If you’re looking to find out what the best water flosser for you or your family is, this a great place to start. We know that teeth and gum care are very important to remaining healthy and looking feeling your best.
Dental-Detective.com has personally tested over a dozen products from the top brands on the market. Outlined below are the things that make each of the best water flossers stand out amongst the rest. You will find most of our picks are from the Waterpik brand. Rest assured, we really do our best to pick each product without any bias. However, as you’ll learn, they do make really good products.
Meet Our Best Water Flosser Picks of 2023
Waterpik Aquarius Electric Water Flosser WP-660
Best Model Overall/Countertop
For countertop models in general, you simply won’t find a better value. It comes with enough accessories for your whole family to use, out of the box.
Buy on AmazonThe Waterpik Aquarius Electric Water Flosser (WP-660) has been our top overall water flosser pick, since the Waterpik Ultra Water Flosser was discontinued. It comes complete with 7 flossing tips, 2 flossing modes, 10 pressure settings, larger water reservoir and 3-year warranty. Sure there are more expensive models out there, but this little guy carries the most bang for your buck.
Waterpik Cordless Advanced Electric Water Flosser (WP-560)
Best Model for Travel/Portability
Whether you travel a lot or don’t have access to a private bathroom, this model gets our highest recommendation.
Buy on AmazonThe Waterpik Cordless Advanced Electric Water Flosser (WP-560) is our standout pick for the college dorm or travel. This small powerhouse is packed with features including a magnetic 4-hour rapid charging system, super quiet operation, waterproof design (approved for use in shower) and is compatible with global power sources. You can even customize the color.
Waterpik Water Flosser for Kids (WP-260)
Best Model for Kids
We know getting kids to do anything is hard, but flossing? This makes a boring, mundane activity, more exciting. There is no better water flosser for your kids.
Buy on AmazonThe Waterpik Water Flosser for Kids (WP-260) was expertly designed for use by children. Waterpik missed nothing including an easy to fill water reservoir with no lid, 3 pressure settings, 2 flossing tips, 20 customizable stickers and a full 2-year warranty.
The Reasons Behind Our Top Picks
- Countertop & Families, Best Overall
- Portability & Travel, Best Cordless
- Simple & Durable, Best For Kids
Best Water Flosser Overall – Waterpik WP-660
Pros
- Large water reservoir, 22oz
- Custom pressure, 10 to 100 PSI
- 7 Included tips, variety & color coded (Multiple family members)
- 3x Classic tips
- Orthodontic tip (For braces & orthodontic applications)
- Pik pocket tip (For periodontal pockets & furcations)
- Plaque seeker tip (For implants, crowns & other restorations.)
- Water flosser toothbrush tip
- Internal flosser tip storage
- Easy-to-use, on/off switch on handle
- 2 Modes, flossing & gum massage
- Warranty, 3 years.
Cons
- Power only rated for 120v/60Hz, may not work if traveling abroad.
When it comes to the best water flosser for families, and for sticking right there on the countertop, it is fair to say that the Waterpik Aquarius WP-660 has the competition beat. It used to be the now discontinued Waterpik Ultra Water Flosser, but the WP-660 improved on it in a lot of ways.
Important Details For Best Water Flosser Countertop Models
The best water flosser for the countertop are going to be ones that can easily blend in with their environment. You don’t want them to stand out like a sore thumb. You also don’t want to be moving a ton of items to get them to fit into their new place. While the Waterpik WP660 review showed, it doesn’t really have the smallest footprint in the world of water flossers, it is plenty small enough for the features that it boasts (more on those soon).
The design has also been toned down from previous Waterpik water flossers. Sure. It won’t really fit the aesthetics of a more traditionally-styled bathroom. However, the sleek single-colored design should fit in well with most decor. At the very least, it won’t be as eye-catching when you walk into your bathroom like other water flossers are.
So What’s Included?
Why is it the best water flosser for the family? Well, let’s take a little look at some of the features that the Waterpik Aquarius WP-660 brings to the table:
- 7 tips included in the packaging.
- 10 different pressure settings.
- 2-modes.
- 90-seconds capacity in the water reservoir.
- Timed 1-minute mode.
- Paces into two 30-second segments.
Alright. The 7 included tips is a brilliant start. You have a range of tips included for the entire family. Right out of the box you will have more than enough of the normal tips for a family of 3. It would have been great if there were a few more for larger families. We do think that 3 is a good start. You can always purchase more tips if needed.
Those pressure settings are fantastic and contribute towards the Waterpik WP-660 being the best water flosser for a family and for desktop use. If you are a solo flosser, then you will love the ability to easily change the pressure of the water. It ensures that you have a much more comfortable experience. When most other competing water flossers have maybe 5 pressure settings at the most, the Waterpik WP-660 is taking that to the ‘next level’. Obviously, the different pressure settings are great for a family. All of your requirements will be quite diverse, and the WP-660 can meet them. The two different modes of operation are great too. Just for a bit more ‘fine tuning’.
How Long Can I Use The Best Water Flosser?
Waterpik recommends that each cleaning session should last about 1-minute. Therefore, it is handy that you have a 90-second water reservoir built into it. It means that even at the highest of pressure settings, it is unlikely that you will completely empty it. Although, yes, it does mean that you will need to refill it between users. This is far better than most other water flossers out there, though.
Many of the products we considered for the title of best water flosser, only had reservoirs that only carried a small amount of water. You would need to refill halfway through your cleaning session, which quite literally interrupts the flow of everything. With this, you don’t need to worry about your children having to refill a big bulky water tank. Fill it up for them initially, and they should be ‘good to go’.
Timing Features
The 1-minute timer comes in handy for letting both you and your family members know when you are done cleaning too. The 30-second timer allows you to target each section of your mouth for just the right amount of time.
While the actual handheld part of the unit is not the smallest in the world, it should be fine for the hands of children. The one issue we do have with the WP-660 is the on and off switch. It can be a little bit tricky for the smallest of hands to turn on and off. That being said, a switch like this is far better than some of the alternatives. It is likely that you will be supervising your children when they use the WP-660, so it is probably not going to cause that many issues anyway.
Overall the WP-660 is ranked not only as our best Waterpik, but best overall water flosser in terms of value, efficiency and longevity.
Best Cordless – Waterpik WP-560
Pros
- The quietest handheld water flosser we’ve tested
- 3 custom pressure settings
- 7oz water reservoir, about 45 seconds on full strength
- 360 degree tip rotation, for hard to reach spots
- 4 flossing tips – 2 Classic, 1 Plaque Seeker, 1 Orthodontic
- Fully charges in 4 hours
- Waterproof for use in shower
- Global voltage compatible, 100-240VAC, 60/50Hz
Cons
- Needs water refills between uses
If you are looking for a great travel Waterpik, then this is our absolute top pick. In fact, the only other model that was in the ballpark was the Airfloss, and the rest don’t come too close. Please read on to see why the Waterpik WP-560 model took first place, hands-down.
What Makes This The Best Water Flosser for Travel?
The Waterpik WP-560 has been built from the ground-up to be suitable for travel. In fact, pull it out of the box and you will see a travel carry case, and a multi-voltage charger. Take this around the world, and you will find that it always works. In our research, we don’t think we found any other cordless water flosser that was actually rated to work in other countries. Most chargers tend to be built for one particular system. So, if you travel a lot overseas, then the Waterpik WP-560 is going to likely be the best water flosser for you.
Yes. The Waterpik WP-560 has been primarily built for travelling around, but nothing says that you won’t be able to have it as a permanent addition to your home. In fact, many people who feel that even the best water flosser will interrupt with the design of their bathroom will pick up a handheld unit like this. You can easily put it away when you are done with it. This means that you don’t need to worry about it making the look of your bathroom seem a little ‘off’, and you certainly don’t need to worry about it taking up a whopping amount of space on your countertop.
Is It Waterproof?
It is also great if you want to floss your teeth in the shower. The unit is fully waterproof, which means that you no longer need to stand over the sink to give yourself a good floss, which is something that can be a bit annoying, especially if you have back problems.
One thing that we absolutely love about the Waterpik WP-560 is just how easy it is to hold in your hands, despite everything that is packed into it. Yes. There are a couple of issues, but these issues are not as bad as in other handheld water flossers. For example; the WP-560 has a 45-second water tank. Yes. You will need to be refilling it during your water flossing session, but you won’t need to refill it anywhere near as frequently as other similar products. Just one refill at the highest pressure setting and you should be fine. It is quick and easy to refill anyway. It is also good that you need to refill it. The last thing you want is to be moving a big and bulky water tank around in your hands like that.
Power When You Need It
Charging is blissfully fast. When we were looking for what the best water flosser was, for those considering something handheld, we saw a lot of products on the market which have charge times of upwards of 12-hours. This is absolutely ridiculous. The Waterpik WP-560 has a charge time of just 4-hours. The battery will last a good couple of cleaning sessions too, not losing a single iota of power until it needs to be charged again. We don’t think there is any other cordless water flosser on the market which even comes close to this.
A few sacrifices have needed to be made by Waterpik in order to get their water flossing technology fully portable. Perhaps the most noticeable is that the Waterpik WP-560 only has three different pressure settings you can tinker around with. The maximum pressure of 75 psi is also a little bit lower than the countertop units. That being said, the three pressure settings that have been built into the WP-560 are the ones you are likely to be using the most, so you probably wouldn’t see that much of an issue anyway.
Best for Kids – Waterpik WP260
Pros
- For children ages 6 and up, makes flossing fun!
- Child proof electrical design
- 3 Pressure settings
- 2 Flossing tips, classic & orthodontic (Great for braces & impants)
- 20 Fun removable cling decals
- 2 Year warranty
- Global voltage compatible, 100-240VAC, 60/50Hz
Cons
- No internal storage for flossing tips
If you are looking for the best water flosser for a child, then you need to look no further than the Waterpik WP-260. Why? Well, because this is probably the only water flosser on the market that has been specially designed for children.
What Makes This The Best Water Flosser for Children?
The problem with most water flossers is that they tend to be quite bulky. Even the countertop units can be bulky to hold for children. For the smallest of children, most adults will have resigned themselves to actually holding the water flosser and cleaning the child’s teeth. The Waterpik WP260 review hits back at this idea. The unit has been designed for the hands of children age 6 and up.
It is a small product, therefore it can be held rather comfortably. Although, this does mean that it probably won’t function well as a family water flosser. Adult hands will find it uncomfortable to grip the smaller product. But, if you are buying a water flosser for your young child to early teen, then there is nothing better than a product designed specifically for them, right?
Fun & Simple
In addition to this, the Waterpik WP-260 doesn’t really have the complicated features that some of the other Waterpik products have. This makes cleaning a whole lot simpler. For example, your child will not have to deal with the head of the flosser revolving. There’s only have three pressure settings that they can play about with. Perhaps one of our ‘favorite’ features here, is the fact that you can’t turn the water on and off from the handle. For a child, it can be frustrating to not get their hands in the right place while using the water flosser, therefore it is great that they won’t be turning it randomly on and off when they are giving their teeth a good clean.
As you may know, Waterpik recommend that you clean your teeth using a water flosser for at least 60-seconds at a time. By stroke of luck, the WP-260 has a water reservoir which holds just enough water to clean for 60-seconds. This is handy, because there isn’t a timer built into the unit, and thus the water being empty is an indication to the child that they are done cleaning. Although, we do want to point out that there is no cover to the reservoir. We can see the reasons behind this. It does make it a little bit easier for your child to refill it on their own.
Small Drawback of Children’s Best Water Flosser
As there is no cover, you might not want to leave water overnight. Some do this to have it ready for their child in the morning. If your child is not capable of refilling it by themselves, you might need to get creative. Some people have countered this by filling up a water bottle. Then allowing the child to pour into the water flosser when they are ready to use it.
We love the fact that the Waterpik WP-260 aims to make the whole process of flossing your teeth ‘fun’. The main color on the unit is a bright green, which will catch the attention of your child right away. Included are a ton of stickers in the box which will allow your child to decorate their water flosser. You will actually be surprised at how eager they will be to floss their teeth after making it their own. It makes it seem like it is ‘theirs’, and kids love this.
Make It Fun!
Making it fun is half the battle and can actually lead to your kids looking forward to their morning floss. It is easy to hold and use. It makes flossing fun. All in all, the Waterpik WP-260 is considered the best water flosser for children.
