This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Finding the Best Brush!

Fun Fact: Toothbrushes have been around for nearly 5000 years!  It all began with twigs that were rubbed against teeth, progressing to carved wood, bone or ivory handles that held tufts of hair from hogs or boars. Boy have we come a long way with the current design of a plastic handle holding nylon bristles, which was invented in 1938.

 THE NEED FOR BRUSHING

Brushing is a vital step in your oral care to prevent disease and ward off nasty breath. Brushing helps remove food and plaque, that sticky film of bacteria that causes tooth decay and gingivitis, which could ultimately progress to periodontal disease. 

Find out what's happening in Yorktown-Somerswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 BRUSHING FOR DOLLARS

The U.S. toothbrush market has been estimated to exceed 1.3 billion dollars!  Of that market, at least $500 million is spent on electric toothbrushes.  That’s a whole lot of brushing going on!

Find out what's happening in Yorktown-Somerswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 There is a plethora of choices when selecting a Toothbrush:  Bristles- Hard, Medium, and Soft?  Handle- Cushion grip, ridged grips, angled head? Multitufted?  Wear indicator?  Differing heights of the bristle tufts?  Electric powered?  Sonic? Circular scrub or side to side vibration.  Too many choices!

 WHAT TO CHOOSE

Generally speaking, there are two categories of Toothbrushes available:  Manual and Electric.   Studies have shown that both work to remove plaque.  How do you decide?  To make an informed choice, I recommend a toothbrush that has the American Dental Association (ADA) seal of approval.  That indicates that an independent scientific study was done to verify safety and performance.

 How do you decide between electric and powered?  While both work well, a powered toothbrush is much more efficient at removing plaque than manual brushing.  A recent study cited in the American Journal of Orthodontics showed that patients using powered toothbrushes had better oral hygiene then those using manual toothbrushes.   Also, it didn’t matter what type of electric brush head was used, all were superior to the manual toothbrush.   This is very important news that I have been sharing with my orthodontic patients for years:  In the few seconds you hold your electric toothbrush over a few teeth, hundreds of strokes of the brush (or 1000 vibrations with Sonicare) were working to clean your teeth compared with only a handful of strokes when using the manual brush.  It just makes sense.

 While each powered toothbrush company will tell you that they are better, it will come down to what feels good in your hands, and if you can acclimate to the “tickly” sensation in your mouth that some brands produce initially.

 Oral B and Sonicare are two of the most popular electric toothbrushes sold.  I have used both. My staff and I feel like our teeth are cleaner with the Sonicare.  To make it easy for our patients to get the best Toothbrush at the lowest cost, we offer the most current Sonicare Toothbrushes at a professional discount. 

For more information on how to find the best Toothbrush to meet your needs, please feel free to call our office 914.962.9600. Visit us at www.braceace.com. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.

 

 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?