Must Have Dental Gadgets for At-Home Care

It's no secret that there are a LOT of gadgets that are out there marketed towards at home dental care. So much so that it might be a little overwhelming if you don't know what to look for or what to steer clear of. We'll go over some of the gadgets that are actually pretty helpful and a few that might not be completely necessary.

WORTH IT:

• Electric toothbrush- An electric toothbrush will give you that added level of cleanliness that you wouldn't normally achieve with just a manual toothbrush. The spinning head and vibrations are able to reach more and knock off excess plaque and bacteria which will leave you feeling cleaner and with fresher breath!

• Water flosser- A waterpik or water flosser will not take the place of regular string floss but it will however enhance the clean that you are getting. Water flossers are especially helpful to patients with deeper pockets where regular floss is not able to reach. Traditional string floss is great for dislodging food and debris, but water flossers reach those hard to get areas where build up is more susceptible.

• Travel cases- This one might seem obvious now, but not a lot of people think about keeping their oral hygiene products covered, protected, and away from other toiletries. More often than not, people just throw their toothbrush into their toiletry bag with no protection, but when you're thinking about something that is going in your mouth it makes sense to keep it as clean as possible.

• Flavored flossers- This one is particularly geared towards children or those with a sensitive gag reflex. To children, the bubble gum flavor is enough to entice the little ones into flossing in between those chompers. For those with a sensitive gag reflex, the flavor is a good distraction from what is going on in the mouth and they are able to withstand it a little easier.

NICE TO HAVE BUT NOT NEEDED:

• Tongue scraper- While it is very important to brush/scrape your tongue while you brush, it's not necessary to buy a whole different product to achieve the same results you'd get with the built in tongue cleaners a lot of the toothbrushes have now a days. Not to mention brushing with your toothbrush would suffice as well.

• Toothpaste dispenser- While this product can be argued as a sanitary product, it's just a convenient item. There's no extra benefit to having a toothpaste dispenser in your home.