B Weiss Water Flosser

In an effort to find an image to let you see the water flosser, we get the the advertising too.

I try to save on clothes, house goods, makeup and grocery bills, but I'll spend a bit on good dental hygiene. I hope to keep my teeth in tip-top shape for as long as possible. Realistically, teeth wear out like the rest of our bodies. After 50-60-70 years of chopping, they undergo wear and tear needing repairs. Yet good dental care should help us keep them permanently. No dentures!

As diligent as I am about brushing, like many people I hate flossing, and I don't think I do it properly. I also skip it sometimes ... because well, I'm human.

In an effort to improve (last year after my dental hygienist recommended it) I bought a Phillips Sonic toothbrush. After my dental checkup this June, I added a B Weiss Water Flosser -- the latter not upon her advice, but due to my desire to do better.

They do a good job of exercising your gums and removing any food stuck in-between your teeth. I don't often have particles stuck in-between my teeth, but sometimes I do have bleeding gums ... and therefore, the purchase. 

Know that if you properly floss your teeth daily, you don't need a water flosser. It's cheaper and effective to use dental floss. But if you, too, are only human, I can recommend a good basic water flosser.

Like a sonic toothbrush, there is no need to buy the most expensive one. I'm happy with my basic B Weiss Water Flosser. It does everything it should do! Fill the tank with tap water, select a setting (gentle, pulse, normal) and turn it on. Shift it from one side of your mouth to the other aiming in-between teeth. It takes practice (1st attempt, you'll shoot water everywhere!), but does its work in 30 seconds.

The water flosser comes with a charger, so you use it until a light indicator tells you to sit the unit in its charger for a few hours (same as other electronic devices).

As a bonus, the retailer hires people with disabilities to give back to the community. The company backs its employees, as well as, its water flosser. Highly recommend!

Note: A combination sonic toothbrush/water flosser exists and you might be tempted to buy one, but I don't recommend it. You pay more money for a device that has a bigger footprint, and when one part wears out, you must replace both! Buying separate units for about $40 each is a better deal.

You may also enjoy:  

Higher Tea For Your Health

What Can You Do For Earth Day?  

Doctor's Orders: Is It Time For A Checkup?

5 Habits For Keeping Teeth And Gums Healthy

5 Habits For Keeping Teeth And Gums Healthy

Call me vain regarding my teeth, since I'll do whatever it takes to maintain them in good shape. Preventative care is always less costly and better for our teeth, then having to fix neglect. What's more, I thought I was doing everything right to care for them, but I was wrong! I learned new better practises last week during my annual dental cleaning and checkup.

5 Habits For Keeping Teeth and Gums Healthy

are:

👄1) Brush your teeth for 2 minutes in the morning after breakfast.

👄2) Brush your teeth for 2 minutes before bedtime.

👄3) Foss your teeth for 1 minute before one of the brushings - 

So here's a surprise! The flossers (i.e. dental floss on a pick) I use are not as thorough as using dental floss on a spool that we must break off and twirl around our fingers, says my dental hygienist. The loose floss gets in between teeth better than the up and down motion of dental floss on a pick. I won't lie, I'm sorry to hear this as the floss on a pick is easy to use! C'est la vie. 

👄4) Rinse with mouthwash for 30 seconds twice a day -

This I do, but was told that alcohol free mouthwash is better than an alcohol based mouthwash because the alcohol kills nearly all the bacteria in your mouth, both good and bad, which can lead to an imbalance unless you rinse every single day, which I do!  Also: " ... studies by BioMed Research International suggest alcohol free mouthwashes have a better effect on the gloss, colour, hardness and wear of tooth composite restorations compared to mouthwashes that contain alcohol." Most of us have composites by the time we're in our 30s, as our gums wear away from our teeth. The expression "long of the tooth"originates from the reality that as gums recede with age, teeth appear longer.

My dentist likes Colgate Total 12 Hour Pro-Shield Antibacterial rinse or Listerine (which is also an antibacterial rinse).

👄5) A sonic toothbrush is "highly recommended" over hand brushing. 

My dental office likes the Phillips Sonicare Toothbrush - A basic, not an expensive model gets the job done. No need to buy all the bells and whistles, unless you wish to do so.

This last one I didn't expect. The dental hygienist was able to tell me which of my hands is dominant by looking at my gums. How so? I brush my teeth harder on the side that corresponds to my dominant hand! As it turns out, I brush my teeth too hard in general, which wears away gums. My new Phillips Sonicare Toothbrush should help me break this bad habit.

Another benefit of (only) sonic toothbrushes: They make 30,000 - 40,000 brush strokes per minute, compared with about 300 per minute if you brush by hand; the bristles rotate back and forth (the dental preferred way); and they remove plaque better by directing liquid and toothpaste between your teeth and below the gum line. So after returning home I ordered one.

Switching to a sonic toothbrush takes an adjustment. My first use tickled. The first day, it took me not 2 minutes to brush my teeth, but 6 minutes (i.e., 3 passes to get to all the teeth!), but soon I learned to cover all my teeth (including the backsides) in the 2 minutes the toothbrush runs before automatically shutting off. Beeps tell you to move through the teeth. Now I'm working on not spraying toothpaste on my bathroom mirror so I won't have to wipe it clean after a brush. Practice, practice, practice!

As it turns out, you can teach an old dog new tricks! New habits, better tools, cleaner teeth!

You may also enjoy:

Learn To Love Green Tea   

Gotham Gets Halloween Ready

What Can You Do For Earth Day?

No Skimping On Good Oral Hygiene

Consider A Water Flosser

My teeth are my most valuable possession and yet I hate flossing. Rarely do I have food stuck in between my teeth, it's the formation of plague I worry about and fight by flossing. 

Dentists agree if we don't floss properly or daily, using a water flosser is a good practice. Flossing isn't easy, it's tedious. Sliding dental thread in at just the right angles and not too forcefully ... who the heck knows if we are flossing properly? So right after buying a Philips Sonic Toothbrush for $40 I invested in a water flosser. 

Here are 3 top models both dentists and customers like: 

1) Waterpik ION Professional Cordless Water Flosser - (top image👆).  Very compact for small counters, its handle is detachable from its base during use. You have to plug the water flosser base into the wall to charge it about every 3 weeks.

2) Waterpik Aquarius - Rated as powerful in cleaning teeth as the Waterpik ION, but bulkier and stays in its charger plugged into the wall during use.

3) Philips Sonicare Power Flosser 3000 - the model I use right now. Philips makes very good dental tools according to several dentists and product review sites. This one also stays in its charging base plugged into the wall during use.

Overall, plug-in-the-wall water flossers are more powerful and clean your teeth better than portable handheld units. While considered a plug-in-the-wall water flosser, the jury is out on how long the Waterpik ION's lithium battery lasts. Although I prefer using it, the inconvenience of possibly having to replace a battery is a  job and expense I'd rather skip.

Using a water flosser requires a learning curve. At first, the process of water flossing is an epic wet mess like a tsunami in your bathroom. You'll shoot water EVERYWHERE! Practice makes perfect. Here are some tips: Hang your head down in the sink. I fill the water tank up past the waterline then leave the lid off in order to floss my entire mouth in one pass. Another trick is to leave the device turned off at the handle until you get it in place inside your mouth. Expect to get your hand drenched unless you master laser-like focus while flossing. I do wish the Philip's water flosser cylinder utensil rotated as you move it over the inside-backside of your teeth, but you still manage, and the reason I leave the lid off the water tank is there is always a little water left in the tank I like to pour out so the tank is completely dry the next time I use it.

I always use the maximum settings of 10 and deep cleaning. Water flossing once per day is enough, and it should be done before (not after) brushing your teeth to loosen and then brush away the plague.

Teeth are strong, yet delicate. Although our teeth are covered with the strongest and hardest mineral in our body, called enamel, that enamel can easily be broken down by sugar or a lack of oral hygiene. Not brushing, flossing, and getting regular teeth cleanings will lead to tooth decay, gum disease, and eventually tooth loss. Once gone, they cannot regenerate and are gone forever.

You'd think a jewelry lover like me would name a sentimental piece of jewelry as my most valuable possession, but you'd be wrong ... it's my pearly whites. A sonic toothbrush or water flosser is by far a more essential gift than a piece of jewelry!🎁

You may also enjoy:

The Story Of Stuff: A Review

Help For Crippling Migraines

5 Habits For Keeping Teeth And Gums Healthy 

The Minimalist Traveler's 28 Personal Care Essentials

The Minimalist Traveler's 28 Personal Care Essentials

I'm still away from home helping my elderly mother with the recovery of her fractured leg. (It explains why I'm blogging less often.) Essentially I'm living out of a suitcase! And yet when you find yourself in such circumstances, you have to continue to take good care of yourself.

In the effort, here are 12 minimalist traveler's skin and personal care products I'm using every day on my trip away from my home stash of skin and personal care toiletries:

For Skin Care:

Morning --

1) Noxema Cleansing Cream - I'm using it to wash my face and body, as well as moisturize my skin. Originally formulated by a doctor to soothe sunburns, it's cool and tingly upon use.

2) AN Artnature Vitamin C Advanced Moisture + Brightening Serum - Applying this serum to my face every morning as a multi-purpose anti-aging elixir. A vitamin C serum also gives you some protection against free radicals and the sun's harmful rays.

3) Olay Complete All Day Moisturizer For Sensitive Skin with SPF 15 - I use it every day of the year, plus as a greaseless suntan lotion in the summer.

Night, Noxema again, then --

4) Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Retinol Oil - Applying it to my face at night, the oil came as a 2-item kit with the cream below. More like a serum than an oil, its purpose is to boost the power of the Retinol. Probably we could survive with the cream only.

5) Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair Retinol Regeneration
Cream - Applying it to my face at night on top of the serum (oil). Some consumers prefer Olay Retinol 24 Night Moisturizer since its consistency is lighter with more hyaluronic acid in the cream. I like and use both brands of anti-aging face creams and approve of Neutrogena's high potency and thickness. At times I'll add drops of water to the formula to make the cream a little thinner and sometimes not.

For Toothcare:

6) Philips Sonicare Toothbrush - It's well worth packing in the suitcase. You simply can't brush your teeth as thoroughly with a manual toothbrush. I'm happy my dentist's office advised me to buy it, as well as, told me to buy the basic model for about $40 without the extra bells and whistles. You don't need them.

7) Regular manual toothbrush - I use the sonic toothbrush twice a day, every morning and night, and a regular toothbrush for shorter cleaning sessions to clean my teeth if I eat any in-between sugary snacks.

8) Colgate Maximum Strength Whitening Sensitive Toothpaste - After years of drinking 2 cans of soda each workday at the Time, Inc consumer magazines, I now have sensitive teeth, so I've given up soda altogether and use sensitive toothpaste to try to "repair my enamel" as much as is possible. At mom's age of wear and tear of her teeth, we both use it.

9) Dental Floss - I miss my water pick, but felt I had to limit what to pack and left it at home. Frankly, I hate the necessary evil of teeth flossing!

10) Equate Anticavity Alcohol-Free Fluoride Mouthwash - Yeah, I buy the purple mouthwash, however, which one's really the best for our teeth and gums, only our dentist knows for sure. Probably adults don't benefit from the extra fluoride, who knows? The dentist!

For Body Care:

11) Crystal Body Deodrant Stick - The salt crystal seems to prevent wetness and underarm odor. I have the travel size with me and the thicker stick at home.

12) Cetaphil Body Moisturizing Cream For Very Dry Skin - I bought this one for my elderly mother's skin, but sometimes dip my hand into the jar as a hand and body cream. It has zero fragrance and is super moisturizing and non-greasy. Skin doctor recommended too. Now I prefer it to other brands.

For Hair Care

13) SheaMoisture Shampoo - Whatever formula is available at the drugstore.

14) SheaMoisture Conditioner - Ditto, whatever formula I find at the local drugstore has been terrific.

For Makeup: 

I've only used the 1st three items on the list below and only on Zoom calls. Since we still wear face masks in certain indoor places, I mostly don't wear makeup these days. Yet I brought the following along --

15) L'Oreal Revitalift Miracle Blur

16) Dermablend Quick-Fix Concealer

17) Bobbie Brown Pot Rouge For Lips and Cheeks - in Pink Raspberry #18

18) Milani Lipstick - in Dulce Caramelo #27

19) Milani Lip Gloss - in Delight Deluxe #01

20) Adrien Arpel Eye Crayon - in Forest Green

21) Sephora Brow Sculping Pencil - in Light Brown and it has a tiny brush on one end.

22) Lip Balm - Beeswax is the main ingredient.

Finally, I brought my stash of samples packets that I save for overnight trips. In a pinch, I'll find a product I need (face cream, shampoo, or conditioner) to tie me over until I can get to a Walmart, Target, or drugstore. 

Moreover, the Tool Makeup Bag contains:

23) Tweezers

24) Hair ties

25) Nail clippers

26) Nail files

27) Nail buffer

28) Mini Nail Brush

The only three tools I've used are tweezers, nail clippers, and hair ties. 

I'm functioning just fine with three small organizing makeup bags of basics. Makes me think minimalism of toiletries is all we ever really need! A less is more mindset saves us tons of time and money. Why not pare down to a simple approach both at home and away from home?

You may also enjoy:

Best Drugstore Anti-Aging Retinols

The Beauty Products I use Right Now

Shea Moisture Beauty For Everybody

Olay Regenerist Retinol24 Collection