Almost all of us are familiar with flossing our teeth using standard dental floss. But the new year might be a good time to think about using a different flossing technique, like air flossing or water flossing. Better oral hygiene is an excellent New Year’s resolution, and one that should be easy to maintain with all the flossing products on the market today.
What Is Air Flossing?
Air flossing is a technique developed by Philips Sonicare that uses a specialized device to remove plaque between your teeth. Instead of using a stream of water or regular dental floss to eliminate bacteria, an AirFloss uses bursts of air and minute water droplets to clean the bacteria from your teeth and gumline. Some studies have demonstrated that an AirFloss can get rid of up to 99% more bacteria than just brushing.
What Is Water Flossing?
Water flossing has been around longer than air flossing and is more well known. Similar to air flossing in that it effectively eliminates bacteria, a water flosser uses a stream of water to blast away food particles and plaque build-up between your teeth. People who struggle to floss using standard dental floss might benefit from a water flosser, as they might with an air flosser. It provides easier maneuverability than standard floss and is not complicated to use.
Which Is Better?
Air flossing and water flossing are similar in many ways. Both of them are effective alternatives for people who struggle to floss using traditional methods. Both of them are handheld and just need to be directed at your teeth—no back and forth movement like traditional floss is needed. Both have been shown to effectively remove food, bacteria, and plaque from along your gumline and in between your teeth.
Some differences: The AirFloss is less messy than a water flosser, since it uses such a small amount of water. It is cordless and no hose is needed. Because of this, it takes up less space than the standard water flosser.
Water flossers have been around longer and there are a large variety on the market. There are some options that are more expensive, in the $90 range, and some that are closer to $20. They come with different features, so you can get them as fancy or as simple as you’d like. They have also been proven to be slightly more effective at removing plaque and bacteria than the AirFloss.
Does It Replace Regular Flossing with Braces?
The bottomline: No, but it can help keep your teeth even cleaner than just standard flossing and brushing. While there is no true replacement to using regular dental floss, adding an AirFloss or water flosser to your daily oral hygiene routine can increase your oral health by removing bacteria and plaque missed by brushing and flossing.
Smith Orthodontics can help you navigate the best oral hygiene products, especially while wearing braces or Invisalign. If you are ready to start your journey to a healthier smile, please contact us for a free consultation today!
