Are you unsure about which toothbrush to choose? Experts often recommend an electric toothbrush. But what is better?
Brushing our teeth is an integral part of our daily routine. You should find the right toothbrush for this, to optimally care for and protect your teeth – day after day.
The choice of toothbrush: you decide
Dentists recommend the electric brush, as it is said to clean more effectively than a manual toothbrush. However, you can get equally excellent results with a manual toothbrush if you master a thorough approach. Besides the choice of a toothbrush, the right toothbrushing technique is crucial.
Regardless of the advice of the dentists: It is best to find out for yourself which toothbrush will give you the best results and which will give you the best handling.
By the way: it is not just the toothbrush that matters. For extensive cleaning of your interdental spaces, we recommend using dental floss, fluoride-containing toothpaste, and a mouth rinse.
An electric toothbrush and manual toothbrush in comparison
What are the characteristics of a conventional manual toothbrush?
The conventional manual toothbrush is available on the market in different degrees of hardness, materials, and number of bristles. In addition, conventional toothbrushes nowadays often have massage nubs on the back of the toothbrush head. These are used to clean the tongue. Scientists have found out, however, that such additional factors are not especially useful, and the quality of the bristle head is the decisive factor.
A distinction is made between the hardness of the bristles:
- soft bristles,
- medium-hard bristles,
- and hard bristles.
Which bristle hardness is right for you is influenced by how sensitive your teeth and gums are. Since sharp-edged bristles can worsen inflammatory areas or hypersensitive tooth necks, you should not use a hard type of bristle in this case. Basically, the incredibly soft bristle type should only be used temporarily for irritated areas or hypersensitivity, as the cleaning effect is insufficient in the long run.
The medium-hard bristles are usually just the thing for everyday brushing your teeth.
It makes a distinction between the bristle material:
- Plastic bristles and
- Natural hair bristles.
Please note natural bristles contain cavities and do not have smooth surfaces. This allows bacteria to settle better and dental diseases such as profound gingivitis develop.
Number of bristles
Basically, the denser the bristle field, the better the cleaning effect. Ridiculously cheap manual toothbrushes sometimes have a smaller number of bristles, which makes cleaning less effective.
What are the characteristics of an electric toothbrush?
With the electric toothbrush, you can take care of your teeth thoroughly and comfortably.
It is easy
to move the brush head from tooth to tooth and angle the brush head in places so it also reaches the spaces between the teeth. Thanks to the timers often built into electric toothbrushes, the electric models help you find the optimal cleaning time.
Another advantage: brushing with the electric variant is gentle on the enamel and gums – this is an advantage especially for sensitive teeth. With manual toothbrushes, too much pressure can scrub away tooth enamel. The result is cervical defects that get deeper and deeper over the years and ultimately weaken the tooth and cause pain. Even with sensitive gums, the electric model can help prevent profound gingivitis.
It divides electric toothbrushes into sonic toothbrushes and rotating or oscillating toothbrushes.
Oscillating-rotating toothbrush
The rotating electric toothbrush usually has a round brush head. This enables you to get far into the interdental spaces when cleaning your teeth. The bristle head moves alternately to the left and to the right and rotates over the tooth surfaces. This removes plaque gently and effectively.
The sonic toothbrush
The toothbrush head of an electronic sonic toothbrush shakes plaque and even tartar off the tooth surfaces at a high frequency. The high number of vibrations achieves good cleaning results. The bristle head of this model is usually elongated and is reminiscent of that of a classic manual toothbrush.
Which toothbrush is suitable for children?
There are special manual toothbrushes whose bristle head and handle are tailored to the needs of children.
They adapt the toothbrush heads to the size of the milk teeth, while the look is child friendly. There are now also electric toothbrushes for children.