Most adults do not need another explanation of why they should floss. We know.

There's really no meaningful awareness problem left to solve. Dentists have told us to do it since childhood. The little bag you leave the dentist with usually has floss in it. We know food gets stuck between our teeth. We know our gums should not bleed. We know skipping it probably catches up with us eventually. And yet for a lot of men, flossing remains something we do when something is stuck in our teeth, when a dentist appointment is coming up, or during one of those short bursts when we decide we are suddenly going to become better at everything.

So what is it? Obviously it isn't knowledge. Perhaps it's just the fact that flossing has almost no immediate reward.

Think about the other parts of a man's grooming routine that manage to stick. A fresh haircut changes how you look immediately. Cologne gives you an immediate response. Washing your face feels clean. Whitening your teeth can eventually produce something you can see. Even brushing has a strong sensory finish. Your mouth tastes different, your breath smells better, and you can run your tongue across your teeth and feel that something happened.

Flossing asks for considerably more faith, and somewhat of an awkward acceptance of getting saliva on your fingers.

The string gets wrapped around your fingers. Your gums might bleed. You have to reach into the back of your mouth. When you finish, you mostly look the same. Maybe you've got a slight breeze through a few gaps now, but no big deal. It's not like there's an obvious social signal that separates the man who flossed this morning from the man who has not flossed in six months.

It has me thinking…maybe we have spent too much time trying to convince people that flossing is important and not enough time making flossing itself better.

Recently, we discovered this cool brand called COCOLAB. (No, this isn't sponsored.)

The company behind Cocofloss appears to understand something that much of the category has missed. Floss does not necessarily need another clinical argument. It needs a better experience. Their approach uses texture, color and flavor to make a product normally treated like medical equipment feel more like something you deliberately choose.

We haven't put it in front of the Park AndJungle community yet, but I definitely think it would get some interesting feedback. Not just whether they “like” the floss, but what actually creates repeat behavior. Is it the flavor? The cleaner feeling? Seeing what brushing missed? The product staying visible on the counter? The small sense of satisfaction after using it?

Somewhere in there is the real answer to why men do or do not floss, and brands that understand that psychology are probably much closer to changing the routine than the ones still trying to explain gum disease.