Water flosser or dental floss: what each one cleans

The two tools do different jobs

What builds up between the teeth is biofilm: a soft but tightly bound layer of bacteria stuck to one another and to the tooth surface. Floss slides under that layer and lifts it off by scraping along the surface. A water flosser sends a thin jet through the gap instead, flushing out debris and anything already loosened, and rinsing the pocket under the gum. What it does not do is shear the sticky layer off the way floss does.

In practice that means this: if you can use floss comfortably and no bleeding or odour is left between your teeth, you do not need a water flosser. But there are mouths where floss will not go in at all, or goes in and changes very little, and that is where the case for the jet begins.

Who a water flosser genuinely suits

The device looks like a comfort gadget at first glance, yet in some mouths it is the most practical way to clean between the teeth. One obstacle links all these cases: either the floss will not pass, or the hand cannot manoeuvre.

• Under the span of a bridge, where floss goes only with a special threader while the jet reaches straight in.
• Around implants, where the gum attaches differently than it does to a tooth and the area asks for gentle cleaning.
• Fixed braces and bonded retainers, where floss has to be threaded under the wire at every single gap.
• Limited hand or finger movement: arthritis, the months after a stroke, depending on a carer.
• The back of the mouth, where most people struggle to get a finger between the last molars.

Start at the lowest pressure

Most devices have pressure settings, and the highest one does not mean the cleanest. Starting at the lowest and working up over a few days to whatever you can tolerate is enough. If the jet hurts, turn it down; as the gums settle, the same pressure stops feeling harsh. Lukewarm water is kinder than cold on sensitive teeth.

Using both

You do not have to choose. A common order is floss or an interdental brush first to shear the layer off, then the water flosser to rinse away what has been loosened. The reverse works too; what decides it is which one you will actually keep doing. Once a day, ideally in the evening, going through every gap is enough.

A tool only works when you pick it up daily; floss forgotten in a drawer cleans less than a water flosser that gets used.

How to move the jet around the mouth

There is a technique to it, and hardly anyone finishes the first attempt without soaking the bathroom. The order goes like this:

• Fill the tank with lukewarm water, put the tip in your mouth and switch the device on only once your lips are closed.
• Lean over the basin and part your lips slightly so the water runs out on its own.
• Point the tip at the line where the gum meets the tooth and hold it at each gap for a few seconds.
• Work from the back teeth forwards and go along the inner surfaces too; the tongue side of the back teeth is the spot most often missed.

What it cannot stand in for

It does not replace brushing; the layer on the tooth surfaces comes off with a brush and fluoride toothpaste. Nor does it dissolve hardened tartar, which only a dentist can remove. Receding gums, a tooth that moves or a smell that will not go call for an examination rather than a new gadget.

The device itself needs looking after. Water left in the tank stands warm and dark, so it is emptied after every use, and the tank and tip are rinsed now and then and left to dry. Tips wear out and get replaced: once the jet starts spraying wide instead of holding a line, that tip has had its day. What may go into the tank is set by the manual, because not every liquid belongs there.

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