Electric Toothbrush versus Manual: Which is Better?
As dentists, we’re constantly getting questions about which kind of toothbrush is best for your teeth. Is it the old-fashioned manual toothbrush that you can pick up at the grocery store for a few dollars or the fancy electric toothbrush that costs a bit more? Good dental health starts with healthy eating habits first, but getting your teeth truly clean is more than simply sipping water and chewing sugar-free gum.
Why Manual Toothbrushes Don’t Work as Well
We’re not here to say that your manual toothbrush or your child’s manual toothbrush isn’t doing its job – there are pros to using a manual toothbrush. You can get manual toothbrushes in all sorts of styles and colors that even have cartoon characters on them (which can be pretty handy when you’re trying to get your five-year-old to get excited about brushing their teeth). They’re easy to throw in a bag if you’re going on a trip and they can properly clean teeth as long as you’re using good brushing technique.
This, however, is where the manual toothbrush starts to lose its edge against an electric toothbrush. First, you either have to guess that you’ve brushed for long enough or keep a timer going while you brush with a manual.
Gently keeping the brush at a 45-degree angle to help sweep bacteria, plaque, and tartar away isn’t too hard, but pressing too soft or too hard can mean that either you don’t clear way harmful particulates properly or that you’ll actually damage your teeth! Especially when it comes to children, getting that right angle and making sure that every tooth has been brushed can be difficult and a chore.
Why Electric Toothbrushes are Better For Your Teeth
Getting the right kind of clean can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be – that’s why we recommend using electric toothbrushes over manual toothbrushes. It’s true that they are more expensive than manuals and can be a little harder to travel with (you have to bring your charger) but the dental health benefits outweigh the cost and slight inconveniences.
Electric toothbrushes take the guesswork out of brushing and make it easier for you and your kids – the brush lets you know when to move and when you’re done. Less work for your children to do on their teeth means they’re more likely to brush and brush properly too.
On top of being easier to use and more likely to provide the right kind of brushing techniques, you’ll see better results with an electric toothbrush. Studies have shown that patients that use electric toothbrushes reduced plaque by 21 percent and gingivitis 11 percent in just three months compared to old-fashioned manual brushing.
We Recommend the Oral-B Genius Electric Toothbrush
With advanced technology, using an electric toothbrush gets more and more sophisticated. Systems like the Oral-B Genius help your teeth feel as clean as if you’d just come into our Fuquay Varina offices for teeth cleaning! In addition to the advanced rounded brush head that oscillates to make sure your teeth and gums are especially clean, it links with your smartphone to help learn the topography of your teeth and gums while guiding you through brushing. The built-in timer makes certain that you spend enough time brushing altogether, but also ensures that you spend enough time on each tooth too! And if all of this wasn’t enough, the Oral-B Genius has pressure sensors built into it, which alerts you if you’re brushing too hard or too soft.
We at Hamby Family Dental Center want you to have the best dental health possible and because we believe in the benefits of the Oral-B Genius, we’ve got an amazing discount on Oral-B Genius systems: normally $115, now available at our offices for only $105. Take an additional $30 off with a mail-in rebate, good through December 29th.
That means this toothbrush is only $75 after rebate.
Make an appointment and stop in to get your Genius system today!