Air Flossers and Waterpiks: Should You Use Them?

The question often arises, “should I use air flossers and waterpiks?” when determining orthodontic maintenance and care. At Valeriano Orthodontics, we encourage our clients to use air flossers and waterpiks in addition to a good oral hygiene routine including brushing and manual flossing. Both air flossers and waterpiks are designed to clean between and around teeth daily to help you quickly remove stubborn plaque and debris.

Air Flossers

Air flossers use “microburst technology” — rapid bursts of compressed air plus micro water droplets — to blast out plaque and debris between your teeth. Handheld battery-operated devices about the size of an electric toothbrush, they’re extremely effective in cleaning hard-to-reach spots. Air flossers are portable, cordless, and rechargeable. Typically, a single charge lasts about two weeks.

What Air Flossers Do and How to Use Them

• Air flossers have an angled, slim nozzle, so you can easily reach your back teeth.

• Their point-and-click design makes air flossers easy to operate, even for children.

• Air flossers’ tips help you aim for the spaces between your teeth.
• After choosing your “blast” setting, you simply place the nozzle tip against the spaces between your teeth, working from back to front on each row of your teeth.

Waterpiks

Waterpiks, also known as “oral irrigators” or “water flossers,” provide a range of water pressures you can choose to clean between and around your teeth. They also have a “pulsation setting” to stimulate and massage your gums and gum pockets to keep them healthy.

What Waterpiks Do and How to Use Them

Waterpiks are also handheld devices. They use water to push out plaque and food particles. Waterpiks’ combination of pulsation and water pressure deeply cleans your teeth as well as the area underneath your gums. Waterpiks are compact and sit on your bathroom sink or counter. They need to be plugged in and hooked up to a water source for ease of use.

Most children probably don’t need to use waterpiks if they are doing a good job of brushing and manually flossing; however, children and teenagers with braces or other orthodontic appliances may find them useful for removing food debris and plaque from their teeth and gum lines. Waterpiks are safe for children as young as six with adult supervision and take about 60 seconds to use.

The steps for using a waterpik are quick and easy to learn:

• Fill the reservoir with lukewarm water or antibacterial mouthwash.
• Select your tip (orthodontic tips are available, for example) and press it firmly into the handle.
• Adjust the pressure control. It’s recommended to start at low pressure.
• Lean over your sink and place the tip in your mouth.
• Turn the unit on. Close your lips to avoid splashing, while allowing water to flow from your mouth into your sink.
• Start with your back teeth and pause briefly between teeth, aiming the tip just above your gum line at a 90-degree angle.
• When you’ve finished, turn the unit off and use the tip eject button to remove the tip.

The Benefits of Extra Cleaning Devices

Both air flossers and waterpiks can be effective in removing plaque and debris even brushing and manual flossing may miss to achieve bacterial reduction between your teeth. You can add an antibacterial mouthwash to the reservoir in either device for an even cleaner, fresher feeling that also helps protect your mouth from infection.

At Valeriano Orthodontics, we are delighted to be able to recommend a new generation of oral hygiene “helpers” to our clients. Air flossers and waterpiks make former obstacles to keeping teeth clean while wearing braces or dental bridges things of the past.

If you have oral hygiene concerns or orthodontic needs and would like to set up an appointment, please contact us or schedule an appointment online.