Best Waterpik Water Flosser for you: The Ultimate Guide

Overview

In this article, I will name the best Waterpik that you could find on the market. You will know what exactly model to choose specifically for your needs and don’t waste money on another abandoned device at home. You will also learn why it’s important to have a Waterpik for your braces or just for general good dental health.

To find out what Waterpik is the best for you personally look at this infographic that I made:

Click on the infographic to view full-size PDF:

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Hello, my name is Alex. Hope you can like and share this content. Thank you so much!

Ok, did you like the infographic? I tried to represent all the major differences and features of Waterpik models in a simple and visual way.

Waterpik Ultra is the most universal and most recommended water flosser, so by default I recommend getting this one.
If you are looking for more stylish version, then Waterpik Aquarius comes with a new design.
Travel a lot? Then Waterpik Traveler is for you.
Wanna a complete solution with a Sonic Toothbrush + Water Flosser? Then Complete Care is your best bet!
And finally, if you wanna be mobile then go for Waterpik Freedom.

At this stage you may go ahead and buy what fits you the best.

I also understand that you may need more information to make the right decision. So I prepared a lot of details down below. Don’t worry, it’s all simple and clear. You can also click the links below for navigation.

Here are the best Waterpik models that I recommend:

Aquarius

$77
  • Waterpik Aquarius White WP-670
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Waterpik Ultra

$70
  • Waterpik Ultra thumb 2
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Complete Care

$69
  • Waterpik Complete Care WP-900 thumb 2
Shop

Cordless Freedom

$40
  • Waterpik Cordless Freedom thumb
Shop

Waterpik Traveler

$95
  • Waterpik WP-300 Traveler thumb
Shop

What is Waterpik

Waterpik is an oral irrigator that cleans your teeth with the water pressure. It’s as simple as that.

The one thing that makes it better than Floss

Ease of use. That’s it.

String floss is great, but the statistics shows that a lot of Americans don’t floss daily. What is even more scaring is that of those who floss, less than a half does it with the proper technique. And without the proper technique you cannot clean your teeth properly. And that’s the problem that Waterpik solves.

Waterpik is easier to use than floss. People often fall in love with Waterpik and use it daily, which makes it more effective than floss.

The need to use Waterpik increases, even more, when you get braces.

I personally do have braces and use my Waterpik for 1 year+ (at the time of publishing this article), and it saves my life. It’s just so faster and enjoyable to clean with it.

Main components of every Waterpik

There are three main components that every Waterpik has:

  1. Motor
  2. Reservoir
  3. Handle

There are Waterpik models of different shapes and types, but those are the three components that every Waterpik has and they determine the effectiveness of this device.

Waterpik features

There are many features that a Waterpik may have, but those 5 are the most important(in no particular order):

  1. Water pressure settings and maximum possible pressure. Available water pressure settings allow you to adjust the pressure to your preference and therefore achieve effective cleaning without harming yourself. The maximum possible pressure determines how well your Waterpik cleans your teeth if used on the highest setting.
  2. Reservoir capacity. Big reservoir provides you with longer flossing time without the need to refill the reservoir. So the bigger it is the more convenient your Waterpik is.
  3. Portability. Do you want to take your Waterpik with yourself or just move it around? Or maybe you live in a dorm? Than portability is what you should care about.
  4. Convenience. This is the obvious one. The more convenient the better. But when you want to have other features, such as portability, than convenience may suffer a little bit.
  5. Travel compatibility. Most Waterpik are only US compatible and they have the North America Voltage. The only one model that is safe for international use is Waterpik Travel. But there is one thing that you can do to use any Waterpik outside of the US with no worries.

As you may already see, all those features are important. And you may care more about some of them than other. That’s why there is no “ultimately best” Waterpik and that’s why at the top of this article I listed 5 models with their own benefits so you could easily choose what Waterpik is the best for you.

Types of Waterpik water flossers

There are 3 different types of Waterpik water flossers:

  • Countertop water flossers are the traditional ones. Their primary focus is on quality flossing and they do it just right. The model that I recommend here is Waterpik Ultra.
  • Cordless water flossers have a big advantage in portability. They are basically cordless and therefore are easily to move around. The most modern portable water flosser that I recommend is Waterpik Freedom.
  • Combinational water flossers combine a Water Flosser with a Sonic Toothbrush. Waterpik did a great job in this area and those models are pretty good deals, when compared to water flossers and toothbrushes bought separately. They are also convenient and take less space. If you like the idea then I recommend Waterpik Complete Care. I use it myself and I am pretty satisfied with it.

What is the best Waterpik water flosser for me?

With water flossers, there is no “one size fits all” and you have to answer some questions to get the water flosser that fits better for you.

Are you a travel person?

If you travel a lot, then the best and most powerful Waterpik for you is Waterpik Freedom. This model is the most compact and doesn’t need any cords. It works from 3 AA batteries and has 2 water pressure settings. It has a slightly less power though than standard models.

Need more power but still want to travel?

Most people find Freedom model provides enough water pressure, but if you still want a more powerful device, then Waterpik Traveler is just for this case. it has bigger water reservoir that also serves as a cover when inverted and provides more water pressure and is compatible with global network standards (regular countertop versions are not.)

Do you want a single Brush + Water Flosser solution?

In case your old toothbrush is worn out, or you just want a single unit on your countertop that will have all the necessary tools then the best choice for you is Waterpik Complete Care. It’s a complete solution that has everything you may need for your oral care. It comes with toothbrush and water flosser that sit on the single base. The water flosser is almost identical to regular countertop models and provides the same quality care. The toothbrush is the powerful electric Sonic Toothbrush with 2-speed modes, though the first speed is unusable for a good brushing. The unit has a wireless charger where the toothbrush sits and is simple but powerful 2-in-1 solution.

If you just want a good water flosser

In case you love your current toothbrush and want just a good quality water flosser that will sit on your countertop and provide a superior oral care, then I recommend Waterpik Aquarius. It’s the best model for your case that does a decent job at killing bacteria and cleaning your teeth. It has the same big water reservoir and the same powerful motor similar to combination models, but you don’t have to pay for an extra toothbrush.

If you want water flosser for your kids

In this case, Waterpik has a great Kids model that has a fun design(very similar to Traveler model) and includes 20 removable fun decals. But since it’s essentially a Traveler model in the “fun wrapping” I recommend save money and just give your kids their Tips so that all your family uses a single water flosser just changes Tips. See Waterpik Tips Guide for more info.

Waterpik Accessories

So what else is included with Waterpik water flossers?

When you choose a Waterpik, you also get several Tips (nozzles) that come with it. Each tip is specifically designed for a particular case such as dental braces or periodontal pockets, crowns, bridges, and furcations. For each of these cases, Waterpik provides a specific Tip that serves the best.

If you don’t have any “specific” requirements, then you are better to choose the Classic Jet Tip that comes with every model and provides the most pressure. In case you have family members and/or your significant other, there are several units of Classic Jet Tips (from 2 to 3 depending on the model. See what Tips are included with which model.) that come in the box with every Waterpik water flosser.

What Tips are included with which Waterpik water flosser model

Every Waterpik comes with several tips included. So to save you from buying unnecessary additional tips I list below the model and the tips that it comes with:

  • Traveler comes with 4 Tips: 2 Classic Jet Tips, 1 Orthodontic Tip, 1 Plaque Seeker Tip.
  • Waterpik for Kids comes with 2 tips: 1 Orthodontic Tip, 1 Classic Jet Tip.
  • Ultra has 6 tips in the box: 2 Classic Jet Tips, 1 Orthodontic Tip, 1 Plaque Seeker Tip, 1 Pik Pocket Tip, 1 Water Flosser Toothbrush Tip.
  • Waterpik Complete Care (and Complete Care 5.0) comes with 5 water flossing Tips: 2 Classic Jet Tips, 1 Orthodontic Tip, 1 Plaque Seeker Tip and 1 Pik Pocket Tip. It also includes 2 toothbrush heads: standard and compact (more precision).
  • Cordless Freedom has 3 water flossing tips: 2 Classic Jet Tips and 1 Orthodontic Tip.
  • Cordless Professional comes with 4 tips: 2 Classic Jet Tips, 1 Orthodontic Tip and 1 Plaque Seeker Tip.

Waterpik Tips Guide

Waterpik has a lot of different tips and in general, they all are good, but some of them are just more fine tuned to your particular need in your specific case. So I also wanted to point that if you ran out of tips, you can still use any other “specific” tips, they are also fine.

  1. Classic Jet Tip is a regular tip that suits general needs and cleans well between teeth and below the gumline.
  2. Pik Pocket Tip serves the best for periodontal pockets and furcations. It also provides the most water pressure because of the smaller Tip size, so it’s recommended always to use a lower pressure setting when using this Tip.
  3. Plaque Seeker Tip is the best for implants, crowns, and bridges.
  4. Orthodontic Tip is ideal for braces. I personally use this Tip most of the time since I’m a happy owner of braces myself.
  5. Toothbrush Tip is for general use as a regular toothbrush. I also was curious about whether this Tip can replace a regular toothbrush, but didn’t find the answer available on the Internet, so I hit official customer support at waterpik.com, and they gladly answered: “The toothbrush tips for our water flossers are not designed to replace an actual toothbrush. They are designed for between-meal brushing and plaque removal, but we advise that you continue to brush with a toothbrush.”
  6. There is also a Tongue Cleaner Tip that is pretty self-explanatory.
  7. Also don’t forget to replace the tips regularly.

    Classic Jet Tip and Tongue Cleaner Tips should last 6 months until replacement and all other tips should be replaced every 3 months, according to Waterpik recommendations.
    Price range for all the tips is around $9.

    Pros and Cons of using Waterpik water flosser

    As for the pros, it should be clear to this moment that Waterpik is easier to use than Floss and therefore you will use it every single day effortlessly. That gives you the better effectiveness and healthier teeth.

    But what are the cons of using a Waterpik?

    Well, it’s like asking “What are the cons of using a Toothbrush?” There are not. Though there are some “inconveniencies” caused by specificity of Waterpik devices.

    Inconvenience #1.
    The first inconvenience is that Waterpik is loud. And I mean it’s really loud, so if you use it at night you may easily wake up your children or your significant other.

    Inconvenience #2.
    It’s messy. It takes time to learn how to use Waterpik properly, so don’t worry if you got wet at first time. Just be careful and use it on the low setting and with time you will master the process.

Conclusion

So Waterpik is a great device and when used daily it can significantly improve your oral health and breath. It has a variery of different models and at this point you should know exactly what model is the best for you. So if you want to shop for Waterpik you can do this now.

Buy Waterpik

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FAQ

If streams hurt your gums. If you are just starting using it please please start with the lower pressure setting. Also, make sure you use warm water because cold water may harm your teeth especially if they are sensitive. I personally use warm water and fill the reservoir immediately before using Waterpik.

If you got braces. It does come with an orthodontic nozzle specifically for braces. So it cleans them up far better than a toothbrush. I personally have braces for 2 years(for the time of this article writing) and the first year I didn’t have a water flosser and struggled a lot. But since then I have my Waterpik for 1 year+, and it makes cleaning my braces so easy. Totally recommend it if you or your family members have braces.

Can I use Waterpik for travel? Is it portable? Yes. Waterpik has a model called Traveler that is both compact and comes with a handy travel case. It is also global voltage compatible so you can use it with any network in the world.

What water should I use? You can use any kind of water: well water, tap water, bottled all work fine. You can also use mouthwash solutions with it. Just make sure you rinse the device with water after that.

Can I use salting solutions or hydrogen peroxide with Waterpik? Yes, you can use any kind of mouthwashing solutions. Just make sure you rinse the device after that by filling the reservoir with water and running the device with the nozzle pointed into the sink.

How to prevent water spraying around the sink. Please see How to use Waterpik water flosser.

If you have a couple should you buy two Waterpiks? No. Every Waterpik model includes 2-3(depends on model) Classic Jet Tips.

How many times should I use it? Use it at least once a day. Most research studies that I found used Waterpik once a day and reported great improvement in dental health. You will get the best results using it two times a day: in the morning and at night.

Should I still use a toothbrush and a regular dental floss? Yes, Waterpik doesn’t replace a regular toothbrush and dental floss, but complementing them with Waterpik significantly improves your oral health.

How to point Waterpik on your teeth. Please see How to use Waterpik water flosser.

How long to wash each tooth: 8-10 seconds in between teeth on the back and 4-6 seconds on the front. Also, make sure you approach teeth from outside and also from inside.

What water temperature should I use: cold or warm or hot?. Make sure you use warm water because cold water may harm your teeth especially if they are sensitive. I personally use warm water and fill the reservoir immediately before using Waterpik.

Should I rotate the nozzle in the handle or just rotate wrist to reposition Waterpik in the mouth? I personally rotate my wrist since I feel it more comfortable and just simpler. Please note that Traveler model doesn’t have nozzle rotator on the handle.

Can I wash the reservoir in a dishwasher? Yes, the reservoir is top rack dishwasher safe. Just make sure you remove the reservoir valve before putting it in the dishwasher. (if you own WP-100 Ultra that has the valve).

How many toothbrushes and tips/piks/nozzles come with water flosser? Please, section Which Tips are included with which Waterpik water flosser model.

Does it reduce tartar? Yes, Waterpik water flossers are great at reducing tartar. Users report that it’s tartar situation drastically improves when they start using Waterpik.

Can I use Waterpik outside the US/in China/in Europe? Waterpik water flossers are compatible only with 110v/120v US network, but you can use a power converter/adaptor. I personally use it with adapter, and it works great. No complaints so far.

Where are the piks/tips/nozzles stored? Countertop models have a distinct storage for them.