Today I Learned

I think I get best results by alternating manual and electric. Like if I use only one or the other for a few days in a row, then my teeth feel cleaner after I switch.

I stopped using electric brush because I didn't feel nearly as clean as manual.

But since I switched back to manual brushing, my teeth problems went away. Using the electric ones, I had two appointments where my dental bridge across several teeth had to be taken out and things fixed under it. I had no issues with it before the electrical toothbrush, and have not have any more since I am back to manual brushing.

Yeah, but that one time as a kid i had an electic toothbrush. Took it to a sleepover. Went off in bag. Others joking about it being a vibrator.

Manual toothbushes are cheaper, simpler, and not embarrasing at sleepovers

I floss and electric toothbrush every night. My dentist routinely complements my hygiene. Every cavity I’ve had filled in the past 8 years started from before I had an e-brush.

At a recent visit after remarking on how little plaque I had, my dentist asked if I brush twice a day. I told him no, only once a day.

He immediately changed his tune and told me that I should brush twice a day for better results.

I think he’s in the pocket of Big Paste.

I feel like it’s more than that…

When I switched to electric 7 or 8 years ago, I really didn’t like it. It was super uncomfortable and tickled my mouth.

I just powered through it because I was told that I would get used to it.

Indeed I did get used to it and quickly began to feel that I had never actually properly brushed my teeth before going electric.

Part of what helps is the little extra pulse every 30 seconds and auto shut off after two minutes. Really keeps you on track with 30 seconds in each quadrant of your mouth.

Two minutes is a long time so having the timer built into the toothbrush is super helpful.

Only concern to note is that applying too much pressure and/or using the maximum vibration setting can be bad for your gums and cause recession.

Be very gentle with the electric toothbrush so that you do not cause any excessive gum recession.

Once you get used to electric, a conventional toothbrush will seem archaic.

I trust approximately zero science about dental care, given the industry's track record.

I mean, as they kind of point out in the article, this doesn't actually say terribly much. I've always had the impression that electric toothbrushes are great for scrubbing off the plaque on the big surfaces of your teeth, while they're probably worse at reaching all the weird little angles of your teeth. This could result in 20% less plaque in total, while not removing it from where it lingers around and causes cavities. At the same time, if you also floss regularly, maybe you've got your weird little angles covered differently already. It depends on quite a few factors, for which a meta study like this can hardly do justice...

I was surprise it was this low. The wording of the study result is a bit different, it's not % of effectiveness, it's a % reduction in plaque.

The evidence produced shows benefits in using a powered toothbrush when compared with a manual toothbrush. There was an 11% reduction in plaque at one to three months of use, and a 21% reduction in plaque when assessed after three months of use. For gingivitis, there was a 6% reduction at one to three months of use and an 11% reduction when assessed after three months of use. The benefits of this for long-term dental health are unclear.

I guess I went full circle since I returned back to classic ones. I used electric one for years but suddenly I started to feel with my tongue that it didn't do good job. Changing the head didn't help. My dentist was also surprised but she suggested to try to use also classic one when I finish with electric. And voila, it really did the job. To this day I'm not sure what happened ...