Should I use an electric or a conventional toothbrush?

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Should I use an electric or a conventional toothbrush?

It starts very early on in life and, ideally, one should never stop doing it to successfully prevent annoying health problems and having doctors handle sharp instruments inside one’s mouth – of course I am talking about regular dental care! Since I was in kindergarten I’ve had to listen to the same message from my parents, my grandparents, my teachers, and even TV ads: “Don’t forget to brush your teeth after every meal!” Though I have not always adhered to this rule, I can fortunately say that so far I’ve only had relatively few dental problems. All thanks to you, my trusted toothbrush! As a kid, I only had a conventional one, which I had to move around my mouth quite a bit to keep my pearly whites clean. But over the past 20 years or so, a newer type of dental cleaning instrument has gained a lot of popularity: the electric toothbrush! By now, I have also switched from my manual toothbrush to a more futuristic electric one but before I could make the switch, I needed to find answers to several key questions such as “Which type of toothbrush produces better results?” or “How much does an electric toothbrush cost?”. Both are very good questions for everyone who is currently considering the switch to look into.

What is an electric toothbrush?

A few decades ago, the technology behind electric toothbrushes was not quite advanced enough to make them competitive with conventional toothbrushes. Therefore, the use of these devices was only limited to patients who had problems with properly handling conventional toothbrushes. Nowadays, modern technology has made electric toothbrushes a force to be reckoned with and has brought many devices to the market that can simplify and improve dental care for almost every patient. Electric toothbrushes need only little manual handling, since they clean teeth via automatic vibrations and circular motions. Instead of having to move his or her hand up and down, patients only need to place the electric brush head atop of their teeth and move it along their upper and lower jaw lines to successfully remove dental plaque.

In general, all currently available electric toothbrushes fall into one of the following two categories:

  • Oscillating Toothbrush – This type of electric toothbrush uses an oscillating and rotating brush head to clean the teeth of its user. The brush head can move from left to right as well as in circles and is ideal for effectively cleaning even tough-to-reach areas in a patient’s mouth due to its small size (as compared to the brush head of a conventional toothbrush). On average, an electric toothbrush of this type can achieve up to 3,000 oscillations per minute. 
  • Sonic Toothbrush – This type of electric toothbrush has an elongated brush head and uses vibrations to not only clean a patient’s teeth but to also use a steady movement of the saliva to break down and remove plaque more quickly. Sonic toothbrushes are easier on the teeth than their oscillating counterparts but also come at higher price points. On average, an electric toothbrush of this type can achieve up to 40,000 revolutions per minute.

A set of toothbrushes

 

Is an electric toothbrush better than a conventional toothbrush?

One thing is absolutely certain: Brushing your teeth at least twice every day with a fluoride toothpaste can effectively protect your teeth against decay. Also, the longer the brushing time, the better, until the 5 minute mark is reached – afterwards, any further brushing results in no additional benefit. In general, an electric toothbrush delivers superior cleaning results when used for the same amount of time as a conventional toothbrush.

A recent study from the year 2014 that was performed by the Cochrane Collaboration confirmed a slight advantage of electric toothbrushes over conventional toothbrushes. Based on a detailed examination of data from over 5,000 study participants, the Cochrane researchers found that electric toothbrushes are a bit more effective in removing plaque from teeth and that people who utilized these devices had a lower incidence of gum inflammation.

The following is an outline of the most important advantages and drawbacks of electric toothbrushes:

Advantages:

  • Improved cleaning comfort
  • Superior cleaning results
  • Long lifetime (due to replaceable brush heads)
  • Pressure sensors (built into some models)
  • Cleaning time timer (built into some models)
  • More effective prevention of tooth discolorations

Disadvantages:
  • Higher acquisition costs
  • Ongoing maintenance costs (ongoing acquisition of exchangeable brush heads)
  • Dependence on electricity
  • Potentially annoying/loud operating noise
  • Sometimes aggravating vibrations
Electric toothbrush

How much does an electric toothbrush cost?
Good electric toothbrushes do not have to be expensive and are available at prices lower than EUR 20. However, patients who always seek out the newest and most advanced models have to budget for much higher prices.

Example 1 – Basic Option

* Type: Oscillating toothbrush
* Manufacturer: Oral B
* Price: roughly EUR 16 incl. shipping

Example 2 – High-Tech Option

* Type: Sonic toothbrush
* Manufacturer: Phillips Sonicare
* Price: roughly EUR 220 incl. shipping

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