Keeping your mouth healthy goes beyond basic brushing, and no one knows that better than board-certified oral and maxillofacial surgeon Dr. Jason Auerbach, known to more than 188,000 Instagram followers as @BloodyToothGuy. One of his secret weapons for good oral hygiene? This powerful water flosser.
“Everyone knows the standard of care: brush your teeth, floss, etc.,” says Dr. Jason Auerbach. You (and his 188,000 Instagram followers) might know him as the @BloodyToothGuy, and as an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, there’s no one better to ask about what tools belong in your dental hygiene lineup.
“The first thing, and I think it's the thing that I would say is the most important and probably overlooked, is a water flosser. Specifically, the Waterpik Aquarius Water Flosser,” he says. “If you were to add one thing to your routine tomorrow, that would be it. The benefits that you get from water flossing are significantly greater than what you get from standard manual flossing.”
Hate flossing? Try a Waterpik
“It's like an adjunctive or a replacement to traditional flossing, which some people, in terms of their manual dexterity, can't do,” he adds. “To have a large handle for most people is a little bit easier, especially as you get older and manual dexterity becomes a little bit more challenging. So there’s that value, and I think it's worth it.”
It’s also sort of like the old adage with SPF: The best one is the one you’ll actually use. There’s a lot that can be said for applying that line of logic to flossing, too, says Auerbach.
“I think the issue in dentistry is consistency of maintenance, the consistency of home care. Just actually doing it,’ he says. “I feel like the Waterpik, of all the water flossers out there, I find people are most compliant with using it. They use it consistently and love it. Of course, it's the name brand that everybody knows, which to me is less relevant than the fact that it's a very, very good product.”
And yes, this is more than just getting that pesky popcorn kernel out of your gums: It’s also a good way to reduce inflammation as a foundation for good health across the entire body, not just the mouth.
The primary way Auerbach says people can prevent that inflammation and keep that soft tissue in the mouth as healthy as possible is by using a steady stream of water to gently remove debris in your mouth. And, it’s much easier to sweep your mouth with a water flosser than traditional flossing.
“A lot of people are starting to recognize that inflammation anywhere in the body, including the mouth, is very negative for the body, the health, or systemic health in general,” he says. “The more soft tissue inflammation you have, the more bone loss, the more systemic inflammation you have, and the more problems downstream we see from that.”
Gentle enough for pricey dental work
“Dental implants, crowns and bridges, and veneers — things that require special care — this water flosser works really well with because of the multiple settings that it has in terms of pressure,” he says. “Especially in cases with patients, as our population ages, and even younger patients have more kind of advanced dentistry, there's a need to care for that dentistry in a more particular way.”
Auerbach says this flosser is also a fantastic option if you struggle with sensitive gums or roots since you can pick your pressure level. Whether you’re dealing with those, implants, or a general dread of flossing, Waterpiks can help, says Auerbach: “This type of water flosser, especially around the gum line, around dental implants, around orthodontic issues, tends to be really gentle and effective.”
