Does anyone have a Waterpik (water flosser)?

[cransplash]

My mom flosses her teeth so much that I feel like her mouth looks like skeleton teeth. I floss 2x/day (morning and night), but I'm already prone to bad teeth (long story).

We usually use Glide floss, but I'm wondering if a waterpik is that much better? If anyone can weigh in, that'd be great.

This is what we're looking at (on sale at Costco for $56): www.amazon.com/Waterpik-WP-900-Flosser-Toothbrush-Complete/dp/B0095IMNI0/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1392408428&sr=8-4&keywords=waterpik

[rageragerage]

I love mine! My dentist says that my teeth look great from using my Waterpik just once a day.

[spunkarella]

I'm interested in these responses too. Follow up question if you don't mind: does it feel better than flossing?

My teeth are cramped and the "pop" when pulling the floss out of my teeth makes my skin crawl. I hate it. Will the waterpik help with that and make me want to floss more often?

[Deleted]

I have one and have been using for years. I brush, water pik, and then Floss...twice a day. This is the order provided by dentist.

I love it, and now, when I skip a step (like the water pik when I forget to charge the battery) I don't feel as fresh.

[Deleted]

I actually just bought one from Costco this week. I am still getting the hang of it but my mouth does feel cleaner than when I floss.

[kirby]

I love mine, my mouth feels thoroughly clean using this.

[peachdragon]

Feb 14, 2014 15:26:41 GMT -5 spunkarella said:

I'm interested in these responses too. Follow up question if you don't mind: does it feel better than flossing?

My teeth are cramped and the "pop" when pulling the floss out of my teeth makes my skin crawl. I hate it. Will the waterpik help with that and make me want to floss more often?

Do you mean will a Waterpik make your teeth spread apart? No.

I really like my Waterpik.  I hate flossing.  

[jenn248]

My grandma got us all that same Waterpik for Christmas. I like it quite a bit and I cannot stand flossing with normal dental floss (spunkarella, I know exactly what you mean - that popping makes me cringe).

[h]

Feb 14, 2014 16:29:37 GMT -5 @songforyou said:

Feb 14, 2014 15:09:02 GMT -5 cransplash said:

My mom flosses her teeth so much that I feel like her mouth looks like skeleton teeth.

What?  Is this a thing?  What does it mean? I go through spurts where I am a seriously frequent flosser.  I am in one right now, don't make me nervous.

rageragerage, do you still floss in combination?  Also, is that a cat in your signature?

I, too, am going to need more information about this skeleton tooth issue. Too much flossing can do bad things for my teeth? This is very concerning to me!

[Brie]

caramia

[spunkarella]

Feb 14, 2014 17:18:07 GMT -5 peachdragon said:

Feb 14, 2014 15:26:41 GMT -5 spunkarella said:

I'm interested in these responses too. Follow up question if you don't mind: does it feel better than flossing?

My teeth are cramped and the "pop" when pulling the floss out of my teeth makes my skin crawl. I hate it. Will the waterpik help with that and make me want to floss more often?

Do you mean will a Waterpik make your teeth spread apart? No.

I really like my Waterpik.  I hate flossing.  

No, I mean will I hate the feeling of the waterpik less than I hate the feel of floss? I should have said will I want to use it more often than I want to floss? I know actual flossing will always suck, haha. 

[rikki]

Does it hurt? Despite flossing all the time, my gums are super sensitive and I'm afraid it will be painful.

[peachdragon]

Feb 14, 2014 21:55:09 GMT -5 spunkarella said:

Feb 14, 2014 17:18:07 GMT -5 peachdragon said:

Do you mean will a Waterpik make your teeth spread apart? No.

I really like my Waterpik.  I hate flossing.  

No, I mean will I hate the feeling of the waterpik less than I hate the feel of floss? I should have said will I want to use it more often than I want to floss? I know actual flossing will always suck, haha. 

Yes! Definitely. 

[peachdragon]

My doctor used to clean out my ears with a waterpik. Lol.

[RoxMonster]

I had to use a Water Pik when I was a teenager and had braces because it was so hard brushing well (and impossible to use regular floss). I didn't enjoy using it, but I was also a 13-year-old, and I think that had a lot to do with it. I remember it did a good job of cleaning between my braces though

[caramia17]

So, flossing (or use of interdental brushes--little bottle-like brushes--for larger spaces) is best for removal of plaque interproximally. Plaque is a biofilm (think algae slime inside a garden hose/at the bottom of a fountain) and mechanical disruption is the only way to remove the film.

If you can't or won't floss, a Waterpik can be helpful as an intermediate effort. Maybe try alternating flossing and Waterpik every other night. Research shows that meticulous plaque removal every 48h is enough to keep gingivitis at bay. The thing is, most of us are not perfect (present company included) with our hygiene efforts, so brushing /flossing more often is necessary.

OP, when you say "skeleton teeth", so you mean the teeth have black triangles in between where you would normally see papillae (pink triangles of gum)?

[megstoo]

I bought a waterpik about a year ago and my dentist said it'll make all the difference in the gums and the next visit will be simple.. he was right.

I use the waterpik only at night and started with the most gently setting since my gums were sensitive. My 2nd appointment there was basically NO scraping because of using it.

Since I've used the waterpik I haven't used actual floss.

[cransplash]

Feb 15, 2014 16:48:59 GMT -5 caramia17 said:

So, flossing (or use of interdental brushes--little bottle-like brushes--for larger spaces) is best for removal of plaque interproximally. Plaque is a biofilm (think algae slime inside a garden hose/at the bottom of a fountain) and mechanical disruption is the only way to remove the film.

If you can't or won't floss, a Waterpik can be helpful as an intermediate effort. Maybe try alternating flossing and Waterpik every other night. Research shows that meticulous plaque removal every 48h is enough to keep gingivitis at bay. The thing is, most of us are not perfect (present company included) with our hygiene efforts, so brushing /flossing more often is necessary.

OP, when you say "skeleton teeth", so you mean the teeth have black triangles in between where you would normally see papillae (pink triangles of gum)?

Yes

[caramia17]

cransplash Black triangles are usually related to 2 things: shape of teeth and therefore the position of the contact point and the height of the bone interproximally.

If the distance from the contact point to he bone height is 5mm or less, a papilla is almost always present. This drops precipitously as that distance increases (70% at 6mm, less than 50% at 7mm).

People with triangular teeth have contact points located at the incisal (top) edge and are more prone to black triangles. Black triangles can also be a sign of interproximal bone loss, or periodontal disease. Patients with periodontal disease are in some ways susceptible to attachment (gum and bone loss) with less plaque than other people, so flossing more would actually be recommended for them.

I recommend that you see a periodontist if you feel you are starting to lose papillae. PM me if you have questions or want recs on how to find a Board Certified Periodontist where you are.

[flatlan]

Thanks for the rec @rock-n-Voll! I just ordered the kiddy version.

[Deleted]

Thanks to this tread I bought one yesterday. MM is expensive this week lol.

[rageragerage]

Feb 14, 2014 16:29:37 GMT -5 @songforyou said:

Feb 14, 2014 15:09:02 GMT -5 cransplash said:

My mom flosses her teeth so much that I feel like her mouth looks like skeleton teeth.

What?  Is this a thing?  What does it mean? I go through spurts where I am a seriously frequent flosser.  I am in one right now, don't make me nervous.

rageragerage, do you still floss in combination?  Also, is that a cat in your signature?

I don't usually floss if I use the pik.

not my cat, would love for it to be.  I'd knit it a sweater and cover up his cat boobs.