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Flossing daily is as important as brushing our teeth twice per day. Toothbrushes can't reach areas between teeth and plaque on those spots can cause more damage than plaque on surface (which is cleaned by a toothbrush).
I'd say water flossers are on average 20% more efficient than ordinary dental floss (which isn't much). But, they are much more fun to use and can improve our habits drastically. I use Waterpik, which is the most known brand for oral irrigators.
I have a 5 crown fixed bridge, there is a splint between the crowns holding them together, I have to use a threader to floss. I use a water pik instead, best thing I ever did, my gums are healthier and I don't have nasty morning breath.
I agree that the Waterpik Ultra Flosser does a much better job than string floss. I have numerous crowns and several areas where there is space between the teeth and have a heck of a time after eating trying to remove food particles with string floss.
The pulsating water from the Waterpik actually feels good on my gums and am so glad I went that route.
I have two water flosses, a stationary one and a portable one. They both work great, but I don't think that they can replace regular dental floss. Water floss is unable to get very deep into the gums if you have pockets. With regular floss it is easy to get as deep as you want in important areas and by sliding it in and out to wipe off the whole build-up. It's best to use both – water and dental floss.
We are also avid string + water flossers at our house. I have seen a statistic that about 80% of people don't string floss, and probably never will. We have many friends who never string floss but they seem to not mind water flossing and have had very good results.
Yes; we use Sonicare water flosser. Before that older model Waterpik which was messier to use. Good checkups over just floss is what we got with them ;so it works for us.
I use it twice a day at least after my lunch and dinner (don't eat breakfast usually, maybe a plain Greek yogurt if I'm hungry). It knocks a lot of food out from between my teeth so I assume it's worthwhile. Plus I would floss otherwise except for a dental pick/flosser pick which only do so much.
Drawback to my unit is how LOUD it is. I even use it at the lowest setting and it is a noise pollutant.
At first, the thing made my gums bleed which is a sign that I wasn't flossing and I had early periodontal disease (no loose teeth, and my gums are pink with firmness, and my breath wasn't offensive either). Now they don't bleed anymore. I'm scheduled for the third of my four quad deep cleanings next month. I'm praying using this flosser keeps me from having more cavities and plaque next time!
I've been using the Sonicare water flosser for years. Except I put mouthwash in it. I go for cleanings twice a yr. and always have stellar reports on my gums. Then I tell them I never floss like they tell you, just use the Sonicare. They can't believe it.
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