Electric toothbrush recomendations

Snuggles

brook2jack wrote: »

The reason why I recommend oral b is because they have a small round head.
In general most people do not move the toothbrush around all the corners of their mouth and most do not brush their gum line as well the teeth. A small head makes it easier to get into the nooks and crannies.

The second important thing is to clean inbetween the teeth. A toothbrush can't do this and you will have to use either interdental brushes like types or floss. 40% of the tooth is not cleaned if you don't get in between the tooth and this is where most people get the start of gum disease.

Thanks brookjack, I do use the mini heads on the sonicare as I don't like a large brush head. I have recently started using interdental brushes as my gums had deteriorated on my last visit to the dentist (after using Oral B for a couple of years, but probably just coincidence). I do wonder though whether the sonicare does a better job of cleaning between teeth as it sort of drives liquid through the gaps, or it feels like it does anyway.

brook2jack

There is no toothbrush in the world that can clean in between teeth unless the gaps are so big you can fit a toothbrush in between.

Plaque is not difficult to get off but it is sticky , so swooshing water, toothpaste, mouthwash etc is not going to get it off , it needs to be physically brushed or rubbed off.

Leave it undisturbed for 48 hours and it starts to harden and become tartar and then only your dentist or hygienist can get it off.

kerri_gt

Snuggles wrote: »

I switched from Sonicare to Oral B about 2 years ago. During that time, my gum health detioriorated. Could be coincidence of course but I've now gone back to Sonicare and I prefer it, my mouth seems to feel cleaner after brushing.

I've still got the Oral B though, so maybe I'll hedge my bets and alternate between the two!

Interested to read this as I've had oral B toothbrushes for 20 odd years, and just switched to Sonicare as my last oral B was no longer holding a charge. Of course, like th worrier I am, I have been concerned whether the Sonicare has been doing as well as oral b but overall I do prefer it (teeth feel clean without a mini car wash going round your mouth) so I'll be interested to know what the dentist says at my next appt.

Snuggles

brook2jack wrote: »

There is no toothbrush in the world that can clean in between teeth unless the gaps are so big you can fit a toothbrush in between.

Plaque is not difficult to get off but it is sticky , so swooshing water, toothpaste, mouthwash etc is not going to get it off , it needs to be physically brushed or rubbed off.

Leave it undisturbed for 48 hours and it starts to harden and become tartar and then only your dentist or hygienist can get it off.

Thank you, I didn't know that about it being sticky. I've got into a routine with the interdental brushes now (I weirdly quite enjoy using them!) so will ensure I keep doing that.

humptydumptybits

brook2jack wrote: »

There is no toothbrush in the world that can clean in between teeth unless the gaps are so big you can fit a toothbrush in between.

Plaque is not difficult to get off but it is sticky , so swooshing water, toothpaste, mouthwash etc is not going to get it off , it needs to be physically brushed or rubbed off.

Leave it undisturbed for 48 hours and it starts to harden and become tartar and then only your dentist or hygienist can get it off.

I use an Oral B, have done for years and am on my 2nd one, I use the TePe interdental brushes and my hygienist seems happy with the results but my DD has been using a water flosser (I think that's what it is called) and she thinks it is brilliant. Do you think they are worth the money?

boliston

I have a sonicare elite brush HX5350 (about £40) which is superb but I don't think you can buy the handle any more, just the brushes - not sure how the budget sonicares compare but they work really well

brook2jack

humptydumptybits wrote: »

I use an Oral B, have done for years and am on my 2nd one, I use the TePe interdental brushes and my hygienist seems happy with the results but my DD has been using a water flosser (I think that's what it is called) and she thinks it is brilliant. Do you think they are worth the money?

Keep with the Tepe brushes. Plaque is sticky and blasting it with liquid is never going to do as good a job as a good brushing with a tape brush.

Jet flossers/waterpiks May be better than nothing if people cannot manage tepes and there may be a case for using them to get down pockets where the gum has come away from the tooth but little cleans as well as the right size of interdental brush used in the right way.

humptydumptybits

brook2jack wrote: »

Keep with the Tepe brushes. Plaque is sticky and blasting it with liquid is never going to do as good a job as a good brushing with a tape brush.

Jet flossers/waterpiks May be better than nothing if people cannot manage tepes and there may be a case for using them to get down pockets where the gum has come away from the tooth but little cleans as well as the right size of interdental brush used in the right way.

Thanks for that, I must tell my DD to get some tepe brushes.

Rita2456

oralb electric brushes are almost constantly on sale at tesco

BigHead

Yes they are a bit messy (they drip while brushing teeth and the charge base accumulates water) but since I have purchased my oral b electric I have not gotten one cavity.