Is A Water Pick Better Than Flossing?
The foundation of a healthy and happy smile is conditioning yourself to clean your mouth daily the right way. Other than a nice-looking grin, keeping care of your oral health will help keep away a variety of possible painful and annoying health issues (both dental and non-dental related). The main components of a good oral hygiene regimen includes brushing twice daily, flossing, and regular trips to the dentist twice yearly. One more factor that helps dictate a good oral regimen is choosing the right tools for the job. Brushing is a wonderful way to keep your teeth clean and healthy, but flossing is needed to reach the nooks and crannies that the toothbrush bristles just can’t hit.
This brings up the question of which is better: a water pick or regular flossing. The short answer is: flossing has been shown to be more effective at removing hidden plaque in your teeth’ crevices than using a water pick, however, a water pick can be the better choice for your individual needs depending on your specific situation. To find out what’s right for you, let’s break down what a water pick is and who it can be useful for.
What Is A Water Pick?
A Water Pick (otherwise known as a water jet or oral irrigator) is a dental device designed to eject a strong & compact stream of water to wash away loose food particles and bacteria. It is useful for reducing bleeding and cleaning hard-to-reach gum areas. As mentioned earlier, it is not as effective as flossing, this is because it cannot always quite reach the same spaces or same functionality as traditional flossing. Water Picks also tend to be more expensive than traditional dental floss.
Why Use A Water Pick?
The condition of your oral health, along with outside health conditions can make a water pick more suitable and more comfortable for your needs. If you are willing to sacrifice some effectiveness for comfortability, a water pick is probably the choice for you. It is, after all, a better choice than not using any flossing tool at all.
Some reasons you may consider a water pick over traditional flossing:
- Have particularly sensitive gums
- Received non removable dental work such as dental implants or bridges
- Received crown placements on multiple teeth
- Easier movement for people with muscle-related issues such as arthritis or carpal tunnel in their hands/arms.
- You refuse to use traditional flossing methods for any other reason (maybe you just hate flossing the regular way)
Conclusion: Choosing What’s Best For You
Before making any major change in your dental hygiene routine, we suggest consulting with your dentist so they can help you with anything you are curious about. We highly recommend traditional flossing, but choosing a dental routine that you can stay consistent with is the number one priority to keeping yourself on track to a happy and healthy mouth.