Taking care of teeth.

Once again flossed but didn't brush yesterday.

Do you like flossong more than you like brushing?

It is unusual since brushing is easiervthan thorough flossing, especially when you use a electric toothbrush.

Or are you so tired after flossing that following up with brushing is out of the question?

Two misses, on Monday due to a stomach virus that had me in bed and weak all day long, and yesterday because after a 5K I was so thirsty all day long that I could not carve out a time to not drink water when I came back home so I did not brush my teeth. But today I am back on track, having brushed my teeth after returning from work.

I'm not sure why I'm able to floss but not brush. I think I can floss because I view it as more important and then after I'm done, I'm kind of that was good enough.


But yesterday I did manage to brush and floss.

I too am more partial to flossing than brushing. To me, there is virtually no downside to flossing. It may not have a super happy ending, but it doesnt usually have a sad ending. Brushing OTOH can cause some sadness. If only regret for not doing it more often!

We need a dental psychologist.

How funny - a dental psychologist!

I was thinking more along the lines of a dental hygiene cheering squad - that would motivate me.

Flossed but didn't brush yesterday.

Yay! Let us form such a squad.

Yesterday, missed the 2nd brushing because I went to get a color touch-up after work and by the time I arrived home, I was ravenously hungry.

Today, I am back on track with the 2nd brushing. It feels so pleasant!

That's great that you're back on track @Tart Cherry Jam.

Didn't brush or floss yesterday. Will do better today.

Did the second brushing today and also, at a different time, did Waterpik. It is not my goal to do Waterpik daily because that is just not realistic and I do not want to set myself up for failure. But once in a while I can do it and then I am happy.

Very glad to report that the sensitivity on one side of my front teeth is gone. No sensitivity and no pain. Also, out of the blue, my gums started bleeding a week ago but only once and then back to normal. So I think I will just wait until my dentist's receptionist calls me in August to schedule my next cleaning.

Flossed, but didn't brush yesterday. I think I'm going to change it up, and not try to do both at night since that doesn't seem to be working. So I may try to brush after lunch, which while not ideal is probably better than nothing.

Second brushing today, and also did Waterpik and also (at a different time) rinse with Act fluoride rinse. I have a few bottles and I am going to slowly go through them but not rebuy later, because I have recently read on the ADA website (in connection with researching for this thread) that evidence for them in adults is weak.

@Tart Cherry Jam, how do you like the waterpic? I've been thinking about getting one. I have a friend who has one, and swears by it.

flossed and brushed yesterday, so that was good.

good! I did my second brushing today, too.

I love my Waterpic but probably do not know its full capabilities. I was actually thinking about it the other day: it has two settings, floss and massage, and I only use floss. I need to try using massage or at least learn what it is for.

The clean feeling after using waterpic is outstanding. I wish I used mine more often but often times I am too rushed in the morning or too tired in the evening. But this is not because I do not like it. I love it.

Flossed but didn't brush yesterday

I think I have sequential habits in the making. When I get home from work, I put artificial tears drops into my eyes. Later, I brush my teeth and set a timer for 30 minutes and after the timer rings, I am ready to eat and drink.

@Soupe du jour, if you are interested, please join our tooth brushing and flossing thread. Thank you @splitimage for creating and maintaining it!

There have been quite a few models of Waterpiks over the years, with different features and capabilities. There also seems to be a good deal of confusion and controversy around how to (and how not to) use them.

I went for a long time using a Waterpik only occasionally, and mostly when I was after something in particular like an irritated spot between my teeth. I had a very good dentist (now retired) who used to caution me to keep the pressure down. He also mentioned the possibility that if I tried to flush something like, say, a poppy seed out of a gum "pocket", I just might end up driving it in deeper and causing more problems.

A hygienist who'd worked with that dentist for many years (and whom I felt exceptionally comfortable with) left during the pandemic. Not long before the dentist retired, he started using this other, very enthusiastic and assertive hygienist (I won't say "bossy" or "aggressive," though I confess those terms have occurred to me on occasion). The new hygienist instructed me to use my Waterpik more, and not to reduce the pressure. I protested that the dentist had said to keep the pressure down. They conferred, and he came back with the word that ... we apparently hadn't been talking about the same thing or something. I still suspect that he caved to the hygienist, but we never had a chance to continue that discussion.

Later that same hygienist (working for the new dentist in the same office) ordered me to use the Waterpik daily, at maximum pressure, and with a full tank of water each time. I did some research online and came across at least a few sort-of-reassuring articles:
How Safe Is A Waterpik To Use On Sensitive Gums?
Safety of a Water Flosser: A Literature Review | February 2015 | Compendium
I did start using the Waterpik daily, and gradually ran the pressure setting up to the maximum available on that particular machine. Right after a cleaning (an especially aggressive one, I thought) by that same hygienist, I discovered a spot between two teeth that would regularly hurt like blazes when I'd aim the water jet at it. I went back and asked the dentist about it. She just said it looked "a little pink" but she didn't see anything wrong. Over the next few weeks I developed more and more such sore spots until, six weeks along, I decided enough was enough. I took the Waterpik pressure down a couple of notches and over the next few weeks, my gums gradually felt better and better.

The next time I saw my periodontist, I told him about my recent Waterpik experiences and asked what he'd recommend. At first he seemed eager to avoid getting into a fight with the hygienist, but eventually suggested that it wouldn't be a good idea to traumatize the tissue so yes, I should turn the pressure down if it hurt. He also recommended aiming the water jet "perpendicular to the tooth" (as opposed to "up" or "down").

When I saw the new dentist again (for a crown this time, not a cleaning) I mentioned that I'd had to turn down the pressure on the Waterpik. It became clear that she had no idea what specific model of Waterpik I was using nor what its pressure range was. I thought back to some of the studies I'd read about, that had concluded that use of a (generic) water flosser didn't cause any gum damage, and it occurred to me that the authors also apparently hadn't specified what kind(s) of Waterpik(s) their patients had used, nor at what pressure settings. I'm not even 100% sure that they knew.

My "main" Waterpik has a valve at the end of the hose where the tip inserts, with a choice of about five flow (and pressure) settings. I've been using it in the middle position, two notches down from the top. My battery-operated "travel" Waterpik (which I got only a few months ago) has a switch with "High" and "Low" positions. I use it on "high" (and replace the batteries when "high" starts feeling a bit low). With both machines, I mostly squirt the water through the spaces between my teeth, not against the gums and not into the pockets. By now I'm pretty comfortable with those settings, and everyone who cleans my teeth comments that my hygiene seems to be good and they're finding very little "hard stuff".

I haven't run into the "aggressive" hygienist again; that could very well be just the luck of the draw but I like to imagine that my new dentist has had the good sense to intentionally keep us apart.

I've seen other models of Waterpiks offered for sale that have a dial with numbers from 1 to 10. I've never tried one, and probably won't until one of mine quits. The one that Tart Cherry Jam described sounds different still. Anyway, my point is that anything you figure out about one model of Waterpik at one setting, is going to apply differently, maybe very differently, to another model at a different setting.

Thanks @FooZe for all the great info on Waterpics and using them. I think I'll stick with flossing for now, as I seem to be getting into a bit of a routine with it.

Once again flossed but didn't brush yesterday.

FOOZE your the best!

@splitimage: when I started looking up my Waterpic purchase on Amazon following @FooZe' post, I discovered that the model is half price today: Amazon.com

So I forgot about it, but yes, there are 10 pressure settings. And yes it is a dial.

Mine is at 10. I think it has always been there. It does not feel overly pressurized to me and I have not had any problem with it.

I also completely forgot about it, but in addition to pressure settings and massage versus floss settings, there are different tips. I now recall that there were various tips when I unpacked the purchase but do not remember where I store unused tips. I use the basic tip.

Click on the thumbnail to see the various tips as shown on Amazon's product page.

I've always used the standard ("Classic") tip. I'm sure a few others came with my (plug-in) Waterpik but after briefly trying them out, I put them away somewhere and now I can't even find them.

Some years ago, when I was concerned with keeping the pressure low rather than high, I even drilled out one of my tips a little oversize (and marked it with tape to identify it). The hygienist expressed "concern" when I mentioned it to her, and that was when she started demanding that I use maximum pressure.

The tips for my "travel" Waterpik don't interchange with the others. I suspect they may deliver higher flow at lower pressure than the other system.

I vaguely remember that the directions for the rubber-padded tip that you use for flushing out gum pockets, said to keep the pressure on the low side. That sounds more like what's called "irrigation" than like blasting off plaque.

Interesting about the different tips on the waterpic. I think I'm going to stick to classic floss for now, but I'll talk with the hygienist when I next go in.

Flossed but didn't brush yesterday. I'm starting to get to the point, where my mouth doesn't feel good if I don't floss.