01.02.2020

Should you switch to an electric toothbrush?

We’re not here to tell you what you should be doing and we won’t promote any particular products. However, let’s get this over with: the answer isn’t as simple as yes or no but if it was, the answer would be yes.

What’s good care? Brushing your teeth twice a day, flossing, using mouthwash and seeing your dentist regularly. This is no rocket science and as long as you’re doing this, you shouldn’t have many dental problems. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. However, as you’ll see, switching your toothbrush might just be enough to help you.

Electric or manual?

In the most general terms it is probably better to have an electronic toothbrush. Research has shown that a group using an electric tooth brush had 20% less plaque than a group using a manual toothbrush.

Perhaps most importantly, this research was done almost 20 years ago and by now electric toothbrush technology has improved significantly. This may be a bold statement to make, but it has probably reached a point where there is almost no plaque left after brushing.

As for that research, it is also important to note, that neither group of people was given instructions on how to brush their teeth. So while those using a manual brush may have had a lot of plaque due to bad brushing technique, those using electric toothbrushes were getting a good brush due to the inherent motions of an electric toothbrush.

This means a lot also depends on how you brush your teeth.

So should I switch to an electric toothbrush. Or vice versa?

If you’re still not sure, talk to a specialist.

Next time you go to the dentist, ask the hygienist how much plaque your teeth have on them. If the hygienist says there is hardly any plaque on your teeth then that means your brushing technique is good and you probably don’t need an electronic toothbrush.

If the hygienist tells you have a lot of plaque then you might want to switch to an electric toothbrush or improve on your tooth brushing skills.

If you are already using an electric toothbrush there is no reason to switch to manual unless you are looking for ways to save money. If you find that switching to a regular toothbrush increases the amount of plaque on your teeth you may want to switch back to an electric toothbrush — after all you can’t put a price on healthy teeth.