Flossing your teeth is one of those chores that seems exceptionally hard to remember to do; by the time you remember most nights, you've already brushed your teeth, slipped into your pajamas, and are drifting off into dreamland. But flossing is important – it freshens your breath and cleans away plaque that otherwise would stick around and rot your teeth. So how do you make this boring and often painful task more interesting and less painful? If you're looking to get your flossing up to snuff, then here's what you need to know.

Rely on Wax and Ribbon

You've been down this road countless times: you're wiggling a piece of floss up through two teeth that are far too close together for comfort, when suddenly the floss breaks through the barrier and hits your gum with the agonizing pain of a lightning bolt. In order to avoid this flossing calamity, try using waxed floss. While it feels a little different than regular floss, it slides in between teeth more easily, allowing you the peace of mind while flossing that a tiny blade of floss won't ravage your gums. For extra protection, get ribbon-width floss rather than the ultra fine strands, which gets your teeth sparkling and is far less likely to cut you.

Taste the Rainbow

Another thing that can put you off of flossing is the taste; not only does floss (waxed or unwaxed) taste gross, but the taste of the plaque you're getting off your teeth doesn't help matters. In order to stop associating flossing with a bad taste in your mouth, try using flavored floss. From bright flavors like cherry to mintier fare such as cinnamon, flavored floss can make the minute and a half that it takes to floss more pleasurable – and it'll leave a pleasant taste in your mouth.

Y Marks the Spot

For many, the worst part of flossing is attempting to figure out how much floss is the proper amount to use – either you end up with a smaller piece than you need and so you end up tearing off another section for the two teeth you have left to clean, or you try to head off that problem by using a piece of floss approximately as tall as you are.

Either way is a recipe for wasted floss and a frustrated flosser. In order to circumvent this flossing nightmare, try using flossing picks (also called Y flossers) instead of the traditional box of floss. These handheld, one-use flossers are made to reach areas that are hard to get traditionally, like the back of your mouth, and prevent the floss from slipping out of your hands. To learn more, speak with a business like Hoffman & Karl Dental Associates, PLLC.