Waterpik Sonic Fusion
Toothbrush

The unique Waterpik Sonic Fusion toothbrush is a combination of a sonic toothbrush and the well-established Waterpik oral irrigator (water flosser) in one handy and easy-to-use device. It's recognized by the American Dental Association.

What's the advantage to combining a brush with a water flosser? Can it perform as well as the separate products? Let's take a look at this a bit more closely.

How does the Waterpik Sonic
Fusion Toothbrush work?

According to Waterpik, the Sonic Fusion brush is a high-quality sonic toothbrush that also has a built-in water flosser tip in the center of the brush head. This water flosser tip pulsates water from the brush head. You can use the Sonic Fusion in 1 of 3 modes;

Press the 'Brush' button for the brush mode.
Press the 'Floss' button for the flossing mode.
Press the 'Brush' and 'Floss' buttons at the same time for both modes.

Waterpik Sonic Fusion brush head showing how the water flosser works

The 2-in-1 brush head

This combination of brushing and flossing results in a very effective cleaning action. A clinical study shows that the Sonic Fusion can be up to twice as effective at removing plaque as traditional brushing and flossing.

You can also use any water-based mouthwash in the water tank, such as the TheraBreath mouthwash, for even greater effect. The anti-bacterial effect of the TheraBreath mouthwash helps to reduce disease-causing bacteria between the teeth and along the gum edge.

However Waterpik do not recommend using povidone-iodine products nor oil-pulling products, as these may damage the water pump.

The Sonic Fusion is especially useful around hard-to-reach areas such as braces and archwires, implants, fixed bridges, and also periodontal pockets.

This brush combo has a 2 minute timer with a 30 second pacer to let you know when it's time to move onto the next quarter of your mouth, a pressure regulator, a low battery charge indicator, and a custom travel case. It also comes with a 3 year warranty.

The pressure regulator allows you to choose between 10 settings for the water pressure of the water flosser, according to your own preference. The higher the pressure setting, the faster you will get through the water in the tank. On maximum power (10) you will get around 90 seconds of flossing action. On setting number 5 you will get about 150 seconds.

Water pressure regulator

Waterpik Sonic Fusion
Toothbrush

There are 2 versions of this brush, the normal SF-01 which sells on Amazon for around $160, and the Professional SF-02 which is slightly more expensive at $199, although there are some great deals on Amazon HERE. The differences between the 2 models are minor, and not enough to justify a $40 price difference. The SF-01 is normally the better value model, unless there is a special offer going on.

The sonic brush has a battery which is recharged when you place the brush back on the base station. This means that the sonic brush works like any other electric brush - ie. cordless. You can wander around while you brush.

BUT the water flosser runs off mains power, so the unit needs to be plugged in for the flosser to work. And of course the water supply hose must be plugged in to the water tank. The battery life of the electric brush is just about OK - it holds a charge for about a week if left off the base station.

On the one hand, many other electric brushes have a battery that lasts significantly longer. On the other hand, I don't think this is particularly important as most people will 'park' their brush on the recharging base station, so it will always be charged up. The only time the battery life might be an issue is if you go on vacation and only take the brush with you.

SO how does the Waterpik Sonic Fusion toothbrush compare to the alternatives?

This brush and water flosser combo combines 2 good products into 1 package. It means that you have just the 1 handle for both brushing and flossing procedures. That means it takes up less space in your bathroom, and only needs 1 electrical socket, compared to separate devices.

Advantages;

This is a compact unit with a small footprint.
It has clinical studies to back up the cleaning claims.

Disadvantages;

Relatively short battery storage on the brush.
only one size and shape of brush head.
The water flosser does not work as well as a separate device.
Relatively expensive.
I don't like the 2 minute timer - this is too short. I recommend 4 minutes minimum.

Alternatives;

While this is a good attempt to combine 2 great products into one, I actually prefer the Waterpik Complete Care, which sells for around $100 on Amazon here. It has separate toothbrush and water flosser units on the 1 base station.

It comes in 4 versions;

Complete Care 9.0 in White, with a sonic toothbrush
Complete Care 9.0 in Black, with a sonic toothbrush
Complete Care 9.5 in White, with an oscillating (rotating) round brush head
Complete Care 9.5 in Black, with an oscillating (rotating) round brush head

I think it's almost as compact as the Sonic Fusion, but the separate brush and flosser work better. And it's cheaper.

Waterpik Complete Care 9.5

Sum-up;

Waterpik is famous for its water flossers - but this one doesn't work quite as well as the normal ones such as the Aquarius. If you're looking for a combination unit, I recommend the Waterpik Complete Care 9.5.