Under the title ‘Can air and water replace dental floss?’ the article questions whether AirFloss works and if it is worth ‘splashing out on’. The journalist explains that ‘flossing regularly after you’ve brushed your teeth can help in the battle against tooth decay and gum disease. But many of us don't bother – complaining that using normal dental floss is time-consuming and fiddly. Dental floss sticks (which hold a small piece of floss in place on a plastic stick) can make the process easier, but now there is another option available – the Philips Sonicare AirFloss.’
The article describes AirFloss as being the same size as a standard electric toothbrush and uses ‘microburst technology’ to clean between teeth using water and air. The journalist adds that Philips designed AirFloss to encourage more people to floss regularly by making it easier and faster to achieve.
As part of the process an independent tester was asked to review AirFloss and reported that it was ‘very easy to use’. The publication added ‘When our tester tried out the AirFloss she found it very easy to set-up and use. The instructions are easy to follow and the product is very simple to operate with just two buttons – one to turn it on and one to squirt the jet of water and air. The water reservoir is easy to fill (with water or mouthwash) and ….…to use the AirFloss, you simply place the nozzle in between your teeth and press the trigger button’. The tester also explains that this amount of liquid is sufficient to clean both the buccal and lingual surfaces of the teeth.
The report did say that any problem with messy spraying can be ‘significantly reduced by keeping your mouth closed – although you'll need to make sure you are over a sink so you can spit when your mouth fills with water.’
Finally the tester reported that AirFloss did appear to remove most of the plaque from her teeth – which she checked by using dental floss – there appeared to be very little plaque left. She was particularly impressed that ‘flossing’ her whole mouth with the AirFloss only took around a minute, commenting ‘it made it easier to get at hard-to-reach places at the back of my mouth’.