A water pick or water flosser makes light work of your twice-daily flossing routine and improves dental hygiene. But, as a relatively new arrival on the oral hygiene scene, lots of patients want to know more about water flosser effectiveness and whether it complements their dental hygiene. Let’s have a look at why flossing is so important and how you can use water flossers to boost oral care.
How To Maximise Water Flosser Effectiveness To Boost Your Dental Hygiene?
Flossing is just as important as brushing, because floss gets into the small spaces that your toothbrush can’t reach. Dentists recommend that you floss your teeth just as often as you brush – twice a day – but many patients neglect this important step in cleaning their teeth.
Dental floss does the important job of cleaning the sides of your teeth that are inaccessible by your toothbrush and by rinsing with mouthwash. You can use the string variety or ribbon dental floss if the spaces between your teeth are a bit bigger.
Any debris that is not removed from the surface of your teeth mixes with bacteria to form a substance called plaque. Plaque that is not removed becomes hard and turns into calculus or tartar. Tartar can only be removed by your dentist using specialised equipment. Tartar build up attracts more bacteria to the gum line, which causes inflammation and which can erode your tooth enamel. Over time it can cause your gums to recede and result in gum disease if it is not removed.
Remember that untreated tooth decay is the leading cause of tooth loss among adults so flossing is of paramount importance if you want your teeth to last a lifetime. While brushing and flossing twice a day is an important part of your oral hygiene routine, it is still possible for plaque build up to occur, and this is why you must ensure you visit your dentist twice a year as well. Your dentist will remove tartar build up from the surface of your teeth as well as below your gum line.
How Can A Water Flosser Improve Your Oral Hygiene?
It’s important to note that a water flosser is not meat to replace dental floss, but rather be an addition to your oral hygiene routine. Also known as oral irrigators, water flossers work by directing a stream of water into the spaces between your teeth in order to clean them out.
What Are The Benefits Of Water Flossers?
Oral irrigators are easy to use and are ideal for patients who may wear orthodontics, have dental crowns, dental implants or who suffer from arthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome.
Remove bacteria from between your teeth
The water pick will remove food, debris and bacteria from between your teeth.
Remove bacteria from gingival pockets
Patients who have gingivitis may benefit from a flosser as it can remove more bacteria from pockets in the gums than through other methods.
Remove bacteria below the gum line
A water pick or flosser is able to remove plaque from even below your gum line.
Floss more gently
A water flosser does not aggravate your gums in the same way that dental floss can. When you floss with a water flosser your gums will not bleed or get sore. This is especially helpful for patients who have gingivitis and who are more susceptible to bleeding.
It is also very helpful for patients who have diabetes as diabetes sufferers tend to be more likely to experience gingival bleeding.
Water flossing or oral irrigation is gentle and safe enough to use to clean around a dental implant site.
Improve your oral hygiene around orthodontics
Patients wearing orthodontics find it easier and gentler to use an oral irrigator over traditional dental floss, and can manage their plaque control more effectively.
Flossing made easy for kids
Anyone who struggles to use dental floss may benefit from using a water pick. Children and people who have limited dexterity in their hands may find a flosser easier to use than dental floss.
Improve Water Flosser Effectiveness By Following These Steps
First you will fill the reservoir of your oral irrigator with lukewarm water. Then position the tip of the irrigator in your mouth. It’s always a good idea to lean over your basin so that you don’t make a mess.
Hold the irrigator at a right angle to your teeth and spray the water jets towards your teeth. We recommend you start spraying at the teeth at the back of your mouth and then work your way towards the front. Don’t forget to do the back of your teeth.
The entire process should take around two minutes, and you can do it before or after you brush. Don’t forget to empty the reservoir once you are done so your flosser doesn’t harbour any bacteria.
How To Use Dental Floss?
Once you have got the technique figured out, dental floss isn’t that difficult to use. Break off a length of floss, and hold it with both hands. wrap most of the floss around both of your middle fingers and hold the floss tightly between your two hands.
Insert the dental floss gently between two teeth and move it up and down. Be careful not to push the floss into your gum tissue or too far down your gum line. As the dental floss gets to the gum line, make a c-shape so the floss can penetrate the space between your teeth and gum.
Repeat the action for all your teeth, using a fresh piece of floss for each tooth.
If you still have questions about water flosser effectiveness it’s best to speak to a professional about your personal needs. Please contact us at (02) 9159 6237 for an appointment.