An Alternative Way to Floss: Water Flossing
As dental professionals, Victory Dental Group speaks with numerous people per day about the need to floss in order to maintain healthy gums, the foundation of your teeth. And while traditional string flossing has been predominant, an alternative was developed over the past few decades known as water flossing.
Water flossing started with dentists in the 1960s, and the original water flosser was developed into the company called Waterpik. 
It is the most well known brand of the water flosser available, although there are competitors out there. Over the past 50 years or so, many research studies have been completed using the Waterpik specifically to see if water flossing is a viable way to floss. The results are beyond positive in many ways and you can read about all the studies here if you’re interested.
For example, water flossing is increasingly effective for people who have dental work in their mouths- such as braces, crowns, or implants. The rush of water can help get to hard-to-reach spots around structures in or on the teeth that traditional flossing can find harder to reach. Water flossing is clinically proven to be about three times more effective than traditional flossing when it comes to people with dental work or appliances.
Water flossing is also ideal for people with wrist and hand pain. They do not need to forcefully hold string and attempt to angle their hands or wrists in unusual ways just to floss. The water flosser successfully does that work for them, so it is extremely accommodating for people with injuries or arthritis.
Water flossing can also help reduce bleeding, gingivitis, and plaque build up in the mouth. Another study showed that water flossing with a Waterpik can be 51% more effective in ridding the mouth of gingivitis than string flossing alone, while gingival bleeding improved up to two times better. With less bleeding and build up, you can guarantee to have improved oral health and even score fresher breathe.
It’s important to note that there have been debates as to whether water flossing is better than string flossing for plaque. According to some dentists, plaque can build up in ways that only string flossing can truly conquer. Also, if a water flosser is used ineffectively, it does not benefit. So, most dentists recommend that if you use a water flosser, string flossing is also important to do at least intermittently. Always make sure you are following the specific directions for your water flosser so that you are using it to its full advantage.
Our mission to fight for oral health in every way is so important to our quality of life and overall well-being. Tackling gum health with a variety of techniques is the absolute best approach. When used correctly, water flossing is a really amazing tool and our patients have loved having it as an option here at Victory Dental Group. In fact, one of our own patients started using it to better clean his gums before an extensive periodontal procedure. Within just ten days of using the Waterpik, their gums improved so much that we no longer needed to perform more intrusive and expensive dental treatment. We can personally attest that the water flosser is an ideal device to use when addressing gum conditions and treatment.
If you have any questions about water flossing, we are always here to help. Contact Victory Dental Group today!