Our oral hygiene routine is a daily occurrence and one of the most important steps in this routine is brushing our teeth. A question we get asked daily here at DBay Dental is: ‘’should I be using an electric or manual toothbrush?’’. So we thought we would break this down into the benefits, cons and differences of each to help you in making the best choice for your next toothbrush purchase.
Benefit of an electric toothbrush:
- Easier for children, people with disabilities, arthritis or dexterity issues to use
- Has a small head which helps to reach further back in the mouth
- Improves brushing technique as the head oscillates, this also minimises damage from a scrubbing action often used with manual tooth brushing
Cons of an electric toothbrush:
- Can be expensive initially
Benefits of a manual toothbrush
- Cheaper and easier to replace
- Helps people to feel more in control of their brushing
Cons of a manual toothbrush
- Overtime the use of a manual toothbrush can lead to toothbrush abrasion – google image search toothbrush abrasion. This happens more often than not due to people feeling as though they need to ‘scrub their teeth’
The biggest difference between the two is the cost.
The initial outlay for an electric toothbrush can seem expensive. However a good quality electric toothbrush can have a long life span (years in fact) and the detachable heads are replaced each season. In a family setting the electric toothbrush is quite cost effective as each member of the family can have a separate detachable colour coded head and only one electric body.
Manual toothbrushes can be cheap but need to be replaced regularly and with bigger families this cost can add up.
Overall any toothbrush is good as long as it is used correctly and regularly. It’s recommended that regardless of which toothbrush you choose make sure it is a soft one. As Dr Scott says “Medium and hard toothbrushes are for cleaning the bathroom tiles”. Electric toothbrush heads and manual brushes should be changed every 3 months for the best results.
“A healthy mouth is the natural place for an attractive, brighter smile!”
To book an appointment please phone 3203 0162 to speak to our friendly reception team or appointments can be booked online here.