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Product Review: Waterpik water flosser
I came across Waterpik’s water flosser while at the California Dental Association convention in Anaheim a couple years ago, and decided to write a review on it since someone asked me before about whether or not he should invest in it. My first impression of the water flosser is that there are too many tips (6 total) and it was confusing, even for me. However, for the average person who has relatively healthy gingiva (gums), the only tip she really needs is the classic jet tip. I have been using the water flosser for a couple years now, and I find that there are advantages and disadvantages to it. The prime advantage is that the water flosser actually does a good job of removing plaque, and it seems to be even better than conventional floss. The different tips could also prove to be useful for specific patients. For example, I have seen numerous cases where an orthodontic patient (patient with braces) comes in for a general checkup and there is severe plaque build-up because the patient cannot adequately clean the brackets and braces. They would definitely benefit from using the orthodontic tip. Patients with periodontal pockets deeper than normal may also potentially benefit from using the pik pocket tip to clean within the pockets. As for the tongue cleaning tip, I like how it thoroughly removes the plaque, and it could be even more efficient than the toothbrush at it, but most likely a toothbrush is sufficient to clean the tongue unless the patient has abnormally large papilla (the tiny bumps on your tongue) which makes cleaning difficult.
Now that I have mentioned all the advantages of the water flosser, what are some of the disadvantages? For one, I find that the water flosser can easily splash water everywhere and make a mess if one is not careful. I also find the water flosser has a bit of a learning curve. When I asked the salesperson how long does it takes to use the water flosser, he told me one minute. However, I timed myself and found that it took 5 minutes the first few weeks I used it. My time eventually decreased to 1-2 minutes after I became familiar with it. That is similar to the time required for me to use conventional floss. Because of the time required to use the water flosser initially, one may need to stand up straight and have proper posture to prevent back problems.
One may wonder if the water flosser is a good investment. My answer is most people would benefit from the water flosser. Personally, I notice the amount of plaque is visibly less after I switched from using conventional floss to the water flosser, even though my hygiene was already fairly meticulous prior to using the water flosser.