the/) [Micha Bar-Am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/micha-bar-am/) > [I've a neater, sweeter maiden in a cleaner, greener land!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/i-ve-a-neater-sweeter-maiden-in-a-cleaner-greener-land/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [We don't need women. There are plenty other things in the world to have sex with, just go to a sexaholics meeting and take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-don-t-need-women-there-are-plenty-other-things-in-the-world-to/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) [Browse all 251 Cleaners quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cleaners/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I wrote a song about dental floss but did anyone's teeth get cleaner?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frank Zappa" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/i-wrote-a-song-about-dental-floss-but-did-anyone-s-teeth-get-cleaner/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cleaners" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/i-wrote-a-song-about-dental-floss-but-did-anyone-s-teeth-get-cleaner/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71a/frank-zappa-702_cleaners_i-wrote-a-song-about-dental-floss-but-di_2343502.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71a/frank-zappa-702_cleaners_i-wrote-a-song-about-dental-floss-but-di_2343502.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71a/frank-zappa-702_cleaners_i-wrote-a-song-about-dental-floss-but-di_2343502.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I wrote a song about dental floss but did anyone's teeth get cleaner?” — Frank Zappa", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Frank Zappa", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I wrote a song about dental...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/i-wrote-a-song-about-dental-floss-but-did-anyone-s-teeth-get-cleaner/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/i-wrote-a-song-about-dental-floss-but-did-anyone-s-teeth-get-cleaner/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```