Panasonic Ultrasonic Water Flosser EW1611

You'll wish you had discovered water flossing (aka oral irrigation) sooner – If you hate flossing with string then you're going to love water flossing! Water flossing is much gentler, effective, simpler and faster. Typically you would water floss at least once a day but two times a day (am & pm) is optimal. Three times a day is probably the most you would ever do it? e.g. If something is caught in your teeth? The first thing you learn is to use warm water with your water flosser. Cold water is uncomfortable!

Then you might add something to disinfect. A few capfuls of hydrogen peroxide or a couple of drops of iodine work well.

The Panasonic EW1611 has a fairly large 600 mL tank. This gives ~2 minutes of flossing at the highest pressure. That's enough to clean your mouth without refilling.

The 1611 has 10 pressure settings (10-100 PSI) but most people seem to quickly prefer the highest setting: Cleaning action is best at high pressure.

The change in gum health was startling. Despite making the gums bleed they feel better after water flossing so you don't mind the slight discomfort. The whole mouth feels clean after water flossing. The plaque and biofilms are removed so that the teeth can remineralise properly and look noticeably whiter. After a while the gums no longer bleed when water flossing. You also feel better as asymptomatic gum infection is responsible for a remarkably long string of problems in the body. Basically when you clean your mouth better your oxidative stress is reduced dramatically. This can have a massive effect on your health. If you have a health issue you may find that this simple solution is one of the best things you can do to improve it?

The EW1611 pulses the water 1,900 times/min and is described as ultrasonic technology. The pulsing action works really well and is quite pleasant to use. Flossers without any pulsing aren't as effective. Typically more pulses = better cleaning. It is this pulsing action that helps remove biofilms and clean hard to reach areas.

Every time you think you've eliminated your gum issues you find that there's a bit more that you missed. However it doesn't matter how long it takes to return your mouth to optimal health. The fact is that you notice the progressive improvement of your oral health from the first time you use the device. So it's a pleasure to keep using it.

The unit is a bit noisy but you probably won't care. It's only going to run for 2 minutes and that usually isn't enough to annoy you or anyone else.

The EW1611 comes with a 2 year warranty (not bad):

After 9 months the unit stopped pumping water reliably due to the tank valve getting stuck shut: Motor still runs but nothing comes out. Diagnosing what was wrong was difficult because the water still flows from the tank if you press the valve but stops when the pump is trying to suck out water i.e. Under pressure. N.B. If you bypass the tank the unit pumps water just fine. The water flosser is non-serviceable and Panasonic don't even try to fix it. Panasonic weren't helpful troubleshooting the problem and recommended returning it under warranty: Harvey Norman swapped the water flosser over on the spot. That's convenient while being annoying i.e. If it happens again you still won't know what caused the problem? It would have been nice to diagnose and fix the problem?

Update: Ran into the same problem with the new unit. Flushed out the tank repeatedly focussing on the filter at the bottom of the tank and it started working again. The pump itself shows no signs of failing... so it looks as if the water flosser will last a long time.

N.B. It's a good idea to avoid adding stuff to the water which might block the filter or pump. The tank valve seems to be particularly sensitive to small amounts of oil.

It's a fairly plain unit which makes it fairly easy to clean.

The water tank is easy to fill. You take the tank off and fill it up. Then push it back into its mounting spot on the unit. The seal shows no signs of leaking despite removing and attaching it two or three times each day.

Annoying The unit has a recessed magnetic mount for the handle. However the magnet isn't very strong. If you're not very careful (hose has to be coiled just right) you'll find it impossible to attach the handle to the body of the unit. Small children and older adults will probably have problems with this. This is not a user friendly feature. A stronger magnet would help.

Surprisingly, tooth sensitivity is often decreased with better cleaning. Take a bit of Vitamin K2 (5 mg) and use a remineralising toothpaste (Biomin) if you need to reduce sensitivity further.

This unit was modestly priced at Harvey Norman. In the past the high price of water flossers is probably the main thing that has stopped a lot of people from trying them.

It is surprising that dentists have been so slow to recommend water flossers or to demonstrate their benefits.

Mains connected water flossers seem to have very few problems but there are a lot of bad reviews about battery operated portable water flossers. Battery operated water flossers don't seem to last very long or work very well but are obviously very convenient if you're travelling?

The Panasonic EW1611 was so impressive I went out and bought the battery operated (EW1511) version. Unfortunately it was an underwhelming experience. The main problem is that the water pressure is lower (94 PSI), it's only 1,600 pulses/min, the water tank is only 200 mL and you only get 1 minute of cleaning. On paper that doesn't seem like a big difference but it is very noticeable N.B. It's the lower pressure you notice immediately. Hopefully the higher price ($149) of the Panasonic battery operated unit reflects a higher quality and the unit will be more reliable? I gifted the battery operated unit to friend who has previously only ever used floss... and he likes it. I'll report back if it has any problems.

The Panasonic EW1611 is a good water flosser. It is one of those things you wish you had discovered sooner. Just wish Panasonic was a bit more helpful troubleshooting minor problems?

:-)