The 5 Best Water Flossers for a Cleaner Mouth - Buy Side from WSJ

Whether you’re interested in improving your gum health or just want a method of flossing you’ll actually use, these dental devices are worth a try

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Written by

Contributor, Buy Side from WSJ

Korin Miller is a contributor to Buy Side from WSJ.

Updated October 11, 2024, 12:13 PM EDT

$100 $91

$140

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Despite recommendations from the American Dental Association to floss daily, research has found that only about 30% of American adults actually engage in the practice. But trendy interdental cleaners like water flossers can help clean those hard-to-reach places between the teeth and by the gumline, benefitting oral health even for people who shun traditional flossing methods.

Water flossers are not considered an essential dental tool, meaning they’re not designed to replace your toothbrush or even conventional dental floss. But they can make the process of cleaning your teeth easier, especially if you have dental appliances, dexterity issues or a serious aversion to flossing the traditional way.

After flossing with 12 machines, we found the Waterpik Ion Professional to be the one that will work for most. The Philips Sonicare Power Flosser 7000 offers a quieter clean, if you’re willing to pay more. We found the Burst Water Flosser to be a good portable option for people who like to floss on the go. The Amazon Basics HydroClean Cordless Water Flosser is the lowest-price model we tested, but doesn’t sacrifice on quality. And the Oral-B Water Flosser Advanced is a solid portable model with a good grip.

For even more oral health gear, check out our guide to the best electric toothbrushes.

Buy Side Top Pick

$91 at Amazon

$100 save $9

One of the few models with the ADA seal of approval, this flosser is easy to use and doesn’t need to be plugged into a wall.

The Waterpik Ion Professional manages to toe the line between offering valuable features and providing superfluous elements that will go unused. It’s one of the rare water flossers that has the ADA seal of acceptance. “Waterpik, which has the ADA seal, is the gold standard,” says Julie Cho, D.M.D., a board-certified dentist in New York City.

The Ion Professional has a few areas where it really shines. The device is smaller than any other water flosser we tested with a 20-ounce tank, and it won’t hog a significant amount of counter space. You can flip between 10 water pressure settings — more than double the number most water flossers offer — ranging from 10 to 100 pounds per square inch (PSI), and a timer with a 30-second pacer pauses to signal when it’s time to move on to a different quadrant.

This model doesn’t require a plug from the machine to the wall — you can charge it via USB every four weeks — so you’re not stuck using it near an outlet. Unlike some water flossers, it doesn’t automatically turn on when you hit the power button, which means you’re not left scrambling to shove it into your mouth while spraying your bathroom mirror in the process.

Waterpik includes six water flosser nozzles — two Classic Jet tips, one Plaque Seeker tip, an Orthodontic tip (for braces), a Pik Pocket tip (for periodontal pockets) and an Implant/Denture tip — to cover just about all your water flosser needs. While it’s unlikely any one person will use all of those tips, they’re nice to have in case your situation changes.

The only downside to this device is the noise: It can be pretty loud at higher settings. But if you’re not bothered by the brief sound of a machine doing its job or know you’ll stick to lower settings, there’s nothing to be concerned about.

$140 at Amazon

This ADA-approved flosser won’t wake your partner during use.

The Philips Sonicare Power Flosser 7000 is the only water flosser other than Waterpik products to bear the ADA seal of acceptance. This flosser costs a little more than the Waterpik Ion Professional, but it’s also packed with features that make it more pleasant to use.

The flosser has a small footprint thanks to a vertical design, making it great for people with limited bathroom counter space. The roomy 20-ounce water tank is the same size as the Waterpik Ion Professional’s and, like that model’s, easily detaches from the base, so you don’t need to hold your entire device under the faucet to fill it. The flosser has three nozzles — a Comfort nozzle for sensitive gums, a Standard nozzle for power cleaning and a Quad Stream nozzle that delivers four streams to cover more area during flossing. An included case stores your nozzles when they’re not in use, lowering the risk they’ll get lost. Of all the water flossers we tested, this was by far the quietest.

The flosser uses technology that delivers gentle pulses of water to guide you from tooth to tooth—think bursts of water as opposed to a steady stream. That takes a little getting used to if you’ve used a water flosser before with a more consistent power stream. There are also four modes and 10 intensities to choose from.

$57 at Amazon

$70 save $13

$70 at Burst

An impressively long battery life and waterproof carrying case make this a great choice for flossing on the road.

Burst’s Water Flosser keeps things simple, and that’s exactly what most people should be looking for in a portable, rechargeable flosser. It comes charged and ready to go out of the box, making it perfect for people who can’t be bothered with lengthy setup processes. Burst really shines with its battery life: This device can provide plaque-targeting power for up to 80 days on one overnight charge. That, along with the included waterproof carrying case, is a huge advantage for travelers.

The flosser is comfortable to grip and holds nearly 4 ounces of water. While that’s not as much as some other portable options we tested hold, it’s still enough for a few rounds of flossing. It’s even waterproof, so you can take it into the shower. The Standard setting is one of the most comfortable ones we used — it’s just strong enough to loosen gunk without feeling like you might accidentally blast off a tooth. There are also the incredibly strong Turbo and massaging Pulse modes, if you need a different level of pressure. It comes in your choice of white, black and rose gold, and while it isn’t a reason to choose a water flosser, the device’s smiley-face on/off button is a fun, quirky touch. The biggest downside is that Burst’s flosser only includes one nozzle (there are other types, but you need to purchase them separately). If you’re like most people, you probably won’t care. But if you have specialized dental needs, it’s important to consider.

$29 at Amazon

This under-$35 option comes with two tips to choose from, but minimal extras.

A good water flosser can cost you upward of $140, which makes the Amazon Basics HydroClean Cordless Water Flosser an outlier as it’s usually priced at $35 or less. The flosser doesn’t have some of the same bells and whistles as higher-price options, but it still gets the job done.

The HydroClean Cordless Water Flosser has a roomy (by portable flosser standards) water tank that stretches nearly the entire height of the handle and holds 5 ounces of water. The Burst Water Flosser, by comparison, juts out a little farther in the back and stops halfway up the handle. Amazon’s model comes with two tips — a Low Pressure Flosser Tip and a High Pressure Flosser Tip — and you’ll need to change them out to adjust the pressure. Odds are, you’ll find one you like and stick with it, but this is a quirk to keep in mind. If you decide to swap out tips, simply push the eject button in front, pull the tip out and insert the new one. While the flosser isn’t whisper-quiet, it’s not obnoxiously loud, either — it’s more on par with the noise an electric pencil sharpener makes.

$79 at Amazon

$90 save $11

$90 at Target

This large flosser is easy to hold and offers three pressure settings.

A good grip is important in a water flosser, especially for those with dexterity issues (or butterfingers). The Oral-B Water Flosser Advanced has a wide handle with a textured surface on the back to make for a comfortable grip that will be less taxing on hand muscles during longer sessions. This portable flosser has a deceptively large number of options. Choose from two tips — Aquafloss for standard cleanings and Precision Jet for targeted flossing — along with three modes: Intense, Medium and Sensitive.

The flosser uses proprietary Oxyjet technology that Oral-B claims helps target and eliminate plaque bacteria, although it doesn’t really feel different from streams you’d experience with other flossers. The Water Flosser Advanced has a sizable tank that’s easy to fill: Just flip your flosser over, open the hatch and pour the water in, then secure the lid back in place. (You’ll want to double-check that it’s fully closed — otherwise, it will leak.) Seasoned water flossers can likely squeeze a few runs out of the tank before needing a refill.

A few things to keep in mind: The charging dock can be a little tricky (the charging light needs to be on to ensure you’re locked in) and it’s easy to confuse the power and stream buttons, which can leave you flossing a little longer than you originally intended before you get the hang of it. Otherwise, it’s a great portable water flosser to have in your dental care arsenal.

$78 at Amazon

$90 save $12

$100 at Walmart

The Philips Sonicare Power Flosser 3000 is basically a slightly less swanky version of our upgrade pick, the Sonicare 7000, that costs less. It features fewer nozzle options and modes, but retains a lot of the perks of the Sonicare 7000. If you’re looking for a well-known dental name and want to save money, the Sonicare 3000 is worth considering.

The AquaSonic Aqua Flosser Pro has a small footprint, 10 pressure options and a generous 20-ounce tank, but it’s loud and includes some tips you’re less likely to use, like the tongue scraper. The pressure dial on the side also makes for limited storage options.

The Waterpik Aquarius Water Flosser is an ADA-accepted device that delivers two modes and 10 intensities, along with a huge 22-ounce tank. But for about the same price, you can get the cordless features and equally large tank of our top choice, the Waterpik Ion Professional.

I’ve been using a water flosser for years to try to maintain clean teeth and healthy gums. As a health reporter, I’ve cycled through several brands over time — both corded and cordless models — and have a good sense of how these products perform, as well as how far they’ve come in recent years. I combined my personal knowledge with interviews I conducted on which features are helpful in a water flosser with Leena Palomo, D.D.S., board-certified periodontist at NYU Dentistry; Julie Cho, D.M.D., board-certified dentist in New York City; Mia L. Geisinger, D.D.S., board-certified periodontist and professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Dentistry; and Mark Wolff, D.D.S., Ph.D., dean, University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine.

Choosing the right water flosser involves considering your personal needs along with specific elements that make each flosser unique. We considered the following when choosing the best water flossers.

We put each water flosser through the same testing process. Each was filled with room-temperature water and used five times after meals, cycling through the flosser’s different speeds and nozzles in the process. Flossers were left out on a bathroom countertop for three days at a time to see how well they stood up to normal conditions, including repeated exposure to shower steam and being “accidentally” bumped into. The flossers’ water capacity and features were factored in, along with subjective elements like design and grip comfort.

Korin Miller is a contributor to Buy Side from WSJ.

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