You’ve probably stood in the oral hygiene aisle in your local pharmacy or supermarket, looking at the wide selection of toothbrushes available. You’ve probably seen the regular run-of-the-mill manual toothbrushes, the disposable electric toothbrushes, and the high-end electric ones. Have you ever wondered which one is best for helping keep your teeth white and your smile healthy? A manual toothbrush or an electric toothbrush?
Are Electric Toothbrushes Better Than Manual Ones?
When you get right down to it, an electric toothbrush is no better than a manual one, it just makes keeping your teeth and mouth clean a whole lot easier.
If you’re brushing your teeth properly with a manual toothbrush – using a good toothbrush; making sure you’re brushing the outer, inner and chewing surfaces of your teeth; removing all food particles from along your gum line; taking the time to brush your tongue, the top of your mouth and the insides of your cheeks – a manual toothbrush will do just as good a job as an electric one.
Why Invest in an Electric Toothbrush?
The general guideline for how long you should brush your teeth for is for about two minutes – this allows plenty of time to brush all of your teeth properly. Many people don’t actually spend this amount of time brushing their teeth, which probably means that they’re not doing as thorough a job as they should be.
Most electric toothbrushes have a two-minute timer, helping you make sure you spend enough time brushing your teeth. Some even break the two minutes down into four thirty-second intervals, one for each quadrant of your mouth.
Another advantage an electric toothbrush offers over a manual one is that it will do a lot of the work for you – all you have to do is guide it across the surfaces of your teeth. When you use a manual toothbrush, you typically brush your teeth at about 300 strokes per minute. A rotating style electric toothbrush cycles between 3,000 to 7,500 times per minute, whereas a sonic electric toothbrush can pulse at upwards of 30,000 times per minute.
This means that an electric toothbrush provides a lot more plaque removing strokes every time you brush your teeth, making it easier to do a good job brushing your teeth if you’re using an electric toothbrush over a manual one.
But again, if you’re brushing for long enough and using the proper brushing technique you can still do a good job with a manual toothbrush, it’s just easier with an electric one.
Should You Use an Electric Toothbrush?
Manual vs Electric toothbrushes? We recommend buying and using an electric toothbrush. It will help you do a better job of keeping your teeth clean and white and your smile beautiful. Because of how fast they pulse, it’s also easier to keep your gum line free of plaque, helping stave off any gingivitis or gum disease.
Electric toothbrushes are ideal for young children learning how to properly brush their teeth, the elderly who don’t have as much flexibility or strength in their hands, or people suffering from arthritis in their hands or wrists.
Let Us Help!
If you’re thinking about buying an electric toothbrush, we can help! Visit us at either of our Scarborough or Milton clinics and let us help you choose an electric toothbrush that’s right for you!
And of course, regular visits to your dentist is an important part of any good oral health and hygiene plan, so contact our Scarborough clinic at (416) 291 – 0306 or our Milton office at (905) 636 – 9770 to book a visit or simply use our easy online appointment booking form!
