We are all instructed by our dentists that in order to practice proper oral hygiene that we must floss all of our teeth once per day, generally at night before we lay down to sleep. If you can find me one person who is actually fond of this habit, please let me know. Because a community consensus generally is partial to the latter: that notion being, that everybody dislikes this necessary routine.

Top Five Reasons We All Can’t Stand Flossing Our Teeth

It’s time consuming: The last thing anybody wants to have to do is get their hands full of dental floss just before they go to sleep. For myself, I am always tired. Having to do the routine is something that I put off until the last minute. And to be honest, many of us will forego flossing and just brush our teeth, making mental promises to do it the following evening.

Your Gums can bleed: This is perhaps the most annoying part of flossing your teeth; it can make your gums bleed. Then you are spitting out blood into the sink, and that awful taste of blood remains in your mouth, forcing you to have to add to the routine with a bottle of mouthwash before you get some shuteye.

The Dental Floss Tears on Your Teeth: Most flossing people can relate to this quip: it gets stuck on your teeth and rips. So that nice strand of floss that you just pulled from the dispenser is ruined. You must now waste more floss that will ultimately tear as well.

The Floss Gets Stuck Behind Fillings: This is horrible when it happens. If you have fillings that jut out on your teeth, or are near the spaces between your teeth, floss can easily get stuck behind the filling. Then you find yourself brushing your teeth once more just to remove the left behind floss.

It’s Hard to Reach the Rear Teeth: The rear teeth are always buggers to floss. Your hand strains as far back into your mouth as possible, and still, you find it hard to get those suckers flossed. Then just when you do, it gets stuck on the teeth or caught on a filling, or tears.

The Easier Solution: Use a water jet, water pick or waterpiq teeth cleaner. These are handheld devices that have a reservoir that holds water. It is projected out a slim nozzle at a rapid pace and has been clinically proven to be up to 80% more effective than flossing. Just water. No string. No tearing. Just easier, one, two, and three—and then you can go to bed knowing your dentist would be proud of you! And here is the real kicker: I was looking at a variety of these devices and they cost about the same as a one year supply of dental floss. But they last a lot longer than one year. Most offered a two year warranty. So another added benefit would be that you save more money by water flossing your teeth over the latter. Isn’t technology wonderful?