Edit: Since it’s come up a couple times in the comment, I’ll add that there’s evidence use of a water flosser is more effective than dental floss.
I floss and electric toothbrush every night. My dentist routinely complements my hygiene. Every cavity I’ve had filled in the past 8 years started from before I had an e-brush.
At a recent visit after remarking on how little plaque I had, my dentist asked if I brush twice a day. I told him no, only once a day.
He immediately changed his tune and told me that I should brush twice a day for better results.
I think he’s in the pocket of Big Paste.
Healthy teeth have a lot to do with genetics too. I’m a once/day brushed (with a powered brush) and never flush unless something’s stuck in my teeth and I don’t get cavities or have other teeth and mouth problems. My wife brushes twice a day, flosses, and uses mouth wash, and has had 12 root canals, and has cavities 25% of the time she gets her cleanings done.
There are two other main differences between us. She loves sugar and I’d prefer anything salty. I’m sure this isn’t helping her and is helping me since sugar is our mouths’ enemy.
The sugar is honestly probably the biggest factor here. Plaque is just bacteria poop, and giving them a bunch of sugar is basically speedrunning their growth and telling them to produce as much poop as they possibly can.
What I left out is that I don’t know anyone in my family with teeth issues and she definitely does. Her mother had garbage teeth as does her father. But yeah, sugar is bad for you period.
Not brushing in the morning and at night is noodling my melon. Always brushed twice a day, floss at night. Surely you have morning breath everyday?
Not really. Mouthwash as well before bed. Never struggle with odor. And I wear a night guard to boot.
Edit: oh and a tongue scraper helps
I brush with a regular brush in the morning (if I don’t have to leave the house sometimes I don’t), have perfect teeth and get compliments from my dentist.
Flossing is another story. She notices.
I feel like it’s more than that…
When I switched to electric 7 or 8 years ago, I really didn’t like it. It was super uncomfortable and tickled my mouth.
I just powered through it because I was told that I would get used to it.
Indeed I did get used to it and quickly began to feel that I had never actually properly brushed my teeth before going electric.
Part of what helps is the little extra pulse every 30 seconds and auto shut off after two minutes. Really keeps you on track with 30 seconds in each quadrant of your mouth.
Two minutes is a long time so having the timer built into the toothbrush is super helpful.
Only concern to note is that applying too much pressure and/or using the maximum vibration setting can be bad for your gums and cause recession.
Be very gentle with the electric toothbrush so that you do not cause any excessive gum recession.
Once you get used to electric, a conventional toothbrush will seem archaic.
Hey replying to you because well its an empty threat so far
Basically you me and everybody else could have improved technique with an electric toothbrush
You have to plan not too much pressure and just kind of hold it and move back and forth
I still don’t have perfect technique and I don’t brush every night. So sad for me I know
In other words cool beans good luck brushing your teeth every night
You get ones that flash when you’re doing too much pressure.
Minimum twice a day my friend, personal hygiene is the best thing you can do for yourself. Once you establish the habit you won’t even think about it.
For what it’s worth I have a bite guard and I can only wear it when I actually brush my teeth
On top of power cleaning my asshole with my shower head’s “power clean” setting…
My personal hygiene is just fine but thank you for the advice.
At first I thought you were being pretentious so I was being defensive but you’re just being straight up so cool beans then
Basically I’m just a little bit tipsy so I’m being hella aggressive right now.
All that being said, do you exclusively use toilet paper for your butt?
Because if that’s the case truth be told you could be taking personal hygiene lessons from me.
Poop schedule is directly before the morning shower - as Sarah Silverman once said, It isn’t clean unless it’s two inches deep clean.
And if it’s pretentious to brush your teeth every day then I guess I am pretentious.
Bite guard is smart, I need to use mine more.
like I said you were just keeping it real
When you know you know.
And you’re about it.
Is it pretentious did I say that? How foolish of me
After going with a sonic toothbrush, I felt my teeth were actually clean. Much cleaner than before.
This was my experience as soon as I went electric too, yes. If anything, the only thing that’s surprising about the article title to me is that it’s only 20% more plaque!
Maybe it’s because the authors gathered research papers on all types of electric toothbrushes?
In my experience, the difference between manual and electric toothbrushes is huge. I’m no longer nervous about visiting my dentist.
An electric toothbrush and more importantly a water flosser have saved me thousands in dental treatment costs.
Right now electric toothbrushes just need to become more repairable.
Having to buy new ones because the battery can no longer hold a charge seems so wasteful.
I’ve got a waterpik and I just can’t get on with it at all. How on earth are you supposed to use it? You can’t use it sideways because there’s no pressure, so it has to be sort of vertical, which feels really weird to aim and you can’t see what you’re doing. The last time I tried, it was like I hosed down the bathroom, with water everywhere. It also managed to be so powerful that it cut my gums.
Use the lower pressure settings to start and just get a feel for manipulating it around your mouth. I try to spray between my teeth and you can reach that gap from the sides as well as the bottom.
The right way to use one certainly doesn’t feel elegant. You just have to flip it around a lot while facing down at the sink and hope you don’t snipe a spider on the ceiling by accident.
Made me chuckle
I will add that a waterpik is a really nice tool to add to your dental hygiene routine.
I mean, as they kind of point out in the article, this doesn’t actually say terribly much. I’ve always had the impression that electric toothbrushes are great for scrubbing off the plaque on the big surfaces of your teeth, while they’re probably worse at reaching all the weird little angles of your teeth. This could result in 20% less plaque in total, while not removing it from where it lingers around and causes cavities. At the same time, if you also floss regularly, maybe you’ve got your weird little angles covered differently already. It depends on quite a few factors, for which a meta study like this can hardly do justice…
I mean it also shows a 6–11% reduction in gingivitis, so it’s at least getting some of those weird little angles better. Gingivitis most commonly occurs because plaque stays too long around the lining of the gums, and thus electric brushes should at least be more effectively getting this off the bases of the crown – which to me were always way more difficult and awkward to effectively treat with a manual brush.
Meanwhile, there’s really no such thing as using your toothbrush as a substitute for proper interdental cleaning, and that’s why your dentist really will notice if you haven’t been flossing properly. A water flosser is best for something like that.
I wish in countries like mine things like electric toothbruses weren’t like luxury items but things everyone could have. Got mine too late for my teeh but ever since I got it I no longer worry about dental plaque. Cavities and such things are hell on earth. Or, well, in your mouth.
I also sprinkle a little baking soda on my toothpaste to further remove plaque
Serious?
Baking soda can be used to brush teeth. There are brands of baking soda that have their own line of toothpastes that have baking soda as an ingredient.
What if we add baking soda on those toothpastes? Is it legal?
Baking powder only
But what if… 🤔
I were to purchase baking powder and disguise it as baking soda?
Hohoho, delightfully devilish
Dentists don’t want you to know about this one crazy trick!
As a heads up, maybe speak to both your dentist and doctor about reflux.
I have good teeth, and I recently found out about acid issues that have affected my stomach AND my gums. I’ve used a new “less acidic” mouthwash that had helped a lot, alongside antacids at night. Apparently if people find baking soda to be helpful, it’s often a sign of reflux that might not have been caught.
I guess I went full circle since I returned back to classic ones. I used electric one for years but suddenly I started to feel with my tongue that it didn’t do good job. Changing the head didn’t help. My dentist was also surprised but she suggested to try to use also classic one when I finish with electric. And voila, it really did the job. To this day I’m not sure what happened …
Did the head look like it had a bad hair day by the time you were replacing it?
With sonic and oscillating toothbrushes, you have to use gentle pressure almost letting it float over the teeth in order to allow the motion to transfer the tips of the bristles. If you press too hard, you will only be wiping around the toothpaste with the (rounded) sides of the bristles. Ideally the brush head should look practically new (aside from the indicator bristles turning white) by the time you would replace it.
Thetechnician is looking out for your health folks!
Not true. This is part of a scheme.
You need us all capable to act out the parts of your scheme.
- Floss
- Mouthwash
- Rinse
- Brush with electric toothbrush 45 full seconds getting full coverage.
- One real good spit.
- Don’t rinse
Enjoy perfect teeth
My electric toothbrush has a timer for 2 mins, but otherwise this is my routine for no cavities going on 10 years.
I think I get best results by alternating manual and electric. Like if I use only one or the other for a few days in a row, then my teeth feel cleaner after I switch.
I stopped using electric brush because I didn’t feel nearly as clean as manual.
I’ve been using an electric toothbrush for decades. My teeth were noticeably whiter and, as odd as it may sound, felt stronger within the first two weeks. If I have to brush without one, it’s only because I have no choice.
Can you recommend a brand? I’ve been thinking about switching over.
I’ve used Sonicare over the years. They work great and last for literally ever.
But since I switched back to manual brushing, my teeth problems went away. Using the electric ones, I had two appointments where my dental bridge across several teeth had to be taken out and things fixed under it. I had no issues with it before the electrical toothbrush, and have not have any more since I am back to manual brushing.
N=1, confounding lifestyle variables not disclosed. Causality denied.
You are technically correct, but for me, this counts.
Yeah, but that one time as a kid i had an electic toothbrush. Took it to a sleepover. Went off in bag. Others joking about it being a vibrator.
Manual toothbushes are cheaper, simpler, and not embarrasing at sleepovers
