Your smile is something that defines you. To have a beautiful pearly white smile, you will need to keep your oral health top-notch. With technology in the dental field, many cosmetic and dental procedures can help your natural teeth stay in the best shape.

Dentists usually recommend brushing twice a day and flossing once a day. Flossing is something that gets ignored as there is less awareness surrounding it. It is as equally important as brushing your teeth.

What do you use for flossing? When it comes to flossing, you can choose either between water picks and regular dental floss. Both do a great job cleaning teeth.

Let’s look at how they work and the pros and cons of using dental picks and regular floss.

WATERPIKS

Waterpiks, also known as oral irrigators or dental water jets, are special devices with a pressurized stream. This stream ejects pulsating water that helps remove food particles, plaque, and bacteria from the surface of your teeth. This can help reduce the incidence of gum disease and bleeding.

PROS

· Waterpiks are easy to use. They work effectively on people with braces or people who had any time of dental work, for example, bridges work, crowns, or dental implants. 

· It can clean hard-to-reach areas. This gives a massage to the gums and enhances their health.

· Owing to the ease of use, Waterpik is helpful for people who have a problem with using dental floss or those who suffer from medical conditions like arthritis that make it difficult for them to use floss regularly. 

· Patients with active gum disease or a history of gum disease may enjoy the Waterpik because it can flush bacteria from deep pockets that floss cannot reach.

· The Waterpik device is specially designed to reduce bleeding when patients have sensitive gums.

CONS

· While Waterpik does remove debris and plaque from teeth with regular use. It does not eject enough water to clean teeth, especially in patients who suffer from severe dental problems like gingivitis or gum disease. 

· Waterpik can be expensive to buy and takes space to store. 

· It’s not portable and cannot be used without electricity

DENTAL FLOSS 

Regular dental floss is a thin string that can clean areas between the teeth and the gumline. To use dental floss, you will need to cut some inches of the string and use both hands to move the floss between each tooth carefully. This method uses to-and-fro motions of the string to get rid of plaque and food residues. 

PROS

There are several pros to using dental floss:

· It is easy to carry and use anywhere to remove food residues off from the teeth.

· Dental flosses are cheap to buy, and one can get them from any drugstore or pharmacy.

· While Waterpik will rinse, the floss will scrape away sticky film.

CONS

· One of the problems with using dental floss is mishandling it. If you don’t use it correctly, it can cause your gums to bleed or get inflamed. 

· Another disadvantage is that dental floss is not able to reach all areas when cleaning. It can happen in people who have crooked teeth. 

· Bacteria and plaque buildup happen if you don’t clean hard-to-reach areas properly.

· Some people may have a hard time dealing with floss

WHICH ONE IS BETTER?

Both dental floss and Waterpik serve the function of cleaning your teeth properly. There are pros and cons to using both these methods. When it comes to choosing either of these, there is no definitive answer. The reason is that both have their perks. 

Suppose you are suffering from gingivitis or any other gum disease. In that case, you can choose Waterpik as a cleaning tool as research suggests its effectiveness in cleaning clearing plaque better than dental floss. It also helps in reducing the severity of gum bleeding.

And if you don’t suffer from any severe gum or dental issues, stick to regular flossing. Make sure to floss once a day to keep plaque buildup at bay. 

Lastly, here are some healthy tips to follow to keep your teeth in the best shape:

· Brushing your teeth twice a day

· Flossing once daily

· Follow up with your dentist and hygienist regularly to monitor for any dental diseases. Get regular testing like X-rays.

· Also, if needed, get scaling done once a year to clean the buildup in your teeth and keep them clean

Before deciding which method is the best for your oral hygiene, get a consultation. It is always advisable to ask your dentist to determine if it will be okay to use Waterpik or dental floss. Lastly, remember that a key to having excellent overall health is maintaining good oral hygiene.