Waterpik Water Flosser and Toothbrush

When I began to have some dental issues, I was frustrated because I brushed and flossed my teeth daily. However, I knew I needed to do something quickly to help my gums and teeth to be stronger. WHAT IS THE WATERPIK COMPLETE CARE SYSTEM LIKE? (In doing my research, I found that I had a hard time figuring out how this system would work. It is for people in similar mindsets that I am writing this review) WHAT TO DO FIRST The first thing that you do is set up the area that you plan to put the unit. The footprint is similar to a women's size 5 shoe. It needs to be near an outlet which should be near the sink that you plan to use this system in. The unit has to be set up so that the water bin is closer to you. The tops of the unti all go in the opposite side of the unit where there are holes for them to stand up in. The toothbrush base has to be charged up. Mine took overnight to reach full status with three lights on it. The lights will stay lit to let you know what the charge is after you use it for a few seconds. HOW TO USE THIS UNIT My family has a toothbrush head for each of us. I prefer the smaller head which comes in the unit. My daughter and husband each have a larger head that they use. They all have different colored rings on them so they can be told apart. You can also each have different reguiar tips for each of you if you prefer- this kit comes with two. TOOTHBRUSH When you first use the flosser, I find that it is best to brush our teeth first. You can set the toothbrush on gentle speed (sensitive teeth might like this one) or high speed. At first the high speed feels very intense, but in the long run, if you work up to it, it really does clean the teeth well. Make sure that the toothbrush is in your mouth before turning it on. That will spare you splatters everywhere. Every 30 seconds the brush will pause briefly to let you know it is time to move to the next quadrant. I don't listen- I am a random brusher and go all over for 2 minutes. Once the brush is done, we remove the top and stand it up in the unit or other storage space. THE FLOSSER Using the flosser is not hard to do, it just takes some practice to learn your own method. First of all, the first time, the blue basin comes out of the unit. You rinse it and fill it with warm water. Then carefully replace the basin in the unit lining up the plug with the black seal on the unit. Once it is firmly placed in there, you put in the tip that you want and with the tip IN YOUR MOUTH BEFORE STARTING, you start the unit. I recommend you start on gentle- the lowest of 10 settings- so that you can take some time to develop the method of use that works best for you. Once you have figured it out, then higher speeds are not as difficult to work with. We each have our own method of use. I tend to lean my head over the sink tilted slightly to the side. My husband turns his head completely to the side, letting the stream of water run out of the corner of his mouth. My daughter prefers to use it in private so I don't know what method she has worked out yet. She has used this with braces and now retainer and loves it. There is a button on the flosser which pauses the stream so you can take it out of your mouth, rearrange it or turn it off without water spewing everywhere. HOW WELL DOES THIS UNIT PERFORM? My family rarely agrees completely on anything. We all have our own preferences and usually there are things we disagree on even if we agree. This system, however, has made us all rave as we all have seen a big change in our tooth and gum health. I am due for a cleaning after a long period of not being able to afford any, and since getting this system, I have found that my teeth have been looking cleaner and cleaner as I continue to use this. Gum bleeding has been reduced to almost nothing for all of us. Our daughter's mouth hardware has been fabulously cleaned and she really loves the different heads. She uses the orthodontic tip for her teeth. My husband and I use the classic jet tip for now, and eventually I will use the pik pocket top once my teeth have been deep cleaned and settle down. I have also used the plaque seeker tip and found it to be very useful around the gum area. To test this, I have used the waterpik flosser on medium after brushing my teeth on high speed. Then I floss with floss to test and see if anything was left. I have found one or two tiny pieces wedged in high up on the tooth, but that is it. My teeth usually hold a lot of debris, so this is quite impressive! ANY DISLIKES? The only things that I can say that we have not been crazy about has been trying to find the right manner to get the stream running out of the mouth with the least amount of mess. It is possible, but the way that the teeth are cleaned is so good, I am willing to put up with it. You will get wet using this- but it is not overwhelming. For people who really hate messiness in any form, this might not work out well for you. THE BOTTOM LINE This system comes with 2 classic tips, 1 plaque seeker tip, and pik pocket tip, a large toothbrush head and a compact toothbrush head. Between the things that this comes with, my family (with the addition of another brush head) has found this to be really revolutionary for our tooth and gum care. After use of both the brush and flosser, I have flossed with tooth floss and found almost nothing left every time. We have not had any problems with the toothbrush not holding a charge, but we have had this under a month. I will update if we have any problems. Although messy at times, our teeth have never been cleaner. I am very happy with this system so far. I will update with any new insight or information.