Waterpik flosser

[Sekiseishi]

I'm kinda hesitant to start a new thread since this concerns the waterpik, but I'd like to ask if anyone else has used other brands of water-flossers. Like Hydrofloss, Interplak, Glacier Floss, Water Jet, Redibreeze, Viajet, etc. etc. etc. I wanna know how they stand up to Waterpik and if anyone can give me pros to each. I'm pulled between the Waterpik, the Hydrofloss, and then something like the Redibreeze which hooks straight to the faucet instead of having a reservoir. I realize the pros of having the reservoir is adding things like hydrogen peroxide or listerine to the water for a better clean (my mom uses straight H2O2 in place of mouth wash and it does wonders for her, but the taste makes me absolutely yack). I keep reading that the reservoirs leak or the handles break on the Hydrofloss and Waterpik units, though. Has anyone here had that kind of problem? Or has anyone actually used more than one of the aforementioned units and can make a viable comparison? I'm super excited to get one because I want my dentist to say "good job!" once all the work is done! I don't know why I vie so hard for that .... I like praise.

 

[Jaylah]

Well, this is as close as I could find.

At least in this one, they aren't using fake teeth, and they do show doing the back sides of the gums, too.

However, the person in this video has perfect teeth with no gaps at all.

I suppose it's practically impossible to really show how to do the back sides in a real mouth. You'd almost need some sort of a super-miniature camera where you could get the camera and the Waterpik into the mouth at the same time.

If I had a video camera, I'd go take a video of my mother using hers. She never makes any mess at all. Her big suggestion is just to keep your head down over the basin. I think she's like the person in this video and doesn't have any spaces, either.

From looking at the various styles, I think I'm glad I have an old, counter-top model. The cordless ones seem so big I think I'd find them a lot more awkward to use. And if you have to keep the thing oriented so the tank remains upright, I've no doubt I'd be making 10 times the mess I am now.

 

[carole]

I find that most people use the waterpik, I don't think it really matters which make, I think that is down to personal preference. The action will be pretty much the same, a jet of water battering any left overs out of those gum pockets.

Carys if you turn the nozzle for the bottom inside it's easier although as you know I am still having fun and games with mine, I don't think there is a dignified way to use these instruments that have a mind of their own.

Sekiseisha, I usually fill mine up 4 times as well, the 45 seconds means the amount of time the water pumps out of it not the time it works before you need to re-charge. The charge lasts quite a while. I don't find it any bother to fill it up more than once. I don't usually add anything to the water but if the mood takes me I may add a bit of mouth wash, you don't have to. I don't know about the other models you are asking about. I did look all over the internet before I bought mine and I did look in some shops to try figure out which one to get. In the end the price also played a part, because I thought if it was going to be a passing fad I was not going to make it too expensive.

Jaylah keeping the tank upright is the least of my problems, they aren't that bad to hold, as they are shaped, and the switches are not hard to push. Whatever the make or model as long as we make the effort and keep trying then we will become as expert as your mother.

 

[Jaylah]

Whatever the make or model as long as we make the effort and keep trying then we will become as expert as your mother.

Speaking solely for myself, fat chance of that.

I think she had the hang of using hers on her second try, and she's been using one for decades.

I have a sneaking suspicion I'll be wiping the bathroom down every day from now on. But, as I said, if it keeps me from ever having to have another deep scaling/root planing done, I'm in!

 

[carole]

Is everyone making progress with the waterpik or are there bathrooms around the world with wet floors ?

 

[Jaylah]

I'm getting a bit better, I think. I'm just having to wipe down the vanity counter and faucet handles now. (Not the walls, mirror and floors as before.)

But I have got to say that I have immense respect for those of you with the cordless models. Mine holds at least a pint of water, and I often end up refilling it at least part way to finish. It takes me a good 4 or 5 minutes to do what I think is a good job. If I had to keep refilling it every 45 seconds, I'm sure I'd get far too frustrated and abandon my good intentions entirely.

 

[carole]

Practice makes perfect.

 

[kitkat]

My opinion is that these work very well in theory. They are just so dang difficult to use! I have a waterpik with a reservoir and cord that attaches to the probe thing with different head attachments. It is very difficult to control, it seems like even the lowest setting really pushes the water out forcefully and you have to hold down a button to keep it off but it's very sensitive and it sprays everywhere anyway. I need a poncho to use it and like the others have said, the bathroom gets a good rinse too! lol Whenever I first turn it on, water inevitably shoots in every direction (the walls, the mirror, ceiling, counter, floor, me and not my mouth....) until I can get a handle on it and it's loud. I don't use it very often but it does a great job when I do use it. I never need to refill the reservoir though which is one advantage...not sure how much it holds...uhmm...2 or 3 cups probably

 

[Jaylah]

Makes me really glad I have such an old one. Mine doesn't have the button on the handle part. There's just an off and on switch on the base. I make sure the head is firmly in my mouth before I turn it on.

 

[kitkat]

Makes me really glad I have such an old one. Mine doesn't have the button on the handle part. There's just an off and on switch on the base. I make sure the head is firmly in my mouth before I turn it on.

That's probably a better option. Sometimes it's impossible to hit the off button on the handle at the angle you have to hold it at in your mouth. I usually end up holding the handle with 2 hands! One to angle it and one to hold the on/off switch, not that it makes things any easier! It's the most awkward device I've ever used! I wonder how much testing these products really get before they are released to the consumer market!

 

[Carys]

WARNING !! I had a waterpik accident today. I have been using it on the higher setting for the last few weeks and accidentally aimed it to the back of my throat whilst trying to find the off switch. Flippin heck, I don't want that happening again, jet washing your soft palate, 'dangly bit' and tonsils does NOT feel nice. Actually, after stopping gagging for long enough to look in the mirror, I found I had some bright red lines across the back of my throat and 'dangly bit' and found it hard to swallow for 1/2 hour.

 

[carole]

I am rolling all over laughing at this sorry. Have you not noticed how powerful it is when it hits the shower curtain or walls, try it on your hand, mind you I think you know now.

I can't stop laughing you're like a one woman disaster unit. Only you could get yourself into this pickle. I'll send you some of these for your throat while

 

[Jaylah]

Oh dear, the part that's now got me almost falling off my chair laughing so hard is that I didn't bat an eye when I read "how powerful it is when it hits the shower curtain or walls." Like, we just assume that water is going to be hitting the shower curtain and walls when these things are powered up.

Now my mother (you remember, the world's most perfect WaterPikker) would have looked at that and been confused. She'd have thought, "But why would you aim a WaterPik at the shower curtain or wall?" As if we were doing it on purpose.

I'm actually getting better at it. (Mostly by learning to basically stick my head in the basin while using it.) I've pretty much learned to contain things, other than the water that drips down my elbow.



The one that's driving me batty now is my new SoniCare toothbrush. The flippin' thing just turns itself off after two minutes and I'm finding it a bit disconcerting to be brushing away at my teeth and then my toothbrush just stops.

Supposedly it has this "Easy-Start brushing power ramp-up" which means that "brushing power will gently increase to full power over the first 12 brushings." So, if you turn it back on when it stops, and leave it on for 30 seconds or more, that causes it to count as a brushing.

I don't honestly understand why anybody needs that function. I mean, it's not like a WaterPik that, if you start out with it on full power, you're going to fillet your gums. But who am I to disagree and if my dentist was nice enough to give me this expensive gadget, maybe I should follow the directions it came with. But once the "Easy-Start brushing power ramp-up" period is done, then I can just hit the button when the silly thing turns off if I don't feel I'm done brushing.

Although, to be honest, I wish that feature was optional and there was a way to turn it off. I suppose it's a good thing for people who normally only spend 30 seconds brushing, but for those of us who brush for more than 2 minutes, it's rather annoying to have your toothbrush just stop in the middle like that.

 

[Carys]

Have you not noticed how powerful it is when it hits the shower curtain or walls, try it on your hand, mind you I think you know now.

YES !!! I have noticed, it wasn't deliberate Carole Honestly, it was at that point where you have finished and are struggling to switch it off and can't manage because of the angle it is at, so you try to turn it and get to it. I tell you what, the thing is, I try to turn it off without taking it out of my mouth because otherwise it shoots round the bathroom and in my eyes etc. I need to find a safe way to end the whole waterpik procedure.

 

[Carys]

I mean, it's not like a WaterPik that, if you start out with it on full power, you're going to fillet your gums.

That IS funny !!!! Fillet your gums.....lol

I tell you what, even I am confused about your expensive soni-care-ramp-up-gadget-brush after reading your account of it.

 

[Carys]

Oh dear, the part that's now got me almost falling off my chair laughing so hard is that I didn't bat an eye when I read "how powerful it is when it hits the shower curtain or walls." Like, we just assume that water is going to be hitting the shower curtain and walls when these things are powered up.

Now my mother (you remember, the world's most perfect WaterPikker) would have looked at that and been confused. She'd have thought, "But why would you aim a WaterPik at the shower curtain or wall?" As if we were doing it on purpose.

 

[Jaylah]

I tell you what, even I am confused about your expensive soni-care-ramp-up-gadget-brush after reading your account of it.

Well, Carys, it basically has two "features" on it that I find annoying.

The first one is the "ramp up" one. I guess SoniCare has determined that when people first start using these things, they are disturbed by using them at full power. (Why? Beats the snot out of me!) So the stupid toothbrush starts out at much lower power and then, everytime you use it for 30 seconds or more, it "ramps up" to a bit more power the next time. After you've used it 12 times, it's at full power and stays there.

But the one that's most annoying to me is that the dumb thing turns itself off after 2 minutes of brushing. The rationale for that one is that most people don't brush long enough. Okay, I get that and it's probably great that the brush has a timer built in to let you know when the 2 minutes are up. But why couldn't it just beep after 2 minutes or something? I'm just having a merry old time, brushing away, paying special attention to behind my back molars and the teeth where I have deeper periodontal pockets and all of the sudden my toothbrush just quits. And as many times as I've gone through this, there's always that split-second of mental confusion when my brain just kind of goes "Huh?"

Fine, tell me when my 2 minutes is over. But don't just stop!

 

[carole]

Carys I don't understand why you are contorting yourself trying to turn the blasted waterpik off. Blasted

The heads turn so you don't have to. SILLY BILLY

Jaylah your brush would drive me nuts turning off after 2 mins. Can you turn it back on after a few seconds. Annnndddd
why don't you trick it by turning it on when you are not using it, then it would think it had done 12 times and stay on full power. Simples

 

[Jaylah]

Jaylah your brush would drive me nuts turning off after 2 mins. Can you turn it back on after a few seconds.

Oh, you can turn it back on right away. It's just that I'm not used to a brush that turns itself off, and I am blonde, so I still get that "Huh?" moment when it does it. I'm sure that, eventually, I'll get used to it. I'm just still at that new stage with it where I'm still disconcerted by it every time it happens.

Annnndddd
why don't you trick it by turning it on when you are not using it, then it would think it had done 12 times and stay on full power. Simples

You can do that. You have to leave it running for 30 seconds for it to think it's done a brushing. Or, in the instructions, it even tells you how to turn that feature off. (I suppose for those who are just replacing their old SoniCare brush.)

But I think it's sort of like how a WaterPik has different pressure settings. If you were just starting out using one, and you turned it to 9, it would HURT! Whereas, if you start at a lower setting and gently work your way up the settings, eventually you can use them at a 9 and not even think about it.


I did a bit of checking on the internet, and the model my dentist gave me normally sells for around $100 (£63). So I guess I just sort of figure that if my dentist was going to just give me something that expensive, the least I could do would be to follow the directions.


(Although, having said that, it isn't really my dentist that gave it to me. SoniCare gave it to him at no cost, to give to me.)

Anyway, if I brush twice per day, it's only 6 days that it's going to cycle up like that. But it's always going to stop after 2 minutes.

 

[JayCee]

After 40+ years of dental phobia I am trying to embrace modern tecnhnical gadgets. I have invested in a Panasonic EW-DJ40 Oral Irrigator.

I psyched myself up for the first go with it - trying to get used to it before I have an implant done in a month or so - thank goodness I have a tiled bathroom! The mirror, my glasses, the walls, everything got sprayed. I found that I had to refill the tank twice, but probably wasted a lot along the way. I found doing the outer face of my teeth not too difficult, but I couldn't seem to find a way of doing the inside surface easily. I ended up tipping the machine up too far and so stopping the water flow. Does anyone have any tips? I'll have another go tomorrow, when there's noone around.