Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi all! I've been considering switching to an electric toothbrush after putting on braces but I've never tried it before, not sure whether i can adapt to it well (especially with the tender gums...). Is it better than conventional ones?

How do u make the decision? Electric or conventional toothbrushes?

Hey Braced4braces,

I don't have particularly tender gums, but I love my electric toothbrushes. I highly recommend them (at least the models I have). One is a sonicare and the other is an Oral-B Triumph. All the people that I know that have a sonicare love it (at least I don't know of any of them that have one and don't like it). I think it may vary from person to person, but I found the Oral-B FlossAction brush head cleans better between my teeth than the sonicare. Both clean the front and back very well! The Oral-B also has some brush heads that are specifically designed for orthodontics work. I know one of them (and probably both) makes a softer brush head. I just don't recall which one definitely does.

The only way I know to make the decision is to talk to your doctor, very close friends, and family. Then try one. You should check the web sites. I seem to remember one or both having 30 day money back guarantees.

Either way, happy brushing.

Hi LuckyOne, unfortunately I don't have friends/ relatives who use electric Thanx for ur suggestions! will try to get one with designed for ortho works.

tHanx for the info to LuckyOne and KK. If electric are gentler on gums, I would try it! Like u, KK, I've been brushing hard with my manual one! I'm always thinking harder means reaching more into where food may get stuck! Until my dentist warns me to go easier with the brushing.

There is a good website (dentalgentlecare - it's a favorite of Meryaten and me!) that talks about the advantages of electric toothbrushes over manual:
http://www.dentalgentlecare.com/electri ... rushes.htm

Of course, the best toothbrush is always the one that you use regularly!

My non-brace-wearing husband was told by his dentist recently that he was wearing down the enamel on his teeth by brushing too hard and that he should switch to an electric brush. So, he's using one of my Sonicare brush heads and seems to be doing better.

Hope this helps.

I looked over the website Betty Bat mentioned. I noticed this one:

Warning:
All SONIC toothbrushes should NOT be used with baking soda and/or peroxide toothpastes. These toothpaste products should be avoided as they contribute to cracks in the upper portion of the handle.

And Sonicare customer care specialist says:

The consistency of gel-based toothpastes tends to facilitate this
cleaning action better than most "paste" types

It's an interesting note for the choice of toothpaste to go with Sonicare toothbrushes

I bought a Sonicare and although it felt like it was doing a good job, over the course of a few months I noticed that my teeth were looking dirtier. It didn't seem to remove stains as well as my old Oral-B electric brush did.

I got rid of the Sonicare in the end, and I use my Oral-B spinbrush at night and a manual brush other times.