Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

ORIGINAL REVIEW (five stars) I'm new to water flossing, but traditional (string) flossing has become more problematic for me, so I wanted to check this out. Turns out it works as well as traditional (string) floss. My initial web searches had all pulled up "research" that sounded more like ads for water flossers, but I finally found some NIH articles showing that it does, in fact, work better than string flossing (search for the phrase: NIH water string flossing). So I got this unit myself and was surprised to find first-hand that it works as well and perhaps better than traditional floss--my mouth felt cleaner than it usually does after flossing, and when I followed up with string flossing (to see if it would get anything the water flosser hadn't), all was clear. PROS * Works better than traditional string floss - leaves your teeth cleaner * Has different strength settings so you can adjust * Comes with multiple tips. Most of the ones with brushes say they'll need replacing after 3-6 months, but the one that's just a clear plastic tube seems like it will last longer * Battery charger is magnetic - you set the unit down on the counter, plug in the charger, and then magnetically attach the charger to the front of the unit (I tried attaching it backwards or too high / too low, and it just realigns itself to be correct, so it's super easy) CONS * It's quite big - maybe 10 inches tall and 4 inches at the base (while string floss is teeny tiny), though fortunately it's easy to hold and not heavy * Has a learning curve (probably less of one than string floss, but most of us already know how to string floss)... nothing bad, but it takes a while for it to become a _habit_ to not turn it on outside your mouth (which just shoots water across the room, as you'd expect, and is easy enough to clean up) NEUTRAL * You may have to fill the water reservoir at the bottom a few times during flossing... but this is easy to do, and I'm glad they didn't just make the unit even bigger than it already is * The instructions say you can use the unit in the shower, which would be nice to keep down the mess while you're getting through the learning curve, but I don't like the logistics of refilling the empty reservoir while showering *************** UPDATE: three months later, the battery is failing even though I leave this plugged in all the time (except when using it). The battery can no longer make it through a single flossing so I have to switch back to manual floss partway through. In doing so, I found that even though most of the time my mouth feels cleaner with water floss (vs. traditional string floss), there **were** a few pockets where normal flossing again made my gums bleed (a sign that the water floss wasn't getting in there well enough). So I'd suggest that you continue to string-floss on occasion for those benefits. Lowering rating to just 3 stars out of 5 because there's no excuse for a battery failing to hold a charge after just 3 months; otherwise I'd probably do 4 stars. *************** UPDATE 2: After another 3 months of flossing 1/2 my mouth with water (until the battery would die) and then switching to string floss, I finally got around to calling customer service. I wish I had done it sooner! Within 15 minutes they had a new unit on its way to me. I did have to read them my serial number to confirm the purchase, and I mailed the old one back (so they can test and see how/why/where it failed). But I've now had the new one for 6 months and the battery is still as good as ever. I still string floss 1-3 times/month so I'll notice if I again start missing anywhere with the water floss. But the water flosser really does a great job and makes my teeth feel fantastic whenever I use it.