Perhaps you’re just learning about the Waterpik Ultra Water Flosser, or maybe you’ve known about Waterpik for some time now. It’s been on the market for several decades and essentially is a way to floss your teeth using water instead of dental floss. The skeptics say that this can’t work as well as dental floss, because floss goes right up against your tooth. But the makers of Waterpik say that it’s clinically proven to be better than floss. They can’t both be right so we went to work to settle the debate.
Overview
If you’re not a habitual flosser you’ve probably been chastised by your dentist at each visit. You know you should be flossing but it’s so hard to get started with the habit that many people are sporadic flossers at best. Even though we know it’s a cornerstone of proper dental care there’s just something about it that turns most people off from doing it on the daily. Since the Waterpik Ultra Water Flosser is intrinsically different than using regular dental floss, perhaps you might be able to make it a habit a little more easily.
The Claim
The claim of the Waterpik Ultra Water Flosser is that it has been clinically proven to be far superior than conventional flossing. They also say that they can clean and massage your gums. This is an often overlooked aspect to proper dental care, and many people think just brushing your teeth is enough. Brushing your gums is recommended, and the makers of Waterpik say that their unit massages and stimulates your gums to promote health. They claim that in just 2 weeks of use you can have noticeably healthier gums.
They also say that this particular model is quieter and easier to hold in your hand than previous models. Whether this is true or not is beside the point. The basic takeaway here is that they are improving upon themselves, which is commendable for any business instead of just sitting around collecting on a winning product, you make it even better and release a new model. We like that.
The Cost
The cost of a Waterpik Ultra Water Flosser is relatively cheap considering what it does. It retails for around $60. Of course that’s more expensive than buying dental floss, but it’s supposed to be more than 90% more effective, so it’s a good trade off. It uses ordinary water, so the only additional costs is the electricity it uses while it’s operating.
The Commitment
Just like you’re supposed to floss every day, you’re supposed to use your Waterpik Ultra Water Flosser every day as well. It’s not very hard to remember, as the unit itself is rather large and takes up a good amount of space on your bathroom counter top. This is a good reminder to use it, which means you’ll probably floss your teeth more often than you do now, improving your overall oral health.
Evaluation
There’s a lot of bells and whistles to this particular model, including 6 different tips you can interchange depending on what you’re going for. Although some of them don’t quite work the way you’d think they would, there are a few of them that you’re sure to enjoy using, and that will get the job done for you. Think of it as an assortment that you get to choose from to find what you like, rather than 6 tips that all have to work perfectly.
Although by the looks of it, this isn’t rocket science, don’t be fooled by looks alone. It’s not the easiest thing to create a pressurized stream of water that is thin enough to go between your teeth. They’ve been at this for a while though and have pretty much perfected the art. The pulsating effect works to dislodge foot particles, and the pressurization ensures that the water will get to places floss just can’t go. Many users have said that the amount of food particles that it removes, even after brushing and flossing with dental floss, is surprising.
It’s hard to deny that a product works when so many actual users say that it does. Firsthand I can say that the Waterpik Ultra Water Flosser takes some getting used to, but becomes easy to use and is easy to incorporate into a daily oral hygiene regimen.
Final Waterpik Ultra Water Flosser Review
You don’t mess with a good thing, and the basic design of the Waterpik Ultra Water Flosser is the same as it’s been since the 80s. Of course the technology behind it has improved, but the idea of pulsating water blasts between your teeth is still a sound one. This product gets thousands of positive reviews from those that have used it, and compared to flossing is more effective and easier to get right.
What won us over fully is the fact that it includes a tongue cleaner. More and more people are realizing the health benefits of cleaning your tongue. It should be done each time you brush your teeth for better oral hygiene and better smelling breath.
Our Recommendation
If you’re big into oral health, and really everyone should be, this is something to add to your arsenal. It’s hard to get into the habit of flossing every day, but it’s rather easy to get into the habit of using a Waterpik. It’s actually fun and feels good, as opposed to flossing that can be painful, and hard to do the way dentists recommend doing, getting the floss to go up your gum line.
did they pay the reviewers for their reviews? i don’t know of one dentist who says water picking is better than flossing…. u want health gums, then floss..end of discussion!!
Went to the dentist last week and they suggested this machine. I was hesitant but knew the dentist recommended many years ago the Oral B electric toothbrush to me and I love it! My pik arrived last week and I have used it consistently each day. I love the tongue cleaner and the rubber pik pieces the most. The rubber tips gets in between each of teeth and in this pocket that was created when I had my wisdom teeth removed long ago. The tongue cleaner feel great after using it but during the process I feel like I am gagging. I am sure I have to give myself time to adjust to all these new features but I will always want to use this item after brushing my teeth. The best thing I found was that you can put mouth wash into the water as well so you are actually saving a step by using the water pik.
This is a poor review because it offers little other than speculation.
Hi there ~You know, for various poiiyolhgscal reasons, some people just seem to have more of a problem with plaque and calculus than others. Unfortunately, you seem to be one of those people; you’re just going to have to work a little harder at your home care than others.I know you say that you know how to floss, and I believe you, but indulge my OCD because I’m going to go through that again.Follow these instructions:You need to make sure you are brushing effectively. You use a SOFT toothbrush only, and aim it at the gumline at a 45 degree angle. Make sure some of the bristles get into the crevice between the tooth and gum. (So yes, you DO brush where your gums and teeth meet). Use little vibratory strokes, and then sweep the brush up toward the biting surface. Go around your whole mouth like this don’t forget the tongue side of the teeth. Don’t scrub back and forth except on the biting surface of the back teeth. Again, to your question the MOST important spot to brush is that area just where the teeth and gums come together, as you must get the bristles GENTLY into the space between them, as this is where all the plaque is.Flossing: Take a length of floss and wrap it around your 2 middle fingers. Hold about a 2 piece tight between your forefingers and thumbs. Insert the floss gently against a tooth side, then curve your hands so that the floss is making a letter C shape against the tooth. Keeping the floss always in contact with the tooth, move it up and down, making sure you GENTLY floss under the gumline.To move to the adjacent tooth, bring the floss up and OVER the little pink triangle of gum, slide to a fresh section of floss, and bring it against the next tooth surface, and repeat. You should never snap the floss down hard, and never saw back and forth. A good floss for crowded teeth is called Satin Floss, or you can try Glide. Stay away from unwaxed if your teeth are so crowded. It has been clinically proven that waxed and unwaxed floss clean as well as each other.Continue around your whole mouth like this. When you get to the back teeth, it’s going to be very hard to curve the floss but that’s ok, just do the best you can. If you ever feel like it’s going to get stuck in the contact or shred, then just pull it through, like you’d pull thread through a needle eye.I have confidence that you can clean every tooth, and every surface of every tooth effectively.I’m giving you 2 links below one shows correct brushing, the other is a great site for flossing instruction (yes, I know, but humor me). In the meanwhile, you can use a little warm salt water rinsing for your cut on the gums.***Hope this helped!~
A study at USC found it removed up to 99.9% of plaque from treated areas with a 3-second application. And in a single-use plaque removal study, the Water Flosser group had up to 29% better plaque removal than the traditional brushing and flossing group.
I am a dental hygienist…since 1988…trained at Loma Linda University school of dentistry…also served as a clinical dental hygiene instructor at LLU for a number of years. If your gums are healthy they will NOT bleed when you floss…bleeding during flossing is an indication that the gums are unhealthy and means you need to do it consistently to get the bleeding to stop…after about 3 weeks of daily flossing your gums should be tough and healthy and no longer bleed…if they continue to bleed there may be calculus (tartar) on the tooth below the gumline and it needs to be removed professionally. Regular flossing will reverse gingivitis…if your gum disease has deteriorated into Periodontal disease no amount of flossing alone will help…professional help is essential. The water pik does NOT remove plaque..they say it does, but I bought one and stained my teeth with disclosing solution and used two full containers of water thru the instrument and none of the stain was removed…then I followed with about 20 seconds with my $6.00 spin brush on the right half of my mouth, and it was all gone. Plaque is your enemy and only an instrument that removes plaque is of any value.
The Waterpik works amazingly. I never was much a flosser myself until I started having gum problems. I purchased the Waterpik and my gums are healthier. It feels so good using it. You know your gums and teeth are cleaner after using the flosser. I don’t care if I am running late in the morning I still take the time to use my Waterpik. If you try it one time, then you will be hooked. It feels so good!
I have extremely sensitive gums and flossing always irritated them and would cause them to flame up. Sadly, the experience left bad memories with me and I moved away from flossing entirely. Obviously, this only made my mouth unhealthy in the long run. I do not know why I have never heard of Waterpik Ultra Water Flosser or even why my dentist did not mention it. But now I will be looking for an affordable model so that I can get back into a healthier flossing lifestyle. If it really works as great as everyone says, them I am excited to try it out.
I’m embarrassed to say that I am not a regular flosser, or rather that it seems I need to remind myself more often than not to partake in this simple yet beneficial activity. So I was really excited to hear the process had been automated (yes, I’m that bad), even if it had happened decades before. I bought this online for a relatively low price and have been really excited and happy with the results. I had been told that I had gum problems and since using the WaterPik (for 4 months now) my dentist noted an improvement to my overall oral health. I can’t recommend this enough. It’s made flossing easy to remember and the act itself feels good.
I, too, started having problems with my gums, but I always hated flossing. It is such a chore and flossing would actually make my gums bleed, so I never did it. Once I started having recurring gum issues, however, my dentist also recommended using a Waterpik instead. I went out and bought an affordable model that works for me, and I loved it from the start. It makes your mouth feel really clean and I am really amazed at how well it gets between your teeth to clean out debris while also clearing off debris along the gum line as well.
I used one of these as a kid in the 80’s. At the time, I used it for fun more than actual cleaning, so I’m not sure how well it really works. I’m considering getting one, though. I have some recession in my gums, mainly caused from years of wearing braces, and I’d like to keep them as healthy as possible. I highly doubt that the WaterPik can replace floss. I’m thinking of using it, then following up with floss, or maybe using the WaterPik midday and flossing at night. My dentist gave me a little booklet where my gum health is rated. I’m curious about using the WaterPik for 6 months and then seeing if my score improves.
Man I love this thing… WaterPik all the way.
My wife got me hooked up with this cause I can get lazy when it comes to flossing and man it’s changed my entire view of flossing. My dentist will be proud LOL It feels awesome just so cool and it’s very easy to use. 2 Thumbs up! Does it REALLY WORK? Hell yeah!
This is oral care on level 5000! lol Just when you think they’ve thought of everything when it comes to keeping your teeth clean… never heard of this before reading the review.
I for one dislike flossing but love the benefits. I think this product will provide a different way to engage in the flossing experience and if it works like it should – even better. I know my dentist will be happy! 😛
I was having problems with my gums, and after a conversation with my dentist i went and bought a Water Pik. Since using it my gums are much improved and although it took me a while to use it correctly (i sprayed it everywhere the first time!) I now don’t think I would be without it