Make the Electric Toothbrush an Integral Part of Your Oral Hygiene(2020): Check out the Ultimate Guide to Electric Toothbrushes, Their Benefits, and the Top Electric Toothbrushes

Make the Electric Toothbrush an Integral Part of Your Oral Hygiene(2020): Check out the Ultimate Guide to Electric Toothbrushes, Their Benefits, and the Top Electric Toothbrushes

Your oral hygiene and dental care is very important for your overall health and wellness, and cannot be taken lightly. Electric toothbrushes are the latest innovation in oral healthcare. If you are new to the concept of electric toothbrushes, then this BP Guide will share the types and benefits of electric toothbrushes, how they compare with manual ones and will also showcase the best electric toothbrushes currently available in India.

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What is an Electric Toothbrush?

Oral health and dental-care often gets neglected in today’s fast-paced world; which may cause oral problems and can result in stained or weak teeth. An electric toothbrush is a modern invention for tooth-care that helps you brush your teeth without applying pressure or effort unlike a manual toothbrush. The electric toothbrush has a minute motor which is powered by a replaceable cell that is fitted inside the handle of the brush. This motor powers the brush to oscillate and rotate, resulting in quick automatic bristle motions that can be back and forth or clockwise and anticlockwise.

Different Types of Electric Toothbrush

Electric toothbrushes can be classified into 2 types on the basis of the speed at which the brush oscillates:

  • Sonic Toothbrush –

    Sonic oscillation is the movement that is quick enough to result in vibrations that are in the human audible range. Most of the modern rechargeable toothbrushes have oscillations of 12,000 – 24,000 or 24,000 – 48,000 per minute which produce frequencies in the range of 200 – 400 Hz. Sonic toothbrushes produce only a sweeping motion with high amplitude (large) sweeping motions. A study done on sonic toothbrushes found that the abrasion caused to the gums by these toothbrushes is less as compared to manual toothbrushes.

  • Ultrasonic Toothbrush –

    The latest development in oral care, ultrasonic toothbrushes uses ultrasonic waves for cleaning the teeth. Ultrasonic waves have a minimum frequency of 20,000 Hz (2,40,000 movements per minute). The ultrasonic toothbrushes which are approved by the FDA have a frequency of 1.6 MHz (1,92,000 movements per minute).

Further, electric toothbrushes can also be segmented based on their types of movement. The different electric toothbrushes under this category are:

  • Side to Side Vibration – Lateral movement of the brush-head which moves from side to side.

  • Rotation Oscillation – Brush action is rotation in clockwise and anticlockwise.

  • Circular Motion – Brush-head rotates in one direction.

  • Counter Oscillation – Tufts of bristles which are adjacent (8-10), rotate in one direction and then in the opposite direction, independent of each other.

  • Ionic – A toothbrush that uses an electrical charge that is used on the surface of the tooth to loosen the dental plaque.

Benefits of Using an Electric Toothbrush: Why It's a Good Buy

The vibrations or rotations of an electric toothbrush produce many micro-movements on the surface of your teeth and gums when you move them across your teeth, effectively cleaning them. This movement has many benefits for your teeth and oral care, some of these benefits are mentioned below:

  • Removes Plaque Effectively –

    Various studies suggest that using an electric toothbrush on a regular basis results in more reduction of plaque and gingivitis as compared to a manual toothbrush. Further, the study which lasted for 3 months, resulted in the reduction of gingivitis by 11% and plaque by 21% in the volunteers. The oscillating (rotating) electric toothbrushes were found better than the vibrating electric toothbrushes.

  • Set Timer –

    Electric toothbrushes have a built-in timer which can be set so that you can clean your teeth as long as suggested by your dentist.

  • Useful for People with Limited Mobility –

    Minimal effort is required to brush your teeth using an electric toothbrush; hence it’s useful for people suffering from arthritis or developmental disability problems.

  • Environmental Friendly –

    Most electric toothbrushes have the option to simply replace their head instead of throwing away the entire brush like in the case of manual toothbrushes, thus producing less plastic waste.

  • Improve Oral Health in People Wearing Braces –

    For those of you who wear braces you often face problems while brushing as the dirt and food particles get stuck in the braces and it’s a bit difficult to clean them with manual toothbrushes. While the automatic cleaning mechanism of electric toothbrushes makes the teeth brushing task much easier.

  • Safe for Gums –

    Chances of damage to the gums is quite high while using a manual toothbrush as any stroke may be a bit stronger than the previous one and the bristles can accidentally rub against the gums. But electric toothbrushes don’t hurt the gums or enamel while being used.

Choosing the Right Electric Toothbrush for Adults

With various models and designs of electric toothbrushes thronging the market, it often becomes confusing to choose the right one for your oral care. Some important aspects which should be considered before choosing an electric toothbrush for adults are:

  • Stroke Motion – You can choose from rotating/oscillating, circular, counter-motion, or side-by-side motion toothbrush.

  • Sonic or Ultrasonic – Ultrasonic toothbrushes are better than sonic toothbrushes in removing plaque from the teeth.

  • Brush Heads – You need to decide between replaceable or non-replaceable, big or small brush heads as per your needs.

  • Bristle Texture – Choose a medium, soft, or extra soft texture as per your requirement.

  • Quad Pacers – Whether the toothbrush includes quad pacers which does specialised brushing for upper, lower, left and right parts of the mouth.

  • Timers – Dentists advice to brush for a minimum of 2 minutes and you can easily achieve this daily limit by purchasing an electric toothbrush with a built-in timer. But there are models available without timers as well.

  • Tongue Fresheners – Some electric toothbrushes are equipped with tongue fresheners and cleaners which are beneficial for those having bad breath problems.

  • Travel Friendly – If you travel regularly then you can opt for one with a storage case.

  • Pressure Sensors – These sensors let you know if you’re putting too much pressure on your teeth and gums.

Electric Toothbrush Vs Manual Toothbrush

Various clinical studies have shown that the rotation/oscillation motion of an electric toothbrush is better in removing plaque and providing overall health of your mouth as compared to a manual toothbrush. Moreover, electric toothbrushes perform most of the cleaning job automatically and you aren’t required to apply pressure from different angles like manual toothbrushes, which is an unpleasant activity early in the morning. You can also use the timer function to brush your teeth for the recommended time limit of at least 2 minutes whereas in a manual toothbrush you often brush for far lesser than the prescribed time. Different brush heads can be used in a single electric toothbrush to customise your oral cleaning which isn’t possible in a manual toothbrush.

Best Electric Toothbrushes for Adults Currently Available in India

Oral B Cross Action Battery Powered Toothbrush

Source www.amazon.in

This battery-powered toothbrush by Oral B has a cross action motion which easily cleans the hard to reach places by 2 cleaning actions. The electric toothbrush has a rotating head which loosens the plaque from the front teeth, back teeth, and gum-line with the help of the crisscross bristles. Once the plaque is loosened, it’s whisked away easily with the regular use of this brush. Two AA batteries are used in this toothbrush, the brush has dimensions 5.5 cm x 3.4 cm x 24 cm, and weighs just 80 gm. The Oral B Cross Action Battery Powered Toothbrush comes with a soft rubberised grip on the handle and this product can be purchased from Amazon for ₹ 349.00.

Philips Sonicare CleanCare+ Electric Toothbrush

The Philips Sonicare CleanCare+ Sonic Electric Toothbrush comes with advanced sonic technology that breaks the plaque and sweeps it away when you rinse your mouth. The dense and superior quality bristles can remove up to 3 times more plaque than a normal toothbrush. The contoured bristles are designed to easily clean every corner of your teeth. The smart timer allows you to clean your teeth for the recommended amount of time and the QuadPacer helps you to clean each part of your mouth by alerting you if enough amount of time has been spent cleaning each section.

The easy-start program provides the option of a slow and gradual increase in brushing power for the first 14 times so that if you are switching from a manual to an electronic toothbrush you can get used to it. The brush head can be easily detached from the brush handle to comfortably clean the toothbrush. The battery lasts for up to 14 days on a single full charge and the ergonomically designed handle makes it an easy to hold and operate toothbrush. This electric toothbrush comes with a 2-year warranty, costs ₹ 3,595.00 and more details can be checked on Philips.

Colgate ProClinical 150 Sonic Battery Powered Toothbrush

Colgate is a pioneer in products related to oral health and oral hygiene with many quality products for dentalcare in their product range. The Colgate ProClinical 150 Sonic Charcoal Battery Powered Toothbrush is one such product by Colgate which reduces plaque by multi-directional cleaning. The brush head produces sonic vibrations of 20,000 strokes/minute that clean and polish your teeth to remove the stuck food particles and stains from your teeth. The soft bristles are thin and provide gentle cleaning to your gums. Antibacterial bristles of this toothbrush are charcoal infused which prevents the growth of bacteria in the mouth. Other important features include a slim design, a lightweight handle, and a built-in timer. This product can be purchased for ₹ 788.00 from Smile Dental Store.

OralScape Sonicwhite Power Rechargeable Electric Toothbrush

Source www.amazon.in

The battery-powered rechargeable Sonicwhite model of the electric toothbrush by OralScape comes along with 3 replacement brush heads. This FDA approved toothbrush uses sonic technology to clean your teeth with 40,000 strokes per minute. If you have sensitive teeth then you can switch to the ‘soft’ mode for getting a gentle cleaning of you teeth while the ‘white’ mode is effective if you have stains and yellow teeth, as this mode removes stains and polishes your teeth to make them whiter. You can also switch to ‘massage’ mode to massage your gums which increases the blood flow to improve their health. The UV sanitiser built in the small box which also stores the 3 brush heads, kills 99.9% bacteria, germs, and viruses when you keep the brush head inside it after use. The brush also has a 30-second interval alert and a 2-minute auto timer. The product comes with a 1-year warranty and can be ordered from Amazon for ₹ 3,999.00.

JSB HF129 Electric Toothbrush Sonic Pro

JSB is a famous Indian brand which manufactures various healthcare equipment. The JSB HF129 Sonic Pro Toothbrush has a powerful inbuilt machine that produces 31,000 strokes per minute to clean your teeth effectively. The toothbrush has a waterproof design and you also get 3 brush heads in the pack. You can choose from clean, sensitive, or massage modes as per your requirement while the soft and high-quality DuPont bristles gently clean your teeth and gums. The 2-minute auto-timer ensures that you brush for a minimum of 2 minutes and the 30 seconds interval timer alerts you about brushing the other parts of your mouth every 30 seconds. The lithium-ion rechargeable battery has a long battery life and the brush has an inbuilt LED indicator to let you know when the battery is fully charged. This electric toothbrush by JSB Healthcare comes with a 1-year warranty and you can order it from Flipkart for ₹ 1,899.00.

Gluck Sonic Electric Power Rechargeable Toothbrush

Source www.amazon.in

The Gluck Electric Powered Rechargeable Toothbrush uses advanced sonic technology to protect and effectively clean your teeth and gums. It has an inbuilt 30-second timer which stops the vibration every 30 seconds to alert you about cleaning the other side of your teeth and the 2-minute auto-timer ensures cleaning for 2 minutes. The waterproof design makes it convenient to use without the fear of any internal parts getting damaged due to water and the four brushing modes of clean, whiten, soft and massage allow you to customise your teeth-cleaning as per your requirement. The brush has a long-lasting inbuilt battery which can last for 14 days with two times brushing every day. The inductive charger provided with the toothbrush comes with overcharging protection thus no need to worry in case you forget to switch off the charger on time. This amazing product by Gluck is available on Amazon for ₹ 2,199.00.

Wurze Super Sonic Toothbrush

Source www.nykaa.com

The Wurze WZ-1901 Super Sonic Electric Toothbrush removes up to 2 times more plaque as compared to a manual toothbrush. The 5 mm wide swing of the pulsating brush head promotes healthy gums while the 2-minute timer alerts you to brush for the minimum recommended time by the dentists. The bristles are made with DuPont nylon to clean the teeth, gums, and hard to reach areas effortlessly. The inbuilt lithium battery gives power to the brush for 3 weeks on a single charge. You can order this electric toothbrush by Wurze on Nykaa for ₹ 2,799.00.

Writer
Rahul Banerji
Rahul began his stint as a freelance writer after working in the corporate world for ten years. He enjoys writing on various topics and is an avid blogger. His interest in science, technology, politics, current affairs and the latest trends helps him to back his writing with well researched facts. Rahul finds solace in gadgets, nature and spirituality.
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It is Time to Move to an Electric Toothbrush Now

For the sake of your oral health and hygiene, it is time for you to move to an electric toothbrush from your earlier manual toothbrush. The former not only offers numerous advantages over the latter but is also available at prices which suit every budget. We hope this BP Guide would have helped you decide which electric toothbrush would be the best for your requirement. Stay connected with us for more such engaging content.