This portable dental blaster should probably be called a vapor flosser, as it fires surprisingly forceful bursts of up to 98% air through the gaps in your teeth, making efficient use of water as it blasts out debris.
As we’ve established before, I don’t mess around when it comes to brushing my teeth – to the point where I haven’t really considered flossing necessary. I habitually get the toothbrush bristles right in between the teeth all the way around, so what more’s to be done?
But never let it be said that I’m not willing to learn, and since Oclean supplied me with an absolute Stradivarius of a toothbrush for my last bathroom product review, I thought I’d give the AirPump A10 a chance to surprise me.
Surprise me it did, the very first time I filled up its small water canister and hit the on button. Pro tip: put it in your gob first, or you’ll get a chance to marvel at just how powerfully this palm-sized device squirts its air/water mix all around your bathroom. I’m not kidding, I had to go clean water off pictures five meters (~16 ft) away in the hall. It’s a small miracle that my kids haven’t yet figured out the super-soaking potential of this device.
Indeed, in practical terms you’ll want to try to keep your mouth shut as you go, because the spray merrily ricochets back off your teeth if you don’t have it perfectly positioned, and makes it look like you’ve sneezed all over your mirror.
Oclean
Here the air-heavy spray mix is helpful; there’s less water blasting into your mouth than a 100% water stream, so you can keep things watertight for longer before it starts dribbling out.
There are three modes, mainly distinguishable by their speed of reload. Standard mode fairly hammers along, the pump priming and firing at about 172 bpm. That’s fast – it’s basically firing right in time with the bouncy guitar stabs in Lose Yourself by Eminem, and making swift work of mom’s spaghetti if there’s any of that lodged in there.
There are also “soft” and “massage” modes, which go considerably slower. Massage mode feels positively sultry at around 102 bpm – think Stevie Wonder’s Superstition. And it’s not a bad place to start; if you go full speeeeeed on things you don’t understand, then you suffer. Superstition mode’s the way. It gives beginners a lot more time to get the wee nozzle aimed into the gaps.
Oclean
Does it work? Yes. I gave it the popcorn test, and it blew every last chunk of husk out of my gums in short order. Does it work better than my regular brushing routine? That’s harder to tell; I’m super thorough, and my toothbrush oscillates at 80,000 bpm, which is almost exactly 690 times faster than the tempo of Ice Ice Baby, by Vanilla Ice.
As that wise man once said, anything less than the best is a felony. So is the AirPump A10 up on any charges? Well, it’s certainly portable enough to travel with – and the nozzle slots into the water canister when you take it on the road, which is neat – but its compact size means there’s not a lot of room for water when you fill it up. So if you take your time and give it three to four blasts per tooth gap, you’ll often have to refill the water before you’re done. That’s a bit annoying.
Also, it’s waterproof enough to use in the shower, provided you poke the little rubber cap into the charging port, but despite generally being pretty good with that kind of thing, I suspect I managed to get some water in there at some point, because the battery started running out in about a week instead of the standard “up to 40 days” – and the AirPump started randomly airpumping in the middle of the night on my bedside table as it charged. That was an exciting noise to wake up to, I can testify, but it’s stopped doing that for the last couple of weeks and the battery capacity has gone back to being as epic as it is on Oclean’s magnificent toothbrushes.
My final verdict, though, has to depend on where you’re buying. I’ve got no hesitation recommending the Oclean AirPump A10 at its current USA price of US$69.99. Where I live down under, though, it’s AU$229.95, which I’m sure you’re aware could also buy you 108 copies of the Knight Davis extended remix of MC Hammer’s U Can’t Touch This on Bandcamp. That pricetag hits me so hard, it makes me say “oh my lord.” I think I’d be waiting for a special, because that’s a deal, uh, I can’t touch.
On the other hand, as with the toothbrushes, it’s not like you can’t see where the money’s gone. Check out the video below to see the veritable Wonka factory’s worth of activity that goes on inside this device to cause that vapor to start firing when you turn it on.
Introducing the Oclean Airpump A10
Source: Oclean
