How Power Flossers Clean Better Than Traditional Floss Can
For as long as flossing has existed, there has been a portion of the population that has hated flossing, for one reason or another. From difficulty controlling the floss, to sensitive gums or just forgetting to do it, many just didn’t perform this vital part of our dental health regularly, or at all.
Enter the power flosser. The earliest flossers used water to pulse streams of water to clean between teeth, where brushing can’t reach. It made an often-dreaded chore easier and more fun. Eventually, the air flosser was invented, offering an alternative and addressing some of the major issues with the water flosser.
How Do Power Flossers Do It?
They employ either a stream of water, or microbursts of air with water or mouthwash droplets, to blast out food particles, other debris and bacteria from between the teeth. Because there is no string involved, there is less gum pain for those who are sensitive. Those with braces benefit greatly from these flossers, as they clean food out of the braces quickly and effectively, as well.
Do They Clean Up Better?
Many studies have been done in the last 50 years testing the ability of the power flosser versus traditional floss. One study from the Journal of Clinical Dentistry found that with the power flosser, used with manual brushing, there was a 74.4 percent reduction in plaque as opposed to a 57.7 percent reduction with string floss and manual brushing.
There have also been studies done showing a greater reduction of gum bleeding and gingivitis with power flossing. Even, with these studies, though, dentists tend to still favor string flossing, as the scraping motion removes plaque as opposed to just rinsing it off, as power flossers do.
The most important thing, above all, to keep in mind is that, no matter which method you use, flossing is a necessary part of keeping our teeth and gums healthy. Truly, the best method is the one you’ll actually use! As always, make sure you’re also coming in to see us regularly for checkups and cleanings!