You’ve flossed your teeth and are putting final touches on your makeup when you get an alert letting you know your stress is off the charts.

In a brilliant twist on multitasking, scientists at Tufts University say they have created a dental floss with that can sense and measure the stress hormone cortisol in saliva.

And it does so with extreme accuracy. Down to forty-eight thousandths of picograms (PEE-koh-gram) per milliliter. A picogram, in case you were wondering, is one-trillionth of a gram.

While the product is in its infancy, smart floss could be a game-changer in stress testing. Chronic stress is a big health problem. It contributes to heart disease, mental health issues and weakens immunity.

Doctors typically measure a patient’s stress with psychiatric tests or questionnaires. But some become nervous around doctors and the results aren’t necessarily scientific.

For a more exact measure, the gold standard recommendation is for a patient to take a blood test. While accurate, that’s hardly convenient.

Here’s how the floss works: The FDA-approved suture thread contains tiny molecular templates designed to recognize cortisol. When cortisol binds to them, it alters the sensor’s electrical signal.

In its current state, the signal goes to a small portable device for analysis. For consumers, a much smaller version of the device must be developed. And it needs to be tested by home users, rather than in a lab.

Still, the researchers believe smart floss could someday be used to screen for a host of health issues from the comfort of our bathroom. And that kind of convenience is a stress buster.