Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic EW1270AC Portable Oral Irrigator

I have now been using the Panasonic EW1270AC for over three months on a daily basis and find it to be a great purchase. It is not as powerful as my AC powered reservoir tank Water-Pik, but it is far more convenient to use and does a good job. So, instead of using the AC powered once a week, I use the Panasonic every night and my gums and teeth are clearly in better condition. It is small enough to keep it near my sink without it being very intrusive, thus making it very convenient to pick up and use at any time.

I use rechargeable AA batteries so am not very concerned about battery life which appears to be about 30 uses on non-rechargeable alkaline.

The Panasonic is great for traveling, easily fitting into my toiletries case. I originally bought it for traveling, but am so pleased with it that I now use it every day.

Strongly recommended.

It was time for a change since my third waterpik broke (to be fair, that was over a span of several years). I intended to use it mostly as a backup when I buy another plugin irrigator, but it's been doing so well I haven't bought a replacement plugin one yet. I've been using for two months now and I would recommend it.

Pro: Very compact compared to a plug in one. No high pressure hose line to break (a major fault in waterpiks). Powerful enough. Well constructed.

Con: Need to refill at least twice and possible more for each cleaning (depending on how fast you move that nozzle around). No pressure control. Pressure varies with battery power. Refill opening cover gets lot of use - it's a snap lid.

Update Nov 2008: It keeps on going, and going... Using it everyday and on travel and haven't even thought about buying a Water-pik again. Hint: use a high capacity rechargeable (>2500man) - makes a BIG difference.

Yes, this thing has power. Not as much as a plug-in WaterPik, but unless you also use your Oral Irrigators for hydro strip mining gold, the Panasonic will do just fine. I accidentally turned it on once and the water stream shot clear across the room! Doubles as a high-powered squirt gun in a pinch!

How long does it take to get a bulky WaterPik plugged in, assembled, filled with water, used, cleaned, disassembled and stored away again? The Panasonic takes only 10-seconds from storage to working. Refills due to the small water reservoir? Less than 5-seconds, making multiple refills a non-issue really.

Let's face it, the more time, mess and hassle we know a task will take, the less likely we are to do it. That's just human nature in the busy world we live. Fortunately the Panasonic rids you of these subconscious roadblocks in this QUIET, compact and convenient machine. Use it for travel or bring it to work for after lunch clean-ups. I doubt the WaterPik can make the same claim.

Yes, you'll need to recharge your 2 AA batteries often, but if you don't already own rechargeable batteries/recharger, then the Panasonic is a great reason to start! They get 1000 recharges per battery compared to buying hundreds of expensive alkaline batteries... you do the math!

Bottom Line: If you're a person who never flosses and isn't convinced their water irrigator is effective unless it's loud and leaves all their gums bleeding, choose a WaterPik. But judging from their reviews their quality and longevity have been suspect at best.

P.S. I have no stock in Panasonic nor do I work for them. I just really like well made, quality products that make my busy life a little simpler. :)

I was told by my dentist that I was going to need surgery to stop my bleedy gums (because of an abscis or pocket?). I decided to try this product to see if I could stop the bleeding without surgery by using the jet to clean out the pocket. AFTER ONE DAY OF USE, bleeding almost went to nil. After one week, I don't see any bleeding when brushing. The clean feeling you get after using this product is great. This could possibly be the best product I have ever bought for my health. This is definitely something people should buy if they have gum problems.

This is one of the best oral irrigators available, if not the best. If you take a look at similar products from WaterPik or InterPlak, they are usually very big (taking up most of your counter) or very noisy. This Panasonic irrigator is neither- it's a little larger than a regular electronic toothbrush and fairly quiet.

It uses two AA batteries which are not included, but that doesn't matter as I recommend using rechargeable batteries. The "20 minutes" of cleaning is about the total time that it lasts on regular Alkaline batteries, but of course it will last much longer on your own rechargeable NiMH batteries. People complain that the water tank is too small and lasts 20 seconds, but I mean, that's the tradeoff right? You can't have a small unit and a big tank at the same time. It doesn't matter though since filling it up is easy: just open up the cap and fill it up. A typical full mouth cleaning takes 1-3 fill ups.

The build quality is excellent. The plastic feels very solid.
It thoroughly cleans food and other particles from your teeth. Like any oral water pick though, water gets everywhere (this happens with all oral irrigators- it's inherent in how it works), so I usually recommend using this over the bath tub (unless you're okay with cleaning up the water from the mirror).

This Panasonic product is top-notch and definitely is better and more reliable than the Interplak and Waterpik competition. I strongly recommend it ... excellent value.