Modern man today is inconceivable without electronics and without electrics. So research and technology gave him an instrument that provides electrical assistance even when brushing his teeth. It is the electric toothbrush. This device was first developed in Switzerland in 1920 and has been continuously improved ever since.
Different models of electric toothbrushes
The electric toothbrush, like the traditional toothbrush, consists of a handle, the brush head and bristles. The handle contains the drive, and the brush head is replaceable as a slip-on brush. The power for the drive used to be drawn directly from the socket.
Because of the danger, this form of power supply is no longer used today. One changed to battery operation and then to drive by means of a rechargeable battery. This has the advantage that by charging while the brush is turned off, there is always enough power available.
There are different bristle configurations and also different types of movement for the slip-on brushes. The bristles are arranged either as a flat ground bristle field or as a circle. The movements can be chosen between the normal “back and forth” movements and those that additionally perform a horizontal movement.
The bristles arranged in a circle have of course circular or also back and forth and back and forth movements. It is difficult to say which of these different electric toothbrushes is best at removing plaque/calculus. All variations in bristle configuration and movement remove plaque when properly guided.
A further development of the electric toothbrush is the sonic toothbrushes or sonic brushes that have been available for several years. They work with ultrasound and are characterized by much faster vibrations. Since their construction is more complicated, they are much more expensive to purchase than conventional brushes.
Also the noise development is stronger and can therefore be disturbing. In the advertising, a better cleaning effect is emphasized compared to conventional electric toothbrushes. One speaks of ultrasound from 1.
600. 000 vibrations. In contrast to the sonic toothbrushes, which have about 30,000 vibrations, the ultrasonic toothbrushes are silent.
You only feel the movement. An ultrasonic toothbrush removes more dirt than a pure sonic toothbrush due to the higher vibration frequency. The question is whether the 30,000 vibrations of the sonic toothbrush are not enough to clean the teeth.
For patients who are predisposed to have a lot of plaque, or who are even prone to gingivitis, an ultrasonic toothbrush is recommended. In case of healthy oral hygiene, a sonic toothbrush is sufficient to perform daily mouth cleaning. The disadvantage of the ultrasonic toothbrush is that it can destroy the gums in the long run if it is not used correctly.
But if you follow the brushing instructions exactly and do not press the ultrasonic vibrations on the gums, the ultrasonic toothbrush even brushes more gently on the gums. The price of an ultrasonic toothbrush is very high compared to a sonic or simple electric toothbrush. You have to decide for yourself whether the benefits outweigh the costs.
Especially for the interdental spaces oral showers or electric interspace toothbrushes are suitable. In the brush head of electric toothbrushes are usually longer, thicker rubber bristles, which should get between the teeth when rotating. However, they only clean up to the contact point of both teeth.
Interdental brushes are placed directly between the teeth, so that they remove any food residues. The effectiveness of interdental showers is not clear. The bacteria in the contact point between the teeth can usually only be reached by flossing.
They cannot be removed by the bristles or the water jet of the special interdental brushes. So if you want to be on the safe side, the only way to effectively clean the interdental spaces is to floss or interdental brushes by hand. The question arises whether an electric interdental brush is necessary.
If only an attachment is necessary for the electric toothbrush, the costs are kept low. Devices that only clean the interdental spaces are usually relatively expensive. However, if you are not able to reach the interspaces by hand, because you may lack the necessary skills, the Interspace devices can be useful for hygiene.
Electric toothbrushes do not generally offer a better mouth cleaning than a manual toothbrush. If you have a good command of the brushing technique, you can also brush your teeth well by hand.If the brushing technique is not carried out correctly or if the coordination ability is missing, an electric toothbrush is recommended. This will reach places that may be forgotten when brushing by hand.
Most appliances have a rotating brush head. This is perfectly suited for the brushing technique for children. Up to adolescent age, a circular movement is recommended.
In addition, the brush heads of the electric toothbrush for children are small to reach the last tooth, even if the mouth cannot be opened wide. The electric toothbrushes also have other functions that make thorough tooth brushing easier. It is especially important for children to keep the brushing time of 2-3 minutes.
Most electric toothbrushes therefore contain a timer. Others allow you to vary the pressure and speed through different stages in order to brush more gently on the front teeth than is necessary on the molars. To increase the motivation of children to brush their teeth independently, the brushes are equipped with music or colorful stickers.
An electric toothbrush is only recommended when you can brush on your own. Children who are not yet in school should try brushing with a manual toothbrush to learn the technique and parents should brush after. If it turns out to be difficult with the cleanliness or consistency, one should try the electric toothbrushes.
However, it is important that you still move the brush around the teeth and do not just hold the toothbrush in your mouth. Children often think that it is enough to hold the electric toothbrush against the tooth. This topic might also be of interest to you: Electric toothbrush for childrenThe devices that are toothbrush and mouth shower in one are very practical.
However, it is rare that the mouth shower is directly integrated into the toothbrush. Rather, it is a separate device that is included in the package. It is important to remember that an oral irrigator does not replace brushing your teeth.
Mechanical cleaning is essential to remove dirt and plaque. Rather, the mouth shower is a complementary extension to flossing to clean the interdental spaces. If there is very strong tooth to tooth contact, an oral irrigator is counterproductive.
Unlike floss, the oral irrigator cannot clean the contact point. When buying an oral irrigator, it should be noted that the water pressure of the jet is individually adjustable. If the gums are sensitive, the application could otherwise hurt.
In addition, the water tank must be large enough to last about 30 seconds to clean all interdental spaces with one tank filling. Good products that meet these conditions are for example Panasonic EW1211, Oral- B Professional Care OxyJet or Sonicare Air Floss from Philips. These products are also of good quality and guarantee a long service life.
