Electric Toothbrush Problems

[sbrobraces]

After 6 months of having braces, I recently purchased my first electric toothbrush. It had been recommended to me and I had heard countless times positive things about it. However, I am finding myself not liking the tooth brush. I find it hard to completely clean around my braces. Also, after brushing, I find myself going back through and rebrushing with a regular toothbrush. Does anyone else find difficulties with the electric toothbrush or am I the odd one here? Any suggestions to help this transition?

[Welshrarebit]

I can't help other than to say I do exactly the same! I brush with my Oral B, then brush with regular toothbrush, then use waterpik.

I bought the Oral B thinking it would clean my teeth in and around the braces better but I don't feel that I can get to all of the tooth with it, if that makes sense. A regular brush allows me to give a more robust brushing and makes me feel as though I've covered everything.

I continue to use the electric toothbrush because I feel that the bits it can reach, it cleans effectively.

The biggest reason though is that when my teeth are sore then it is much more tolerable than a normal brush.

[sirwired]

Well, I don't know which one you have, but Oral-B makes special "ortho tips"; the kit comes with a "donut tip", and a small narrow tip.

I could see the bulkier brands of electric toothbrush being an issue (i.e. sonicare)

[angelina]

I use a sonicare and tend to brush in circular motions like I would a manual toothbrush. I haven't had any issues at the dentist since changing to an electric toothbrush. I tend to waterpik, then floss, then interdental brush between brackets, THEN brush so chances are my teeth are just about clean by the time I take to them with a toothbrush lol.

[Bracefacekris]

I have a sonicare and have no complaints. I think an oral-b might have a slight disadvantage in its shape to the sonicare though. My friend at work that goes to the same orthodontist said that she returned her oral-b and got a sonicare because she felt like the sonicare was better.

[carrieann]

For me, the brush head has to be round and small. I agree the oral b ortho head is great. If it's a bulky electric with a manual shaped brush head that would be difficult to maneuver. I love my oral b and feel like a manual brush does not get my teeth clean at all. It did take a couple weeks to get used to the electric post braces.

[Ziggy]

There seem to be two kind of electric toothbrushes: Oral-B, which is round and twists back and forth, and the Sonicare which vibrates at a very high rate of speed. Both seem to do a good job but can get a little weird when pressed against brackets and wires. I would ask my ortho which he/she prefers. I've used both and prefer the Sonicare. Has Consumer Reports ever tested one against the other?

[EWUgal15]

I used the sonicare prior to braces and have continued using it during treatment. When I had my braces put on, the tech told me to run a full 2 minutes on each arch, so 4 minutes total brush time. Since the sonicare beeps in 30 second intervals, it was easy to accommodate her instruction of brushing from the bottom of the brackets upwards, the top downwards and then head on. The last 30 seconds for the lingual sides of the teeth. I thought it was excessive at first but it wasn't until I stopped that a tech took my wire out and said, "You're doing a good job cleaning but I'm going to work on a few hard to reach spots."

[tjohn0617]

I got an oral B 1000 from my orthodontist when my braces were put on--at first the rotation and vibration of the brush caused a very uncomfortable feeling for close to 2 weeks. I'm almost 3 weeks in and able to use it without any discomfort. I'm sure the same thing will happen once I go for my next appointment in 4 weeks if they change out the wire...

[LisainTX]

I got a Sonicare about a week after getting braces and absolutely love it! But after reading posts here, I also invested in a water pic a few weeks ago. I'm embarrassed to say that I think I am addicted to cleaning my teeth now. Can't say enough about the awesomeness of a water pic!

[Pixelada]

I have used an oral B for almost ten years and I love it. Now that I have braces and don't know what I would do without it. It leaves my teeth "dental cleaning appointment" clean. I also use a Waterpick, which is my salvation because flossing with braces is a pain!

I owned a Sonicare before the Oral B and didn't like the way it cleaned. I think the Oral B is superior. Also, my orthodontist told me that I needed to brush in circular motion, and that if I used an electric tooth brush, I needed to make sure it brushed in a circular motion as well, which the Oral B does and the Sonicare doesn't.

I think I have also become addicted to cleaning my teeth, which is a great addiction. lol.

[djspeece]

I made a few passes with the brushes pointed directly down, parallel to the teeth in order to really clean the hardware. Be creative. You'll have to position the brush to hit all surfaces. Best of luck to you.

[thegolfer86]

For those who are liking their Oral-B or Sonicare, are you all using the $25-$50 models or the $51-$200 models?

[jfriend33]

For those who are liking their Oral-B or Sonicare, are you all using the $25-$50 models or the $51-$200 models?

i get on ebay for friends and help them find the oral b ortho essentials 5000 model, as it includes the ortho brush head and another one for smaller areas of detailing. it also is superior to the earphone thingy model because it has a smart guide that mounts next to your bathroom mirror. Plus comes with a nifty traveling case that has enough room to hold a travel size tube of paste, a plackers interproximal brush, etc etc!

I did try my friends fancy black sonicare that has that weird plastic charging cup (hey we are close and im pretty sure sometime in the future I will need to use the brush head again lol) and it was very strange. I did like that it was significantly quieter than my oral b, but the overall sensation just did not jive with me. I prefer to waterpik on level 10 to blast around wires and brackets, then level 3 or 4 around gums, then brush for 3 mins, then floss, then listerine. Then I have to deal with the weird sloughing of the skin thats caused by one of the above activities and just lightly brush that away with a braces brush thats got a V cut out in it. I should probably change my tooth paste but I am afraid to.

[EWUgal15]

For those who are liking their Oral-B or Sonicare, are you all using the $25-$50 models or the $51-$200 models?

So I have one of each...I keep the cheaper one at my desk at work. Honestly, I do feel like my teeth are cleaner when I use the more expensive model, but I think that has to do with my cleaning routine. I'm probably way overdue for changing the brush head for my cheaper model, mostly because it's at my office. But when I brush my teeth at work, I don't go through all the motions that I do when I brush my teeth at home with the more expensive model.