Knowledge experience with Water Jet Flossers

[John Towill]

I am looking at getting one of these but are they any good? I would appreciate and advice positive of negative. TIA

[Tricky Dicky]

Stand in the shower naked when using it

[The Natural Philosopher]

My dentist said 'dont bother'

[R D S]

If you CBA flossing (like me) i'm sure they are better than nothing, they are effective at dislodging any debris stuck between the teeth.

As for plaque removal, I can't see how they'd be effective.

I use mine largely for cleaning my toothbrush.

[Max Demian]

Interdental tooth picks or brushes will do that.

[Jimmy Stewart ...]

great things get this one very good it blasts all the stuff out from between your teef .......

[Pamela]

They're easier than flossing but don't seem to do as good a job. On the other hand they are less potentially damaging.

I use the top choice below but can't get excited about it.

[Michael Chare]

This website is not very encouraging but there are others that are more so:

I went to the local library to read the Which reports but they have not examined water flossers. They have reviewed electric toothbrushes and the Philips 4300 came out top so I bought one. It is very different from the Oral-B ones that I already own.

[newshound]

+1.

I have some gaps that are difficult with floss or interdentals, my hygenist says they are worth using in that case.

IIRC I have a panasonic. It has three "pressures", I have to turn it down to the low one if I have inflamed gums.

I've occasionally used it on the high setting for cleaning stuff in the workshop.

[Michael Chare]

How much water would you normally use each time you want to floss your teeth?

[Jimmy Stewart ...]

half a tank

[Jimmy Stewart ...]

who could

[Alan J. Wylie]

I bought a Philips Sonicare AirFloss.

I'm not happy. The lower shell is just a tight push fit onto the rest of the body, with an "O" ring seal.

After a while mine stopped working, on opening it up it was wet inside on the electronics circuit board and there was a minty smell from the mouthwash they supply to use in it.

I cleaned it and dried it, it worked again for a while and is now sitting in bits in a margarine tub behind me.

The other possibility is that the flexible tube that feeds the liquid from the pump to the nozzle leaks at one of the connections, but either way it isn't well designed.

Someone else has documented the same problem:

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

Or swallow very fast? I hate floss, makes me feel sick so never bother, but these things can work I understand, but its quite time consuming to position the head and then press the little thingy to clean in the gap. Brian

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

I use a normal toothbrush, my dentist said they can help if you have a bridge to get along the gum line to dislodge food, but I never bothered in fact, and there are, like toothbrushes a bewildering are a of different ones and claims. Another thing a few years ago that was all the rage was the tens machine to help you with pain in muscles etc, well, I did try one and just fond it annoying, not painful, but well, weird. And no I did not try it on toothache. silly. Brian

[Bob Eager]

I use a TENS machine, but not for pain blocking.

I set it to a 2Hz pulse, quite strong. That causes a tense mucsle to loosen up. Got that from the pain clinic.

[Andrew]

Since the usual response here to most problems is 'use an angle grinder', maybe I could suggest getting a KArcher :-)

Andrew

[Gopalan Sampath]

I am using this. Attaches to wash basin tap. no electric power required.

Very effective, but need to be careful about water jet pressure, I mean adjust before use. Otherwise a bit of torn gum and blood in the mouth, but not a scary thing.

[alan_m]

The mains powered ones are OK but inconvenient as you need to use it over a sink and there will be some overspray.

The battery powered ones are C**P compared to the mains powered. Small water tanks and less powerful.

I have both from the same manufacturer and only bought the battery one after the flexi hose on the mains powered one split after many years of use and I mistakenly thought the battery one would be comparable and more convenient.

However its one of those gadgets that gets use early after purchase and less frequent use later.

[alan_m]

Anything will get the thin film of plaque of if you clean your teeth often enough.

They will not remove tartar - but they often don't claim tartar removal

- just that you will end up with less of it if you use the flosser twice a day after brushing.