The internet is rifled by an endless supply of how-to blogs and vlogs to help us take care of our teeth at-home. But, there is also a lot of misinformation and potentially harmful and futile products floating around the internet.
This inspired us to start our ‘Yay or Nay’ series, where we’ll discuss three of the most-trendiest products that have been promoted as being able to keep our teeth clean, gums healthy and breath fresh, namely, dental scalers, water flossers and tongue cleaners and share whether we believe they should be part of our teeth care regime, or not.
In our first blog, we talked about dental scalers and in this blog, we’ll be covering water flossers.
Let’s dive in!
What Is A Water Flosser? And, What Does It Do?
Water flossing devices vary hugely across the market, some are big and some are small, but they all have the same core functionality, which is, to allow you to spray and direct a stream of water, into the hard-to-reach areas of your mouth (around, in between and behind your teeth and gums).
Water Flossing Is Different To Traditional Flossing
Plaque is a sticky layer that naturally grows on your teeth and gums that contains millions of bacteria. It has a complex structure that matures over time and the longer it’s left there, the more damaging it can be to your gums and teeth.
In order to kill the bacteria found in plaque, we need to physically destroy the structure that makes up plaque and this requires mechanical force and although water floss devices can be somewhat effective, they are not to be relied upon alone to remove the bacteria, between your teeth.
Yay or Nay?
As long a water flosser isn’t used as the sole means of cleaning in between our teeth, it’s a yay.
‘‘A good way to think of it is to imagine using your windscreen wash but without the wipers, the fluid jet will remove some debris but the wipers physically wipe away the dirt. Therefore, using a water floss alongside traditional interdental cleaning (flossing or interdental brushes) is more beneficial than using water floss alone’’ — Rosie Wright, Registered Dental Hygienist.
The Ideal Water Flosser
There are a few good features to look out for in a water flosser — including a slim, easy to use design with a good grip, a 360-degree rotating nozzle to make sure every corner of your mouth can be sprayed clean, multiple operation modes so you can change the pressure setting to best suit you, a re-chargeable stand so you don’t have to worry about wires getting in the way and extra interchangeable nozzles so that family members can use it too.
‘‘I particularly like the Sonicare Airfloss Pro, as it uses water and air together to deliver a short but powerful pulse to help remove plaque bacteria and debris, and leave a fresh and clean feel. It’s super easy to use and I often recommend this to patients who experience persistent gum bleeding from in between their teeth, awkward angles behind molars, fixed retainers and common food trap areas. I always recommend to use it directly after flossing/interdental brushing, never instead of and to make sure that they replace their nozzle every 3 to 6 months ’’ — Rosie Wright, Dental Hygienist.
We Hope You Found This Info Useful!
Hi. We’re the founders of uunn, the digital plaque tracker for your teeth.
The final product that we will be covering as part of this Yay Or Nay series are Tongue Cleaners.
Feel free to reach out to us anytime by emailing hello@uunn.co.uk or sending us a DM on Instagram.
All the best,
Hawaa and Gina.
This article was created with the help of one of uunn’s dental experts, Rosie Wright, to ensure all information is evidence-based.
