Waterpik Waterflosser Cordless
When I first got my braces on, the Waterpik came highly recommended by my orthodontist. With a hose that blasts plaque and food debris from between the teeth, this product seems to be a no brainer for people with braces. But, instead of buying the traditional countertop version of the Waterpik, I decided to go with the portable, Waterpix Waterflosser Cordless model--it was cheaper, and seemed more convenient... boy, I can almost hear my mother--"You get what you pay for!"
Review: I did not like this product. My main problem with it is that the reservoir that holds the water is too small (of course I think that's what they were going for... being that it is the portable version of their bestseller), so as soon as I started to spray the water, it was empty... I mean, I hadn't even cleaned between like 3 of my teeth before it was out of water! Another problem I remember having with this product, is that the head of it swivels all around making it impossible to control where you want the water to go. Lastly, the water reservoir is harder to keep clean because it's so small. With the other Waterpik, you have a large tank that you could easily get into and clean if you needed to... not this one. If it gets dirty, you will not be able to scrub inside of it. I had accidentally left a little water in the reservoir for a few days... it got real nasty up in there! When I tried using it again, I could taste something foul in the water... yuck!
If you're going to go with a Waterpik, get one of their bigger models like the Waterpik Ultra Flosser. I can't say that I've tried one (probably should have), but based on the 3 teeth I was able to get to with their smaller model, I'd say it cleans well. The issues I had with the cordless Waterpik don't exist with their bigger model. Plus, I've known quite a few people who own one and are very satisfied with it.
Threaders
After giving up on my little portable Waterpik, I decided to go back to flossing the old fashioned way. In my "welcome to braces bag" the orthodontist gave me, there were a bunch of threaders. If you haven't used threaders before, here's a video (I figured it would be easier to show you instead of trying to describe it):
Tip: The directions that come with the threaders say to thread the floss, and once you pull it under the wire, pull it out of the threader (as shown in the video)... they basically want you to re-thread for each tooth! I say this is a waste of time--do it that way, if you feel like threading it like 30 more times! Instead, tie the floss in a knot around the threader ... that way you don't have to keep threading it.
Review: If you have braces, threaders are probably the cheapest and one of the most effective ways to floss your teeth. But there's just one thing... It's time consuming! Threaders are the reason I am constantly looking for "a better way" to floss my teeth. What can I say... they do the job, but require more effort than most people are willing to put up with (especially on a daily basis). I don't care to floss regularly with them, but they are good to have around to get to those hard to reach places.
Oral B Glide Threader Floss
Floss with a stiffened end (which takes the place of needing to thread your floss).
Review: I bought into this because I thought it was so much easier than just using floss with threaders. Wrong! As I explained earlier, threaders can be left attached to the floss the whole time you are flossing. So, yes this product is effective, but it is a little on the expensive side (as far as floss goes)... I don't need to pay extra for the pointy end it comes with when I can buy better quality floss and just thread it myself. In the end, using Oral B Glide Threader Floss takes the same amount of time to floss teeth as the floss with threaders do. No bueno!
Orthodontic Flossers/ Picks
I am so glad someone came up with the idea to make flossers for braces. Right now there are several brands on the market-- Dentek Braces Clean Floss Picks, Plackers Orthopick, Platypus, just to name a few. I've only tried two: Plackers Orthopick and Dentek Braces Clean Floss Picks.
Plackers Orthopick
I wanted to buy some orthodontic flossers, but they are normally hard to find in stores. Without even looking (was shopping for toothpaste), I stumbled across these wonderful flossers.
Review: Out of everything I have tried to floss my teeth with, I liked the Plackers Orthopick the best. This flossers arm is narrow, unlike regular flossers, so it fits easily under most archwires. They are also well made, with strong floss that resists shredding. So you would think my search for the best way to floss would stop here, right? Nope... I had one problem with this product and it was a major one... I was only able to floss my top row of teeth :-( This was because my orthodontist put a special twisted wire on my bottom row (I guess that's where the good old floss and threader comes in handy). I don't think for most people with braces this will be an issue, but it might be. If you have braces, I still think these flossers are worth a try.
Dentek Braces Clean Floss Picks
A few days later I was shopping at Target, and to my surprise, I found these flossers. The arms on them seemed to look narrower than it's competitor, Plackers Orthopick, so I thought, what the heck.
Review: Well, I found Dentek Braces Clean Floss Picks to be inferior to Plackers Orthopick. The main and only reason is the floss--the floss on the Dentek Braces Clean Floss Picks is not as strong. As far as the arm... it fits under the archwire just as well as the Plackers Orthopick did. It also, did not fit under the wire on my bottom row.
That's it for my review! What works for me may not work for you, or vice versa. My goal is to introduce more choices in floss available to you :-#
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