Teflon tape to seal joints

I wanted to find a way to reflux under inert conditions without drawing silicon grease into the reaction flask. I tried using some Teflon tape in between the joints. This sort of worked, but sort of didn't. When I tested the the seal it held better vacuum than ground glass on ground glass, but unfortunately it was not as good as a greased joint. I tried to make a better seal with a little more pressure. With enough pressure the tape in the joint became translucent, looking as thought it almost would form a perfect seal. With a little more pressure I cracked the glass into millions of little pieces, cutting my hand in several places and making a mess of tiny glass shards in my hood. I do not recommend this method.