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Ask your Redcliffe Dentist about the difference between Manual and Electric toothbrushes

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ELECTRIC TOOTH BRUSH V MANUAL TOOTH BRUSH

 

Our oral hygiene ritual is a everyday occurrence and one of the most important steps in this routine is brushing our teeth. A question we get asked regularly here at John Street 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.

 

The benefits 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

Some models have timers to assist with the length of brushing

The cons of an electric toothbrush:

Can be expensive initially

The benefits of a manual toothbrush

Cheaper and easier to replace

Helps people to feel more in control of their brushing

The 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 with detachable heads can 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. Electric toothbrush heads and manual brushes should be changed every 3 months for the best results.

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