Has anyone got a water flosser?

[Swoopy]

Any recs? I usually use those little floss picks. Dentist is encouraging me to use the little brushes but I find them fiddly.

Just coming on to add, I see some pp are talking about it being too powerful. Mine has a button that alters the power from high, normal to soft. I’m also in my 40’s with no fillings. I never could be arsed with normal flossing but the water flosser is brilliant. My dentist said they are good but no better than normal flossing/ interdental brushes. However, from an ease point of view they are way better imo.

Same here. My hygienist doesn’t recommend them for general daily use. Did say I could use it for a very hard to reach area but in general use floss.

I have a cheap one from Lidl. It's OK but too messy and annoying to use every day. I must admit though I don't floss every day either

I have sensitive gums/prone to gum disease and I am supposed to have deep cleans at the dentist every 6 months which is expensive and not that comfortable so I don't go as often as I should. I tend to use floss whenever I remember and then once every few weeks I'll fill up the water pik with some warm water and a splash of hydrogen peroxide and go around the gum line at a sort of diagonal angle, to blast stuff out where they are a bit loose - if your gums are irritated, it's likely that you have gunk and bits of rotting food in there which is what causes the gums to get infected. The deep dentist cleans are the only thing which properly keeps this under control for me though.

It does seem to help. It's not a replacement for flossing or the hygienist, and proper flossing is the best thing to do but it's definitely better than nothing. I used to buy these sort of pointy brushes recommended by my previous dentist, which she had shown me how to clean under the gum line with, but I haven't seen them anywhere for ages and you just can't get under the gum line with anything on the market now.

I've been deinflienced. Which I'm pleased about because they're big and ugly really
I'll stick to normal floss, superfloss and interdental sticks !

I really think people who are saying they're messy or should only be used in the shower are not using them correctly. I can use mine wearing makeup and good clothes and not get any water on me.

I make no mess with mine either

I have this one too.

I'm amazed at how much is still in there and I brush my teeth 2-3 times a day.

It's made a huge difference to me, my mouth constantly feels clean and fresh. I highly recommend them!

Me, love it - have narrow gaps and an expensive implant that I care for like a baby. I floss, use tippee sticks and brush still the waterpik finds little bits. Both my hygienist and my dentist thoroughly approve. Both adult DDs have them now. Goes ages between charge as well.

I reckon dentists and hygenists get paid to recommend those horrible little plastic brushes with a metal core, that scratch your gums then fall apart,
and I reckon they aren’t allowed by their managers to recommend anything else. My dentist is always telling me how fab they are and giving me free samples but I have tried them many times and in my opinion they are utter crap: bad for gums, bad for teeth and ineffective

I (very gently) use a range of metal scrapers, similar to what the hygenist uses but I also want a water flosser

If you think about it, when you have a hygenist appointment age doesn’t use teepee brushes eh. She uses water and metal.

I've only been to a hygienist once. She was trying to floss teeth that were a bridge.

Mine uses brushes at my appointment but she likes the tapered ones
She says she doesn't care what I use as long as I am cleaning between my teeth and under the gum

These

amzn.eu/d/75Y9iBL

I bet you can eat soup wearing a white blouse too

These are the kind of brushes my old dentist used to get me to use - I no longer live in the UK and can't find them here. But they are good if you have irritated gums and want to clean underneath them without bothering them too much.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pieces-Toothbrush-Interspace-Brushes-Cleaning/dp/B08MJC79X4/

I'm a hygienist and even I don't use my metal instruments in my own mouth.
I definitely don't get paid to recommend anything (would be nice if I did!).

The fact is everyone is different. And everyone's susceptibility to gum disease and decay is different.

I have a patient aged 96 who has only ever brushed once a day with a manual toothbrush and has never cleaned in between their teeth. They have all their teeth and no gum disease.
Then I have patients in their 40s whose teeth are very loose from gum disease despite them using an electric toothbrush, floss, brushes and waterpik.

I'll always give people advice on what will help them lower their risk of gum disease/decay etc. If people don't want to take my advice then it really doesn't affect me at all. It's not my teeth it's theirs. So I'm never really sure why people think I'm giving them advice for some reason other than to help them. If their teeth all fall out it doesn't affect my life one bit. I just have one less patient. But there's always plenty more to take that space.