Waterpik Ultra Water Flosser

More teeth are lost due to gum disease than due to tooth decay!  Nowadays, improved nutrition, the rise of sugar substitutes in gum etc, dimished smoking and better oral health has reflected in stronger teeth with less cavities.  Teeth are still being lost, however, because gums are easily forgotten.  Taking care of the whole mouth necessitates the use of more than just a manual or even an electric toothbrush.  The surfaces between teeth and the tooth surface which lies below the gumline need to be cared for, since it is that area where plaque and the accompanied bacteria can live.  If those areas are cared for, gums look better and do a better job of keeping the teeth firm.  Healthy gums result in a better look and keep teeth longer.

There are several ways of caring for gums.  The obvious one is the use of floss.  This is a great idea, much championed by dentists, but the stark fact is this.  We will floss for a week or so after having been exhorted to floss by dentists, but after about that time, something interrupts our nighttime regime (or we arrive home at 2.30am!), we don’t floss…. and then we don’t floss again until just after the next visit to the dentist!

Various more user-friendly methods of flossing have been invented – there are little D-shaped floss bars, which are quite clever, but usually the flosser buys a pack, works their way through the first pack, then somehow forgets to buy any more…..

There are also teeny little spiky brushes for use after a normal or electric toothbrushes.  Some are made of wire (come in different guages), but I find they have a tendency to bend – any one else find that?

There are now plastic little brushes.  I liked these when they first came out, but they go bald after one or two uses!

There are electric spiky brushes – personally I have no experience of those.  Anyone out there a fan?

So – we come to the water picks.  These really ARE the best way to keep those surfaces clean.  Since there is a stream of water doing the work, it is hygienic, and of course the dentists use the same device and have done so for decades.  They use them because they are far more effective than the physical flossing (almost twice as effective, it is said).  The water cleansing is also massively more effective for those who wear braces, which complicate more physical efforts to keep the area clean.

The Waterpik Ultra Water Flosser is an Amazon best seller.  There are a lot of rave customer reviews.  At current prices, it’s actually pretty cheap relative to the disposable methods discussed above – depending on the size of the family, it would pay for itself pretty quickly.

Click on the image to read more about it or read the reviews.