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Should I get an electric toothbrush?

Writer's picture: Karl Walker-FinchKarl Walker-Finch

I get asked this question quite a lot, usually by new patients who’ve been diligently scrubbing their teeth for many years as best they can. Before I give them my answer, I will have a look in their mouth because like everything else, there is no absolute definitive answer, and the answer to what’s best, may differ for each person. If someone's already cleaning their mouth perfectly, why change anything?


As a general rule of thumb though, is it worth buying an electric toothbrush? 


Short answer: Yes, electric brushes generally clean better than manual ones


Please note that in this article I'm going to mention and give links to a few different brushes. I do not have any commercial links at all with these companies and I do not receive any commission for you clicking the links.


You can brush your teeth perfectly with a normal manual toothbrush, but the reality is that nearly everybody that I see, does a better job with an electric brush. And this is backed up by the research as well which shows that after 3 months of use, there’s a 21% reduction in plaque when using an electric toothbrush compared to a manual one. You can read the evidence here if you’re super keen.


That means if you switch to an electric brush, you're likely to be cleaning your teeth better which is going to reduce your chances of having dental problems.


Some of my patients do prefer to use a manual toothbrush, despite having access to an electric one, usually this is because they tend to brush very aggressively and like to feel like they’ve given their teeth “a good scrub” which is not necessarily great for the teeth or the gums. It is possible to over-brush your teeth by scrubbing too hard which can lead to the gums receding from the teeth. Over-brushing also flattens the bristles on the brush so you actually clean less effectively by pressing too hard.


This is where electric brushes again have an advantage, most of them now have a pressure sensor built in to help prevent you from pressing too hard.


Because the electric brush is doing most of the work, you don’t have to do that same scrubbing motion when you’re cleaning, and because of this, I find it works much better at cleaning in the awkward to reach places such as on the inside of the lower teeth or the outside of the back top molars.



Which electric toothbrush should I use?


Generally speaking there are two types of electric toothbrush, sonic (or ultrasonic) brushes and rotating (oscillating rotation to be more precise) ones. Both types are effective at removing plaque from your teeth. It's hard to give a definitive answer about which is better because most of the research carried out into which one type of brush works better is funded by the manufacturers of the brush, which conveniently always seem to find in favour of the brush they make. Read into that what you will. I could go into a long rant about bias in research here, but I’ll spare you and stick to the subject at hand.


Sonic brushes generally use much less battery power so you’ll need to charge it less often (which is also better for the planet). Anecdotally though, I think a rotating toothbrush makes my mouth and teeth feel cleaner after using it, though I’ve used each type for periods of several years at a time and never noticed any difference in my ability to keep my teeth clean.


The choice of which brush you use largely comes down to personal preference, which doesn’t really help you if you’ve never tried one before, I know. Some people prefer the feel of one over the other.


They're priced fairly similarly with a decent electric brush costing anywhere from £35 to £830! Please don't feel the need to spend so much money on a toothbrush, you really don't need it to connect to your smart phone (in my opinion). Something like the Oral B Pro 3 costs less than £50 and will do the job perfectly well if you use it right, and it contains a pressure sensor to help prevent over-brushing.



But isn't a manual toothbrush better for the planet?


I try to investigate the environmental impact of everything we buy, as part of our commitment to becoming more sustainable. Undoubtedly, the carbon footprint of making, distributing and eventually disposing of an electric toothbrush is bigger than a manual toothbrush. Something like the Gruum toothbrushes we’ve got at home with a bamboo handle and interchangeable bamboo heads area a much more sustainable option for a normal toothbrush (Gruum also do toothpaste tablets similar to the Parla ones). 





Again, some eager beavers have done a “Life Cycle Analysis” which shows this very clearly, particularly when you compare the electric brush they’ve tested with a bamboo manual toothbrush (see the article here). But that’s not quite the full picture.


Every electric brush is different and each will have its own environmental impact. They anonymised the brands in the study mentioned above so I'm not sure which brush they've used for their data, though it's likely to be one of the market leaders. I’m currently using a sonic electric toothbrush by a company called SURI who will recycle your used toothbrush heads for free and emphasise that the handle can be repaired and maintained, not just thrown away at the first sign of trouble (check out SURI brushes here).


We also have to consider the impact of reducing the plaque in your mouth has on the environment. Less plaque in your mouth means you’re less likely to have dental problems. Less dental problems means less treatment, less appointments, and ultimately a lower environmental impact.


So from an environmental perspective, for me, an electric toothbrush is still a great choice. Despite it having a bigger impact to make, the health benefits and the reduced carbon footprint from needing fewer appointments outweighs the footprint from making the brush.



So is an electric brush better?


I think so, on balance. I can’t get away from the knowledge that most people clean better with an electric toothbrush and so as a general rule, it’s got to be a worthwhile investment. Do check with your dentist first though. If you’re already cleaning well enough, then there’s probably not a huge benefit to changing, but if there’s room for improvement, an electric brush is the easiest way to do it.





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