Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've owned a Waterpik water flosser since 2006. I purchased my first one from the oral surgeon who recommended I use it for general oral hygiene and specifically because I had large gum pockets around some of my molars. That first one was a Model WP-100, and it lasted six years. It worked quite well until it finally wore out, and I only had to purchase 2-3 replacement Jet Tips for it in all that time. The recommended replacement interval for these Jet Tips is 6 months, but I don't replace them if they are still working--the point at which the Jet Tip needs to be replaced is when water dribbles through it instead of in a strong, steady stream, or it won't stay seated in place in the Waterpik handle. The second Waterpik I purchased in 2012 was a Model WP-60W. I got it at a local Walgreens drugstore. This model was a problem from the start, because the reservoir was constantly leaking water. I know now, from reading today the excellent manual that comes with this Model WP-900, that my Model WP-60W had a defective reservoir valve and the warranty would have covered replacing it. The problem was, I did return it to Walgreens and exchanged it for another WP-60W, but that one leaked, too, and I didn't feel like going through the hassle of another return, so I kept the replacement Model WP-60W and have been unhappy with its leaking for the past 2.5 years. Since I had purchased my first two Waterpiks locally, and I had not gone online to research Waterpik when I did so, I wrongly assumed when I bought the Model WP-60W that somehow Waterpik had changed the design of their machine and messed up a good thing. Thanks to the wonders of Amazon, I discovered just this week, when I was looking to replace my Model WP-60W, because I just could not stand its leaking another day, that the reason my second Waterpik was so bad was that I had purchased a bottom-of-the-line model, of far lower quality than my first Waterpik, the Model WP-100, and I learned the different model numbers by looking at the pictures of the various models sold by Waterpik on Amazon. I was also due to replace my electric toothbrush, and I was fascinated by the information I read about the Waterpik Sonic toothbrush. Waterpik's ad copy on their website and on Amazon claims that the Sonic is much better than the Philips Sonicare, which is the brand I have used for over a decade in the Essence series. I had been fairly satisfied with the Sonicare, but mainly because it was the only brand I have ever used, so I hadn't compared it with anything else. I decided I would very much like to try the Sonic, but I noted that the price for the Sonic and a Waterpik higher quality water flosser model, when sold separately, would amount to about $170--a pretty steep cost and out of my budget. Then I ran across this model, the WP-900, at a terrific two-for-one price, offering a top-of-the-line Waterpik water flosser plus the Sonic electric toothbrush, and sold by a merchant here on Amazon for a price below retail. I snapped it up. It arrived today, and I am extremely impressed. Here are the things I like: 1. The product is well packed, such that the flosser and toothbrush are well protected, but everything was easily opened--no clamshell horror packing. 2. The manual and quick-start guides are well written and well illustrated, and in print large enough that it is actually readable. 3. The product is simple to assemble, and the head of the Sonic toothbrush pops off (just pull it off, like taking a cork out of bottle, in an upward motion), compared to having to screw on and off the head of the Sonicare electric toothbrush. The brush head of the Sonicare also gets really sloppy and the inside of the handle has a well which gets very wet and has to be, with great difficulty, scrubbed out to remove mold buildup. There is no such problem with the handle of the Sonic. There is no well in the handle for water to get into. 4. The Sonic toothbrush's rechargeable battery arrived 1/3 charged, which was enough to immediately use it. It also re-charges much faster than the Sonicare. It has indicator lights to tell you how charged the battery is, whether 1/3, 2/3 or completely charged, which the Sonicare does not have and which I love. 5. The Sonic toothbrush has two speeds, which the Sonicare does not have. This is a terrific perk. 6. The brush of the Sonic toothbrush is smaller than the Sonicare, and the feel of the brush, including its size, shape and the vibration of its movement, is exponentially more pleasant and effective to use than the Sonicare. 7. This model of the Waterpik is like an expensive sports car beside a jalopy in comparison to the bottom-of-the-line Model WP-60W, and the WP-100 is like a mid-priced sedan in compared to the WP-900. I love the design of the separate, lidded compartments for the water reservoir and one that holds the water-flosser heads and the head of the Sonic toothbrush. The water reservoir comes off easily and fits in place easily, with zero leaking from its valve--what a relief! 8. The pause buttons on the Waterpik water flosser and the Sonic electric toothbrush both work much better than those on the Model WP-60W Waterpik and the Sonicare electric toothbrush. 9. The price of the replacement brush heads for the Sonic are about 1/4 the cost of the replacement heads for my Sonicare--which is a huge savings over the life of an electric toothbrush. 10. The insertion fittings of the Jet Tips of the WP-900 water flosser, compared to those of the Jet Tips for the cheaper WP-60W, are much higher quality, which means that the Jet Tips leak less and last longer. 11. This product has a two-year warranty for defects in its construction, and a problem like a defective reservoir valve can be solved at home, by getting a replacement part. All in all, I am in heaven with the great quality of this product. It works so much more effectively than what I've been struggling with previously, that I am able to do my dental care in literally half the time it took me with my Sonicare and Model WP-60W Waterpik. I could not be more satisfied with this product, and I recommend it without reservation.