Metal Mouth Message Board

Now that I have springs, bone anchors, rubber bands and a wire also behind my teeth, I think it's time for a water flosser. Just too much in there to floss very well. I'm asking for suggestions on the best water flosser.....thanks for your help.

You'll get many recommendations. I use WaterPik, the waterflosser model with great results. I've had mine for nearly 9 years, used daily and still going strong.

The WaterPik Ultimate is a good choice. Alternatively, you can use the Redi/QuickBreeze sold by the sponsor of this website, DentiKit.

The WaterPik is a standalone appliance, the 'Breeze a gadget that goes inline with the aerator on your faucet.

Both take some practice; the key is to NOT point the stream into your gums. Point it perpendicular to your tooth surface near the gumline, and let the "side-splash" clean out your sulcus (the "V" between your gums and your tooth.) Loosely hold your lips around the tip to keep from spraying water everywhere and just let the water dribble out into the sink.

Thanks for the tips! I really wanted to get a cordless one, but not sure if they will work as well.

One thing to note, Water Pik offers "orthodontic" tips for their machine. These have bristles at the end of the tip as opposed to the bare pointy plastic of the regular tip. The tips with the bristles are much easier to use on your braces. You can buy them separately, my Water Pik Ultimate came with one orthodontic tip, but I bought a couple of extra as they wear down eventually.

Nelly13 wrote:Thanks for the tips! I really wanted to get a cordless one, but not sure if they will work as well.

I got a cordless Pana-Sonic (the dash is to avoid the spam filter) to use at work or when out and about. While not rechargable (though you can use rechargable batteries), it's a lot more portable than the WaterPik-branded model.

From the looks of it there are three main types of flossers. The big nonportable type, like Waterpik, the portable one, like Sonicare and the non electric version that you can attach directly to your showerhead and is cheaper than the others.
Choose the one that fits your needs the best.

Just my 2cents - from what I understand, the portable water flossers aren't really strong enough to do a good job for braces. That's what I've heard from a number of people over the years.

I use waterpik at home and portable stays in my purse lol

Invested in one today. I hope it goes well.. I see mix reviews on it but I'm a bit afraid of flossing since having surgery 4 days ago.

I have a Pana-sonic water flosser, works beautifully, actually tested it by flossing after using it, not one speck of food left

Only concern for me is the water tank doesnt hold a lot of water, takes 5 or so refills sometimes to completely clean the gunk out otherwise highly recommended