Even after rinsing my mouth carefully, or chewing gum or waiting numerous hours after a meal the Waterpik will remove an amazing quantity of food from around the teeth, more than interdentally sticks or power brushes. A lot of this is from in between the teeth and would be left in place by brushing. The rest would mix with the toothpaste so you'd be brushing your teeth with food remnants. I prefer clean toothpaste. My dental hygienist says my gums have improved significantly.
A problem was the development of a leak from the handle rather early in the life of the machine. Waterpik Inc and one Amazon supplier sell an alternate handle which is easy to install. Web comments reporting the same leak incorrectly claim the spare is not available. I found the Waterpik website did not work correctly with the Google Chrome browser, giving the look of a poor site with no spares. With FireFox the website is exceptional and the spares are effortless to find. The substitute handle seems superior to the old one and I hope it will last longer.
Other repair kits advertised on the web seem useless according to web observation. This does not shock me as they consist of a bit of coiled tubing and it is not the tubing which caused my leak. The handle is not created to be repairable, but only replaceable. Others have found no repair service worth the cost but apart from the mains lead the parts you may need are so easy to restore there's no point in one. If inner parts wear out you do need a new waterpik and repair would be unprofitable.
Within a few weeks of first use the mains lead broke its outer padding at the point where it enters the machine. A better grommet like those on even cheap phone chargers would avoid this. It's an electric danger. Replacing the wire or the grommet is not a job for even a rationally superior handyman.
The 'Pause' button on the old grip stuck in the off position but the new one works flawlessly. It may be that Waterpik have practiced 'continuous improvement' in its manufacture. It seems to be this valve which was to blame for the leak problem, not a split in the hose or a loose joint.
The machine comes with attachments of which the only one I've wanted to use is a spare jet to replace a broken one.
Rival brands exist, but they cost about the same.
The idea of this kind of product is bright and I suggest it strongly even though the issues mentioned, of which the mains lead crack is the most important.
The problem seems to be to pick the right waterpik, and believe me there are a few great one out there. I have personally used most of them and they have their own perks it ends up being a personal choice. Try as many as you can and see what you like.
