Metal Mouth Message Board

I am getting my braces put on May 15th. I am wondering if anyone uses a water flosser. I currently use one and the dentist says I have good oral hygiene. Matter of fact, I rarely use regular floss anymore. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Jennifer

I just use floss. Had an adjustment yesterday and my ortho said I have excellent hygiene. A lot of people use water flossers though. Personal preference.

I get my braces on 3 weeks today (Did I mention that already?!) I'm going to invest in the Waterpik (the smaller one) and travel case...found reasonably priced ones on Amazon.

Yes. Lots of us use Water Pik oral irrigators. They're not really a substitute for actual floss (you should still use real floss at least once a day), but are really great for getting out stuff that your toothbrush misses, especially if you have extra appliances like palatal expanders etc. There's a lot of discussion about them in the Dental Do Dads section of the forum.

I bought a waterpik (I dont have my braces on yet, (on next week)) but i do have an appliance (upper lingual arch and nance, and molar bands) and it is awesome for cleaning in between that and I couldn't live without it

Yes, I also floss and use the waterpik, mouth has never felt so clean and fresh! hehe

Yep I have a WaterPik. I use it like 3 or 4 times a day, and it's GREAT to get the stuff out of your braces. I floss once a day though with real floss.

I got the Waterpik Ultra. I really like it and its easier to use than I thought it would be. I'm all thumbs and it is really a cinch.

I have the waterpik Ultra too also, does anyone know if you can get like a mini waterpik to take to work etc? I dont want to lug my big one with me but would be handy to have one at work!

thanks

Conventional wisdom says it can't replace regular flossing. However I (and other people from what I've read) have used waterpiks exclusively without floss and maintained excellent oral hygiene according to the dentist. Anecdotal evidence aside, I would assume if you go for one teeth cleaning period using just a waterpik and your dentist approves of the state of your oral hygiene - then it is ok.

I wouldn't think it works if you have current perio problems though.

An employee at my ortho told me she never flossed, just used the WP. haha

I use a waterpik, and then one of those small in-between the teeth brushes that I dip in the purple Listerine -- which my hygeinist recommended. She asked me about my flossing routine when I first started at the practice, and at the time it was just the waterpik. She was about to launch into her "flossing lecture" but caught herself and said that whatever I was doing was really working, but suggested the brush to physically disrupt congealing plaque. So I added it to the routine. As this routine grows I expect one day to end up spending an entire day on mouth maintenance. Sick.
Dan

I use a waterflosser. I still use floss though. But I find the waterfloss gets out some nasty little bits that normal floss and brushing doesn't. My dentist said that my gum health has improved since I started using it too.

I would highly recommend a Pan*^*nic one. My battery life lasts for ages - over a week even used twice a day. I tried the original Waterpik but thought it was rubbish compared to the one I use now.
If you are interested you can see the exact one I use on my blog (link below).

I use a water flosser after meals and brush teeth. It is the water pik ultra. I use floss, water pik, brush and mouth wash at bedtime. I also use a SPAMTRONIC SPAMSONIC SPAMONAIDE SPAMSTER SPAM SPAMINATOR portable water flosser for travel. I started using the waterpik about a month before I had my braces. It is great you get to keep the smooth clean feeling behind your teeth that you get after a cleaning.

[quote="Chicken"]I use a water flosser after meals and brush teeth. It is the water pik ultra. I use floss, water pik, brush and mouth wash at bedtime. I also use a SPAMTRONIC SPAMSONIC SPAMONAIDE SPAMSTER SPAM SPAMINATOR portable water flosser for travel. I started using the waterpik about a month before I had my braces. It is great you get to keep the smooth clean feeling behind your teeth that you get after a cleaning.[/quote]

Lol well as you can see I am brand new! That would be a p@n@s0nik :-D