(Photo: Getty Images)
Is it time to replace your manual toothbrush with an electric one?
There is no shortage of alternatives on the market some models even offer features such as apps and artificial intelligence at very different prices.
But can an electric toothbrush save you going to the dentist in the future?
And if that’s really true, would a more expensive electric toothbrush clean your teeth better than a cheaper, more basic model?
BBC Radio 4’s Sliced Bread program clarifies some of those doubts below.
1. The electric toothbrush market is dominated by two brands What use different technologies
The two big brands in the electric toothbrush market are OralB and Philips. Both use different technologies to clean teeth.
Also Read: Lasers in Dentistry: Technology and Innovation Transform the Smile
OralB electric toothbrushes have small round heads that rotate back and forth about 70 times per second.
Philips toothbrushes use bristles on the head that move from side to side about 250 times per second.
2. These technologies may look different, but they produce the same results
The two brushing technologies offer a physically different experience. But what’s the difference?
“Not much,” says Damien Walmsley, a professor of restorative dentistry at the University of Birmingham’s School of Dentistry in the UK, who has been researching toothbrushes since 1998.
The electric toothbrush can be a good ally in the fight against puppies (Photo: Getty Images)
“There could be more evidence that because Circular is a smaller head and does that counteroscillation it can be a bit superior sidetoside compared to (brushing). But not much.”
3. Prices can be exorbitant but expensive doesn’t mean better
OralB’s best brush is the iO9, which costs £500 in the UK. Sonicare, the most advanced model, costs around 300 (R$ 1.9 thousand) on the Philips website.
On the other hand, you can pay as little as £0.50 (R$3.2) for a manual toothbrush.
But does a higher price mean better cleaning?
Earlier this year, UKbased consumer research site Which? rated electric toothbrushes based on factors such as ease of use, comfort, battery life and how much plaque was removed.
The top rated toothbrush was from Philips, which costs £125. In second place was another Philips model, which sold for around £290 (R$1.86 thousand).
But third place went to a £30 brush from pharmacy chain Superdrug.
The review states that in terms of panel removal, this inexpensive option actually outperforms models costing five times as much.
“While there’s no limit when it comes to buying an electric toothbrush, there are some wonderful bargains out there,” says Matt Knight, a member of the Which? research team.
“When you’re shopping for a brush, watch out for claims that a brush will clean your teeth better, because we often find that’s not necessarily the case.”
The which? One thing is clear: If you are looking for a toothbrush that cleans better, then “there is no direct correlation between price and quality”.
4. However, if you pay more, you get a battery that lasts longer
If you pay a little more for a toothbrush, you get longer battery life.
“If you buy a more expensive toothbrush (the battery) can last a few weeks before you need to charge it than a cheaper one you might have to charge every week, or in the case of cheaper ones maybe every five weeks.” days or so,” says Knight.
5. You need to assess whether artificial intelligence and apps are a help or a hindrance
Top quality brushes have some features, including apps that assess your brushing technique. For example, the iO model has 3D tracking that shows how effective you are.
Manual cleaning requires very good technique (Photo: Getty Images)
“If you’re pushing too hard, it will glow red, but it will also show you that you’re pushing too hard,” explains dentist Dan Shaffer.
You even get a score and even a “medal”.
But do we want to be staring at our phone screen at night when we’re trying to relax?
“Any additional features in the app are things that a person decides whether or not they care about and are willing to pay more for,” says Knight.
6. Manual toothbrushes can be just as effective at removing plaque
Greg Foot, presenter of BBC show Sliced Bread, stopped brushing his teeth for 24 hours and used a diamond that turns existing plaque in the mouth purple, under the supervision of dentist Dan Shaffer.
Then he brushed his teeth with a manual toothbrush on one side and an electric toothbrush the OralB iO on the other. He observed a good improvement on both sides.
“Even hand brushing removed most of the plaque from my teeth,” says Shaffer.
At this level of detail, nothing suggests that electric brushing is any better than manual brushing.
Foot asked Walmsley what the scientific literature says about manual and electric brushing. “There’s very little difference between the two,” he says.
“The evidence tends to show that electric toothbrushes have slightly more benefits, but minimal and it depends on how you use them.”
7. Using an electric toothbrush eliminates human error
If we focus on cleaning our teeth with a manual toothbrush, it can be just as effective at removing plaque as a topoftheline electric brush.
But what if we brush our teeth when we’re tired or distracted?
When deciding between a manual and an electric toothbrush, your personal brushing technique should be taken into account.
“In my opinion, professionally and personally, power toothbrushes are probably one of the best things they’ve come up with to help us fight back molars,” says Shaffer.
“Not only do they remove the plaque, they also eliminate the human error factor.”
In other words, while hand brushing is a very good technique, electric toothbrushes do most of the work for you.
This text was originally published at https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/geral61948937
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