# Water Jet Flossing instead of traditional Dental Floss



## Becca (13 Jul 2007)

Has anyone here tried any of the water jet flossers instead of using traditional dental floss?

 Such as these...
http://www.amazon.com/Waterpik-WP-100-Ultra-Dental-Water/dp/B000GLRREU
[broken link removed]
 test of water jet flosser...
http://www.dentist.net/waterpik-article.asp

They are supposed to be more effective than traditional dental floss, but I find it difficult to believe that a water jet would be more effective at flossing than actually getting a piece of dental floss in between the teeth...

 Are they really better than traditional dental floss?  Thanks!


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## ninsaga (13 Jul 2007)

can't help but think that this is a micro power washer - would it not result in damages to teeth/gums over a prolonged period through errosion?

ninsaga


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## cjh (13 Jul 2007)

Those Hummingbird thingys are very good - you can get them in supermarkets or chemists. (Battery operated flosser).


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## tinkerbell (13 Jul 2007)

Did you ever use those little dental brushes, like mini mascara wands?   They come in various sizes and you can get them to squeeze in between the teeth and gums and give them a great old scrub.   My periodontic recommends them over flossing for preventing gum disease.


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## Becca (13 Jul 2007)

The Hummingbird flosser looks interesting.



tinkerbell said:


> Did you ever use those little dental brushes, like mini mascara wands?


No, I don't think I've heard of those before...


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## BillK (13 Jul 2007)

They are called Tipis (spelling may be out) and my dentist recommends them. He also told me that the new toothbrushes as mentioned are no better than the old electric toothbrush I have used for years.


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## markowitzman (13 Jul 2007)

tepe


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## Becca (14 Jul 2007)

BillK said:


> They are called Tipis (spelling may be out) and my dentist recommends them.


Thanks for that



BillK said:


> He also told me that the new toothbrushes as mentioned are no better than the old electric toothbrush I have used for years.


Do you mean the Humming Bird flosser?
[broken link removed]


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## BillK (14 Jul 2007)

That's right. He reckons that my old toothbrush plus tepes (Thanks markowitzman) beat any of the new designs which are out now.

He likened the situation to the giveaway prices on razors with vastly overpriced blade costs.


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## Becca (14 Jul 2007)

I think the Humming Bird is not a toothbrush but appears to be a standard dental floss put on a battery operated device in order to floss between the teeth.

I don't know if this battery powered flossing is any better than manual flossing...

Those tepe brushes appear to come in different sizes.  How do you know which size to get?


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## markowitzman (15 Jul 2007)

your dentist or hygienist should be able to help you with correct size. use the wrong size and you risk damage. I would not bother with humming bird to be honest. Tepe brushes and a manual toothbrush is a good combination. Alternatively you could floss and brush. Whatever you do one needs to clean where a toothbrush will not ie between the teeth via floss or tepe. Mouthwashes despite claims will not clean in between the teeth.


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## Becca (15 Jul 2007)

Thanks _markowitzman_,

so I suppose the size of Tepe brush used would be directly related to the amount of gap between a persons teeth?

Someone with little gaps between teeth would use the small brushes, and someone with larger gaps between teeth could use larger Tepe brushes.


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## markowitzman (15 Jul 2007)

the smaller ones have been shown in research to clean better as the bristle is less likely to fold back on itself.


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## Becca (15 Jul 2007)

Is it as easy to get these Tepe brushes (even the small ones) between the teeth as dental floss?  

Obviously dental floss is very thin so relatively easy to get between the teeth.


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## joanmul (16 Jul 2007)

My dentist recommended the tepe interdental brush as the most successful treatment longterm and also said that people tend to stick with it more than with flossing. There are two sizes of brushes and trial and error will tell you which one you are comfortable with.


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## markowitzman (16 Jul 2007)

there are actually five or six sizes but as said above would tend to go for smaller ones.


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## Sue Ellen (6 Aug 2007)

Interdental sets @ €2.99 per set might be of interest to some.

The children's battery toothbrush @ €7.99 looks to be quite good and the egg timer is an interesting option. Anything that encourages them to brush their teeth helps.


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