To achieve the best oral health possible, brushing should be combined with flossing. And we are not talking about traditional brushing that sometimes leaves your teeth and gum bleeding or the flossing that’s merely all about gaggling and spitting out water.
No, we are talking about using an electric toothbrush and water flosser combo. This removes plaques, stains, discoloration, and dirt, dislodges food particles and bacteria, thereby leaving your teeth has healthy, bring and shiny as can be.
But some questions beg for answers. For instance, are there any differences between the two? Can they work independently or must they be combined? These answers and more will be addressed in this article.
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All of our picks have the American Dental Association (ADA) Seal of Acceptance.
1 – Difference Between an Electric Toothbrush and Water Flosser in One?
All across the globe, it is generally agreed that brushing and flossing are two separate acts but needs to work together to achieve the desired result. While the electric toothbrush cleans the teeth, water flossers clean between teeth, removing food particles that electric toothbrushing cannot get to.
Also, the electric toothbrush is a toothbrush more or less, it only just uses electricity to work. Hence, it has bristles, handles, and brush heads. The water flosser on the other hand looks nothing like a toothbrush. Rather, it’s a long pipe with a curved edge that directs water to the teeth. It works using pressure. Do you want to know how to use this product you can read the following post: How to use an electric toothbrush and water flosser combination.
2 – Electric Toothbrush and Water Flosser Combo in 2 products
This describes the combination of an electric toothbrush and water flosser in one device. The electric bristles rotate or vibrate to help reduce and remove the build-up of plaque in the teeth and gums. This vibration enables micro-movements every time the toothbrush moves against the teeth. The American Dental Association (ADA) opines that brushing your teeth with an electric toothbrush effectively removes oral plaques responsible for tooth decay.
The water flosser on the hand works using a combination of pressure and pulsation. By directing the tip to the gum, it clears food particles stuck between the teeth, removes plaques, and generally cleans the teeth and gum.
There are several electric toothbrushes and water flosser combo in one including Waterpik sonic fusion, Anweil electric toothbrush and water flosser, mouth armor sonic electric toothbrush and flosser, Philips Sonicare power flosser and toothbrush, and many others.
The first product in this comparison table is Electric toothbrush and water flosser in 2 products, number 2 and number 3 are electric toothbrushes and water flossers in one:
3 – Different kind of water flossers
Some electric toothbrushes and water flossers also come as separate products. Rather than come as one unit, they are sold separately under different brand names and have separate features.
There are generally four types of water flossers that users can go for. This includes:
- Countertop: It is the heaviest of all. This sits on the countertop and can be plugged into an electrical socket. It typically comes with an irrigation tank that has to be refilled each time the water runs out.
- Battery-operated/cordless Water Flosser: This is usually small, slim, and portable. The cordless water flosser is ideal for travelers as it provides flexibility. However, it is not as powerful as countertop water flossers.
- Shower flosser: The shower flosser attaches to the showerhead, making flossing easy after bath. It doesn’t require electricity or batteries but is typically more difficult to operate.
- Faucet Flosser: Similar to shower flossers, faucet flossers are also quite popular. But unlike shower flossers, this has a cord attached to the water basin instead of the showerhead.
There are also different types of the electric toothbrush. Some are suitable for sensitive teeth, for frequent travel, for sensitive gums, and kids. There are also electric toothbrushes for braces, for implants, for bridges, and those that serve a general-purpose.
4 – Electric Toothbrush and Cordless Water Flosser Combo with Largest Reservoir
Many electric toothbrushes and water flosser combo features reservoirs, however, the size often defers. One of the best products with the largest reservoir includes:
Mouth Armor Electric Toothbrush with Water Flosser Combo
The cordless oral irrigator features a unique combination of 3 flossing toothbrush and water pressure to give enhanced cleaning action. The product is powerful yet gentle, has an ergonomic design and a Smart Auto Timer. Its reservoir is very large (for cordless models) as it measures 6.8 oz (200ml) enough to take you through an entire oral care routine. The reservoir can be detached and refilled easily too. The reservoir of an electric toothbrush and water flosser combination can go up to 600ML, for example the Waterpik Sonic Fusion 2.0.
Also, the toothbrush and water flosser combo offer enhanced teeth whitening, as it produces 38000 micro-vibrations per minute. The brushing mode which includes gum-care, polish, whiten, and clean is designed to suit every type of tooth.
Besides, it has a rechargeable and efficient battery made of lithium-ion and can last for as long as 6 weeks when fully charged.
The toothbrush handle is water-resistant and the water flosser is safe to use in the shower. Moreover, it is travel-ready featuring a travel case and a charging base for ease of charging. There are also four flossing tips for a customized experience, 4 flossing brush heads, a travel bag, a USB adapter, and so on.
5 – Electric Toothbrush and Water Flosser Jet Tips
There are different types of water flosser jet tips designed to meet various dental needs. They include:
- Classic Jet Tip: It is designed for everyday use and is best for general purposes. The water floss tip delivers deep cleaning below the gum line and between the teeth. When used over time, the classic jet tip can help prevent gum disease and enhance the general oral health of users.
- Orthodontic Tip: This tip is best for those with braces. Like the classic tip, it deeply cleans between teeth and below the gumline, prevents gum diseases, and improves oral health.
- Plaque Seeker Tip: This is ideal for those with implants and crowns. The jet tip removes plaques from every part of the mouth including the hard-to-reach areas without damaging delicate prosthetics. It contains three thin bristles that remove plaques found around veneers, bridges, crowns, and implants.
- Pik Pocket Tip: The tip is designed to deep clean the teeth, providing jets of water filled with anti-bacterial solutions.
- Tongue Cleaner: The tongue cleaner tip is great for people with bad breath. It has a spoon-like shape to effectively lock in and removes bacteria from the tongue, thus reducing and preventing mouth odor.
- Implant Denture Tip: As the name implies, the tip is best for dentures and fixed implant bridges. The tip is specifically designed to get to hard-to-reach places to clean dentures and fixed implant bridges.
- Toothbrush Tip: Designed for the Sonic Fusion 2.0 and Sonic Fusion, the water flosser tip allows users to floss their teeth while still brushing at the same time.
All jet tips in one product on Amazon
Which Settings Do You Have on This Device?
A – Brush
Brushes are usually classified based on the frequency and speed of movement. There’s the sonic brush which is between a range of 20 to 20,000 Hz and there are the ultrasonic toothbrushes that are between 2.400 to 40.000 movements.
Most sonic brushes feature different intensity levels and cleaning modes. This includes daily care, tongue cleaning, sensitivity, and whitening. However, some toothbrushes offer both sonic and ultrasonic motions, this means the intensity of the motion can be increased, reduced, or turned off entirely depending on what the user wants.
B – Brush & Floss
A brush and floss combo will typically have features of an electric toothbrush and a water flosser combined in one. Thus, the device is expected to have brush modes including daily clean, polish, whiten, and so on. Also, an electric toothbrush and water flosser combination usually has different brush heads, thus it can be detached and replaced.
The water flosser and toothbrush combination usually has pressure settings that can be adjusted. Typically, it’s within a range of 1 to 10. So, it is easy to brush and floss at the same time with this device. Two things in one time. The brush head is also detachable and can be changed, hence, different types of heads can be used depending on the dental problem.
C – Floss
The setting on a separate water flosser is usually almost the same as the one in the best electric toothbrush and water flosser combo. The floss has a pressure setting that regulates the force of the water gushing out. Users can adjust the pressure sensors to 1 if they desire a very low pressure or 10 if they want the pressure to be very high. The flosser tips are also usually detachable and can be changed to something more specific to the users’ needs.
Conclusion
The state of your oral health impacts greatly on your general wellbeing. Therefore, it is important to practice good oral hygiene including eating a healthy diet, replacing your toothbrush once every three or four months, avoiding the use of tobacco, the use of mouthwash, and frequent visit to dentists.
However, the most effective and efficient oral care routine is frequent teeth brushing and flossing. While regular methods work, electric toothbrushes and water flosser combo are more effective in removing germs, bacteria, plaques, and bad breath.
In this article, we have dissected the specification of the electric toothbrush and water flosser combo in a bid to help you under the product more. Now that you know all there is to a toothbrush combo, we hope this inspires you to take the necessary action needed for good oral health.
Dr Michael Jones is the proud founder of The Toothbrush Expert. He has been working as a dentist for 21 years now. Besides his work as a dentist, Michael wants to help people to find the right dental products. His goal is to provide everyone with honest expert reviews on all kinds of dental care products.