What with the multiple recommendations for a water pick in the comments, lemme drop some aggregated info I’ve gathered about them after asking multiple dentists and hygienists over the last few years while sitting around waiting for various things.
They’re great for what they are, but they aren’t as great as people think they are.
They do definitely work, no doubts, every single one that I talked about them with said that they’ll get the job done.
The problem is that they have a higher learning curve than you’d think, and that means they can cause more trouble than they fix.
See, you’re using the water pressure at an angle because of how you have to hold the pick and move it. The angle that you’ll likely use them at is the wrong one, and this means you are probably going to be shooting the plaque and debris the pick dislodges under your gums.
Obviously, that is not a good thing.
You can definitely learn how to avoid doing that with a bit of research, but most people don’t do that bare minimum research, they just start spraying and then wonder why their gums are bleeding and sore.
So, if you want to invest in a water pick (and tbh, saving the money to pay for a yearly cleaning would be better), make sure you take the time to use it properly. But, they aren’t better than floss at all, so unless you have some reason you can’t floss, why spend the money?