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I have been reading the odd post saying that Waterpiks have been used with braces. However, my ortho never reccomended one. He said brush after every meal, floss daily, use salt water rinses, maintain good oral hygene, etc.
I don't use one and I just got a great report from dental hygeniest after my first cleaning since being braced. Many people swear by theirs. Personal preference I presume. Same goes for the electric toothbrush. Not necessarily a must have. I use a manual one and all is well.
It is not necessary but I can tell you, once you have one you will wonder how you ever got along without one. When I am at home and I have just eaten, I just go in the bathroom and blast all that stuff out of my teeth. It sort of does half the job of flossing and half the job of brushing in one step. I don't bother brushing after lunch with the waterpik. I just use that. Then in the early evening after dinner I use it and then I don't brush until I am ready to go to bed. So my routine is
breakfast - Waterpik, brush
Lunch - waterpik if home, brush if not
Dinner - waterpik
Bedtime - waterpik (If i have had a snack), floss, brush.
Will it make your life easier? Yes! 30 seconds with a waterpik, and I'm assured that there is no food stuck in my braces that will come back to haunt me later.
