Benefits of Electric Toothbrushes During the last few weeks, I have been asking our patients to bring their toothbrushes to the practice for their appointments with me. It never ceases to amaze me the choice available in both manual and electric toothbrushes and fortunately the days of Badger hair bristles are well and truly behind us! One of the main considerations are the choice between electric and manual toothbrushes and patients are always interested in why I would choose one type of brush over another for them. Scientific research and also government department of health guidelines, lie behind the brushes I recommend and we should consider at least three different aspects of dental health when comparing both manual and electric brushes. 1. Removal of plaque.2. Reduction of gingival bleeding.3. Prevention of gingivitis.4. Less gingival recession. All of the above are improved with the use of electric toothbrushes, in particular, those which oscillate and rotate. The aspect of using these brushes that I find particularly useful is that the brush can be used to shape around the contours of the teeth so that the maximum number of bristles are in contact with the tooth surface, ensuring a very thorough clean Some may think that electric brushes are expensive but with the right guidance on the best technique for you, even the most basic of models can make a significant improvement to your dental health. A little statistic I wanted to share with you was from an American study last year that revealed that when patients used an electric toothbrush, they could remove 75% of plaque from their teeth in the first minute and when they used a manual toothbrush it took 6 minutes to remove the same amount!!! We should, however bear in mind that electric toothbrushes are not for everyone so watch out for my future tips on manual brushes too!
Written by Maureen Milne Hygienist
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