Electric Toothbrushes

whistler-alison

I love my sonicare and prefer to to the oscilating Oral B brush I had before. The replacement heads are quite expensive but they only need replacing every six months and I got some a lot cheaper on Ebay from the US this time. I use the small heads as I find them more comfortable - I must have a small mouth, though many would disagree:D . My dental hygenist has never recommended either the sonicare or the Oral B, but when I switched over to the Sonicare she said that my brushing was much improved. I told her about the switch over and she said that it must suit me better, so it may just be down to personal preference or how you use it whether one is better than the other. However, I would say that once you switch over to a powered toothbrush, you won't go back to manual. On th odd occasion I have had to use a manual toothbush, I don't feel as clean and the motion of using it makes me gag!

fuglyjowls

I had a Sonicare for several years and was very happy with the way it cleaned but the problem I had was that after a short time it would not hold a charge unless I charged it every day which was a pain if we were away from home. At a recent hygienist appointment I asked for her recommendation regarding toothbrushes and she said she recommends the Oral B above anything else. I bought the top of the range Oral B from Argos last week as it is half price (and I paid with my Nectar points so it was free:T and have been just as impressed with the way it cleans as my Sonicare. I think a lot of it is personal preference and the way you use it - my hygienist told me off when I first got the Sonicare because I was "overbrushing" by pressing it too hard against my (very sensitive) gums.

Also - as other poster said you can get cheaper heads for Sonicare if you shop around - I bought some on Ebay and they were a lot cheaper.

oly2c

"Sonic/Ultrasonic

These brushes claim to emit sonic or ultrasonic vibrations to the teeth to break down plaque.
Ultrasonic frequencies start at 20,000 oscillations per second, but despite claims to the contrary no toothbrushes currently on the market are anywhere even remotely close to achieving this.
Our dental experts are sceptical about whether they can transfer the vibrations to teeth and there is no proof that they remove plaque better than brushes without sonic claims."
This a quote from a recent Which? report.
They recommend Oral B including the cheaper ones

Stephen_Leak

oly2c wrote: »

"Sonic/Ultrasonic

These brushes claim to emit sonic or ultrasonic vibrations to the teeth to break down plaque.
Ultrasonic frequencies start at 20,000 oscillations per second, but despite claims to the contrary no toothbrushes currently on the market are anywhere even remotely close to achieving this.
Our dental experts are sceptical about whether they can transfer the vibrations to teeth and there is no proof that they remove plaque better than brushes without sonic claims."
This a quote from a recent Which? report.
They recommend Oral B including the cheaper ones

So, what they are saying is, "Use a normal one and hum"?

albion29

I have a Philips `sonic care` elite,it was bought as a present at full price!
The present giver told me this because i could/would not use it. I found the cleaning action much to powerful, and quite painful.The user instructions were to complicated, i stick to a good firm toothbrush, quality paste,dental floss and interdental brushes.

feline_fine

Yes and no. People who like them think yes, but all the hygienists i know(me included) think they are too severe and can lead to overbrushing and sensetivity. Braun are still the market leaders. The heads are smaller therefore easier to get to back teeth. At the end of the day, its all personal preferrence. You can still get the same affect using the good ol' manual one. Just remember to change it every 3 months. If you are getting an electric toothbrush, it doesn't have to have all the bells and whistles. Just make sure its kept on full charge to maintain efficiency. (battery ones are rubbish). Ive tried them all, (freebies from reps- yay!) I use oral B.

Toothsmith

albion29 wrote: »

I have a Philips `sonic care` elite,it was bought as a present at full price!
The present giver told me this because i could/would not use it. I found the cleaning action much to powerful, and quite painful.The user instructions were to complicated, i stick to a good firm toothbrush, quality paste,dental floss and interdental brushes.

The Sonicare Elite has a second softer setting. Or at least mine has (Another rep freebie!!)

I only use mine to road test it over the long term. So far I've been using it exclusively for 18 months. I like the feeling from it when the heads are new, but they really don't last the 6 months that the manufacturers claim.

Once the battery finally dies I will probably go back to an Oral B 9500.

My hygienist always moans at me about the tartar that builds up on my lower incisors, it's no worse, but no better, using this brush.

The advantage I have is that I have a hygienist I can see whenever she has a free appointment. I almost said 'for free' but then I remembered I'm paying her wage!!!!!

katiemay_2

Definately worth it, i have very, very sensitive teeth and if anything it has made them better. My dentist told me to just keep on whatever i'm doing and will prob never have to have any work done ever! Thats a good enough recommendation for me.

Word of warning though - use the correct tecnique explained in the manual - my boyf just brushes with his like a regular toothbrush and still has to get his teeth cleaned by the hygienist. I use it exactly as it says and don't ever have to get them done.

Toothsmith

katiemay wrote: »

Word of warning though - use the correct tecnique explained in the manual - my boyf just brushes with his like a regular toothbrush and still has to get his teeth cleaned by the hygienist. I use it exactly as it says and don't ever have to get them done.

Exactly. Push on too hard and the sonic action just doesn't work.

newleaf

My trips to the dentist & hygienist have become much less stressful since I started using my sonic brush. My first two were 'Ultrasonex' and my current one is 'a Sonicare' - which I think I prefer. Mine is the model previous to Elite and I think it is now obsolete. My hygienist noticed straight away and commented on the improvement, and I now see her annually instead of 6 monthly, so yes I would say it is definitely worth the money.