Water picks, or oral irrigators, are designed to spray a thin bead of water into your teeth with the intention of getting food particles that are stuck in your teeth out. They were highly popular during the latter part of the 20th century, but there have been studies that have highlighted the potential risks of using these devices as part of your oral care.
Firstly, the goal of an oral irrigator is to get at the food that gets stuck between your teeth. That’s essentially what flossing should do. The problem with water picks, though, is that the inject water from one side to the other, and that does not always get through the teeth like floss will. It can actually cause some food particles to become more embedded in the teeth and that can lead to more dental problems in the future.
A lot of people turn to water picks because they either don’t feel comfortable flossing or they find that certain floss gets caught and stuck between their teeth. If you have found that floss gets stuck in your teeth or that you can’t work the floss between your teeth, you’re likely relying on an unwaxed floss. Try waxed floss instead. You should notice that it gets between your teeth easier and with less trouble.
For some, their jaw might be too narrow and that could make working floss between the teeth more challenging and uncomfortable. If that’s the case, you can always try the floss picks. These are small, plastic handles that have floss stretched between the ends. This allows you to work the floss between your teeth with one hand, rather than two.
If you still have trouble with flossing, talk to your dentist about it. The last thing that you should do is resort to a water pick as this has been proven to be far less effective than first thought at removing harmful food particles from between teeth.