I got a Philips Sonicare AirFloss water flosser as a gift and honestly I don't know if it's worth using it every day instead of regular floss. It says it removes plaque better, but it seems like a waste of water to me. Does anyone use one and can tell me if they've actually seen results at the dentist?
A water flosser works well if you use it properly, but it doesn't completely replace dental floss - it's more like an extra tool, especially if you have braces or implants 🦷 I use it like this: water flosser to clean deep and then I floss every so often, and at the dentist visits the difference really shows, less plaque and healthier gums, even though you understand you're wasting some water
It's not a scam, but it's not the magic solution they promise either. I used it for months and honestly it didn't replace floss - if anything it complements it, especially if you have tight spaces or you've had dental work done. What surprised me is that my dentist noticed less tartar, but it's not like it's life-changing. If you use it together with regular floss (not instead of) it works decently, otherwise you're just spending water and electricity to feel like you're cleaning when you're not actually doing the job.
It actually does work, but it really depends on how you use it and your overall oral hygiene habits. I tried it for a while and I noticed the difference especially in the spaces between my back teeth where floss always had a hard time getting to properly - my dentist told me the situation had improved, less tartar and gum inflammation.
But those who say it doesn't completely replace floss have a point, meaning the best thing would probably be to do both if you really have the time, but in practice a lot of people don't. If you have to choose between using only the water flosser and using nothing, go ahead with the water flosser; but if you use floss regularly and want to add this as an extra for hard-to-reach spots, it's actually useful. The water waste honestly isn't that bad - if you use it once a day you're using very little water compared to washing your hands.
The thing is, water flossers do a different job than floss, not better or worse - just different. Floss mechanically removes plaque from the sides of your teeth, while a water flosser cleans out the bigger spaces and what's sitting on the surface - two different things. If you use one instead of the other, you actually lose protection, but using them together (yeah, both of them) is what dentists actually recommend, especially if you have wide gaps or gum problems.
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