As more and more people begin to pay attention to oral health, the types of oral care tools on the market are becoming more and more numerous.
Recently, many friends have been planted with water flossing (also called tooth flusher), which is the tool below
The principle of water flossing is to flush the teeth by emitting a high-pressure pulse water column to flush away the food debris that is not easy to be brushed between the teeth.
What is more attractive is the visual impact it brings in the advertisement, "croak, croak, croak" to the teeth, the food residues visible to the naked eye will be washed into the pool of "boom, boom, boom", making people feel very comfortable and clean.
(Source: E-commerce details page of a water floss)
But it is this feeling that can easily make us blur the status and use of water floss, and as a result, someone pays an "IQ tax".
Let's start with the conclusion:
●If you have the right brushing habit (brushing with the pasteurized method and at least twice a day) and the habit of flossing consistently, then there is no need to buy.
● But in fact, most people brush their teeth very perfunctory, or do not have the habit of flossing at all, then it is recommended that you buy, because it is definitely better to rinse than not to flush.
●In general, it is recommended to brush your teeth morning and night, brush your teeth correctly, and stick to traditional dental flossing.
● No matter what group of people, water flossing must not replace toothbrushes, and it is best not to replace traditional dental floss.
Why?
Because the purpose of daily cleaning of teeth and mouth, in addition to removing food residues and soft scale, there is also a purpose to remove plaque, which is not easy to see with the naked eye, like glue.
Plaque is the culprit of problems such as tooth decay, gingivitis, periodontitis, etc.
And don't think that the teeth are white and clean, they must be clean, and after the staining test, plaque will appear.
Plaque is a complex and dense biofilm made up of flora wrapped in a gel-like matrix, adheres to the teeth like glue, and requires moderate periodic mechanical friction to remove, so a toothbrush and dental floss are required.
The toothbrush is responsible for cleaning the 3 large surfaces, and the left and right teeth are solved by flossing.
People with large gaps or receding gums (the base of the tooth is exposed outside the gum) may also need an interdental brush.
If not cleaned in time, new plaque may be detected within 12 to 24 hours; Within five days, inflammation of the gums may be visible locally [1].
Therefore, the safest oral cleaning recommendations are:
Brush your teeth at least twice a day and use traditional dental floss 1 time.
Why is traditional dental floss a safer recommendation?
Because the cleaning method of water flossing is to use high-pressure water flow to wash, food residue can definitely be washed off, but also interfere with bacterial "film formation", but whether it can effectively remove "film-formed" dental plaque is still controversial.
Many dentists support the view that "flossing with water flossing cannot be replaced", but there are also some views abroad that water flossing may be more effective than flossing in reducing plaque and reducing gum bleeding [2,3].
Either way, it's always okay to use traditional dental floss.
But then again, many people don't actually have the habit of flossing, so "rinsing" as a supplement to brushing teeth is also an acceptable option.
Let's start with the conclusion: no.
Scaling mainly deals with calculus, which may irritate the gums and induce periodontal inflammation [4], even if we brush our teeth correctly, floss and water flossing every day, there is no 100% guarantee that calculus will not occur.
Therefore, even if there is no problem with the teeth at present, the dentist recommends that everyone clean their teeth regularly.
If you want to remove dental calculus, you need to use greater mechanical force, so you have to go to dentistry and clean teeth through professional equipment such as ultrasonic dental scaler and sandblasting scaler, which is far from being reached by home care.
First, it is suitable for friends who wear fixed appliances.
It is inconvenient for such people to use traditional dental floss, so the responsibility of cleaning teeth can be left to water flossing. Similarly, if there are some oral dead spots due to irregular teeth, and the back of the back of the molar teeth, which is difficult to floss and reach with a toothbrush, it is also suitable for flossing.
Second, some friends with periodontal disease, as well as people with extremely dry mouths (who cannot enjoy the cleaning effect of saliva washing over the mouth like others), doctors may also recommend the use of water flossing.
Finally, to summarize for you, the cleaning methods and goals of various oral cleaning products, you can draw inferences:
Reviewer: Yang Sefei
Deputy Chief Physician and Associate Professor of the Department of Stomatology of PLA General Hospital
bibliography
[1] Brunton P A. Prevention in clinical oral health care[J]. British Dental Journal, 2008, 204(4): 213-229
[2] Goyal C R, Lyle D M, Qaqish J G, et al. Comparison of Water Flosser and Interdental Brush on Reduction of Gingival Bleeding and Plaque: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study[J]. The Journal of clinical dentistry, 2016, 27(2): 61-65.
[3] Akram H M. Comparison between powerful Waterpik flosser with dental floss as an adjunct to tooth brushing[J]. Journal of Baghdad College of Dentistry, 2015, 27(3): 89-92.
[4]https://www.uptodate.cn/contents/zh-Hans/overview-of-gingivitis-and-periodontitis-in-adults