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    Best Water Flossers of 2025

    We evaluated the Waterpik and other devices for their capacity, ease of use, and more

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    Clockwise from top left: Oral-B Water Flosser Advanced, Waterpik Aquarius, accessories for the H2ofloss Water Dental Flosser. Photos: Consumer Reports, Waterpik

    Hate flossing? Then a water flosser might be for you.

    Cleaning in between your teeth is crucial for dental health. Your toothbrush can’t do the job effectively, which is why you need another type of tool. A water flosser might be a good option.

    more on dental health

    These devices emit a pulsing jet of water to blast away debris and plaque. Countertop units usually have a tank and a separate handset connected to it by a tube. In cordless flossers, a smaller tank is incorporated into the handset. Some come with a charging stand, while with others, you plug a cable right into the water flosser.

    The scientific evidence isn’t clear on how well they work in comparison to their cheaper, simpler cousin: string floss. But some research suggests that water flossers might offer advantages for people with gum problems because the force of the water jet could potentially help clean inside the gum pockets characteristic of periodontal disease that collect bacteria and can’t be reached with a toothbrush or traditional floss. 

    Water flossers are also a great option if you have dexterity issues that make using string floss difficult, you have dental work like implants or orthodontia that’s tricky to maneuver around, or you simply don’t like to use string floss and are more likely to clean in between your teeth regularly with a water flosser. 

    You might know water flossers as WaterPiks, after the company that has marketed them to consumers since the 1960s. But these days, there are plenty of other brands on the market. And while WaterPik products are well represented among our recommended models, we also found lots of other solid performers at lower prices. 

    CR members can read on to see several of our top-rated water flossers or our full water flosser ratings.

    How CR Tests Water Flossers

    We score water flossers on the level of noise they make, ease of use, ease of battery charging, and capacity. To evaluate ease of use, we take into account how easy their tanks are to refill, the number of cleaning modes and supplied nozzle tips, and how easy it is to accidentally activate the flosser while you’re holding it (which can cause a real mess when you accidentally spray water all over your bathroom). 

    For ease of battery charging, we take into account whether the handset can simply be placed on the charging unit or whether you need to uncover a charging port to plug it in. We measure capacity by both the volume of water the reservoir holds and by how long it takes the tank to run out of water while on the flosser’s highest pressure setting.


    Catherine Roberts

    Catherine Roberts is a health and science journalist at Consumer Reports. She has been at CR since 2016, covering infectious diseases, bugs and bug sprays, consumer medical devices like hearing aids and blood pressure monitors, health privacy, and more. As a civilian, her passions include bike rides, horror films and fiction, and research rabbit holes. Follow her on X: @catharob.