ReviewJournal of Indian Society of Periodontology
Comparing the effectiveness of water flosser and dental floss in plaque reduction among adults: A systematic review.
Review in Journal of Indian Society of Periodontology. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- The effects of using water flosser versus interdental brush on gingival health in patients with mandibular bonded retainer - a randomized controlled trial.BMC oral health · 2026Trial
- Digitally-driven optimization of intraoral water jet parameters for plaque removal: a personalized 3D-guided orthogonal study.BMC oral health · 2026Article
- Cost-Effectiveness of promoting preventive oral self-care in China: a population-based modelling study.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Association Between Self-Perceived Oral Health, Stress, and Oral Symptoms in South Korean University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Alleviation of Plaque and Gingivitis with Dental Water Jet in Regular and Orthodontic Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Effects of Self-Perceived Oral Health and Stress Levels on Subjective Oral Symptoms and Lifestyle of University Students in South Korea: A Cross-Sectional Survey.Research square · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: Interdental aids such as dental floss and water flossers have been found to be effective in removing interdental plaque. This systematic review aimed to compare the available data on the efficacy of dental floss and water flossers in plaque removal among adults. Materials and Methods: Five databases: PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, ScienceDirect, Lilac, and Google Scholar were searched from January 1, 2002, to October 31, 2022, to obtain the relevant articles. Based on the search strategy, the titles of the studies were screened independently by two reviewers. Randomized controlled trials were included in the review, in which the study participants were given either dental floss or water flosser. Reduction in plaque scores was the outcome that was assessed. Seven articles met the eligibility criteria and were further processed for qualitative analysis. Results: The majority of the studies favored water flossers over dental floss in plaque reduction. Water flosser was also found to be effective in removing plaque from inaccessible interproximal areas of the tooth surfaces as compared to dental floss. Conclusion: Based on the scope of this review, results suggest that water flossers can be used as an effective alternative to dental floss in patients with manual dexterity, patients undergoing orthodontic treatment, and patients with dental prostheses.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.