Panasonic EW-DJ10 Compact Oral Irrigator 2 Water Jet Modes, white/blue

Irrigators can make a real difference to your oral hygiene and having used this for the past 5 months, I would definitely recommend it.It takes a couple of times of using it to get proficient in how to manouevre it in your mouth without spraying water everywhere but once mastered it's very easy. It leaves a squeaky clean feeling in your mouth and I can't imagine not using one now.If, like me, you don't always floss as much as you should then this irrigator is a must have. It's still recommended to floss too but I worry less now that I use this regularly. I visit the dental hygienist every 6 months but feel I could extend this to an annual visit. I have a couple of tiny spaces at the bottom of my lower front teeth which become visible directly after a hygienist visit but disappear again after a week or two, presumably as plaque builds up. This time though, I can still see the spaces 3 months after my last appointment and the staining behind my lower front teeth has not yet returned. A definite visible improvement which has sold me on this product.The battery life was a slight issue for me as I got a lot of power when the batteries were new but it slowed down a lot after about a week. I love that strong blast of water feeling but it's not overly strong or uncomfortable and probably if it had a 3rd speed (it has two speed settings) I would use that! Although not recommended for this irrigator, I am now using re-chargeables which seem to give a consistent power use for much longer before I have to change them.Irrigators are hugely popular in the USA but not so much here - even my dentist didn't seem to know much about them but surely that will change as more people try these and see the benefits.Feb 2013 update - my irrigator is still working well and it was a worthwhile buy. Probably the force of the water isn't quite as strong as when new but it's still fine. A few years ago my dentist told me I only needed an annual scrape and polish and the only difference to my routine was this product.

This is a comparative review of the Panasonic EW-DJ10, Waterpik WP-660UK and the Power Floss manual water flosser.POWER - the Waterpik has ten settings from gentle (unlikely to irritate even sensitive gums) to super powerful (patio cleaning power!) The Panasonic falls about midway between the Waterpik's range of settings. It's definitely powerful enough to give the gums a good workout even though it's battery operated. Just don't expect a gentle floss. If you need gentle go for the Waterpik. I can't really recommend the Power Floss because it's shoddily made. I was so disappointed about this because I used to own the previous model and it worked well enough but the re-designed version is awful. It leaks and the manual pump is awkward to use and randomly stops working.MESS AND CLEAN UP - The Panasonic makes the most mess. It's like a garden water sprinkler because it sprays so effectively that water bounces off the gums and teeth all over the place. The Waterpik on low settings is less messy because the spray nozzle is on a flexible cord that's easier to control than the fixed nozzle of the Panasonic. The Power Floss is the least messy mainly because it doesn't work very well. A clean disposable kitchen towel is enough to wipe and dry all these flossers ready for the next session. I haven't used mouthwash in them so I don't know if this would eventually clog them up. A quick flush with clean water after the mouthwash might prevent this.NOISE - The Waterpik is very noisy and would wake people up if used late at night. The Panasonic is not too loud and, with the bathroom door closed, should not disturb others in the flat/house. The Power Floss is silent whether it's working or not (usually not!)CONCLUSION - I like the Panasonic for its portability and the Waterpik for it's gentle options. The Panasonic gives my gums a bit too much of a hammering to be used all the time which is when I switch to the Waterpik. If only the Waterpik was less noisy then it would definitely be the overall winner. As it stands, I recommend both the Panasonic and Waterpik as they complement each other and cover all my needs. Unless the Power Floss gets a redesign and the manufacturing quality improves I can't recommend it.