My dentist recommended that I buy an electric toothbrush for better plaque removal. For brands he suggested Oral B (preferred) or Sonicare.

Hm… I’ve used manual toothbrushes my entire life and all my teeth are my own, except for two crowns. And I’m firmly ensconced in the senior citizen class.

I looked at the Oral B models on Amazon, and I don’t think their little round brushes would hold much toothpaste.

So what’s the SIGforum experience with electric toothbrushes?

Question:
Manual or electric toothbrush?

Choices:
Manual
Electric

 

Seems ridiculous that you’d need an electric toothbrush. However they do the job considerably better. Periodic cleanings at the dentist are a breeze.

I do have the oral B, don’t worry about the size. I honestly think it’s beneficial, allowing for better cleaning the back molars.

My dentist has never recommended an electric and I see my dentist more than I care to admit. She does insist I use a water pick along with brushing and flossing.
I have used an electric in the past. It’s just a more expensive pain in the ass. I’ll keep my manual.

Oral B for me, holds just the right amount of toothpaste, only negative is the replacement brush heads are not cheap and I am due for a new one.

I just bought this sonicare one to replace my really old sonicare one. It's probably ten years old and still works. The older heads are getting harder to find and old design has me cleaning water out of the area the head attaches to. Hopefully newer design has fixed that.

From what I've read on the reviews is that the no frills model I linked does everything the more expensive ones do, but don't have 15 options for speed and a plaque option vs whitening option, and it doesn't make Julian fries either.

Oral B is what we use and get replacement heads on amazon, $10 for 6 heads lasts roughly a year. Has cut down drastically on cavities for my kids. For me, it has cut down on plaque build up in problem areas compared to a manual brush. I luckily have very few cavities in my 53 years.

Oral B, round head. Works fine for me.
Battery lasts pretty well on a trip, so no big concern on it dying while away from the charger.

I have found that the aftermarket brush heads don't seem as good as the OralB branded ones. YMMV.

The best electric toothbrush I've ever had was a Rotadent, but it was sold through dentists. I had developed some gum issues and the rotadent was part of the regiment that regrew 25% of my gum tissue. The difference between it and the big box store toothbrushes is that it had 2 levels of stiffness of brushes and the outer bristles were longer and softer to sweep under the gum line. It survived 2 cross country moves and 6 years, and when it died I couldn't find a Rotadent in Alaska.

I went looking for a replacement and the Sonicare brush heads were huge and weren't set up to sweep under the gum line like the Rotadent. However, the Oral B was a pure rotary and some of the bristles would sweep the gum line (not as well as Rotadent).

The rechargeable Oral B's last 5 or 6 years, and every dental visit I swap out the brush head which cost ~$7. I'm 4 years into this Oral-B 1500, it's still going strong, and I'd buy again.

Electric and for me, it's no contest.
Think brush heads are expensive? Price dental work.
I've had both Oral B and Sonicare and prefer the Sonicare. Either are far superior to the manual method.

Imagine trying to hand sand a piece of wood in a cramped corner with a tight roof on it.

Then imagine using a Oscillating Multi-Tool with a sanding adapter.

Same principal, only worded so a man can understand it.

I have both. I use the electric once a day and the manual for any other brushes. I will say, an advantage to the electric is it times your brushing so you make sure to spend good time on each section of teeth.

Manual, it's part of my morning exercise regimen

quote:

Originally posted by sigseller2000:
Oral B is what we use and get replacement heads on amazon, $10 for 6 heads.

Same here. Pretty big difference when cleaning time comes around.

I've used an Oral B electric for about 20 years. Dental hygienists always stated I was doing a great job. I recently added a Waterpik (about 2 years ago) and now there is NOTHING for them to clean. I had a couple gum pockets that were a little deeper than the others (but not a concern according to the dentist and they'd been at this level for almost 10 years). 6 months of using the waterpik most evenings and those pockets had reduced and all are very healthy now. The dentist was impressed. My checkup since have all been great.

For a change, I'm with the majority-Oral B! My first electric was a Sonicare, and when it died, I tried the Oral B. Much better IMO. On my second one now.

Brush heads are cheap enough if you buy the generic, though I use the Oral B ones. I get 'em on Amazon.

I think we had a fairly recent thread here (too lazy to search) that pointed out only a relatively small amount of toothpaste is needed and recommended. My Oral B brush heads are perfect for that.

I had that stinking throat cancer in 2015 and the radiation still causes cavities (which I very rarely had before the cancer). My dentist tells me I'm gonna have cavities from time to time for the rest of my days on this earth as a result and, so, I take a lot of pains to do what I can do to prevent them.

I use a prescription toothpaste from my dentist, ClinPro at $20 per tube to try to prevent the cavities if possible. Seems to be helping.

Bob

Electric for the home, manual for abroad/camping. Phillips Sonicare is pure gold; a little pricey but they plain work.

Oral-B

Been using one for years and can't go back to a manual. Tried a Sonicare once and didn't care for it plus it would splatter toothpaste everywhere if you didn't hold your mouth carefully closed.

I like the new tips on the Oral-B where they have a color changing wear indicator, no more changing them by time just by wear.

quote:

Originally posted by Pipe Smoker:

I looked at the Oral B models on Amazon, and I don’t think their little round brushes would hold much toothpaste.

It's actually a really good design, the smaller heads are easier to move around your mouth for effective brushing and the way they vibrate actually wears the plaque and junk off your teeth and you don't need a ton of toothpaste.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
Electric and for me, it's no contest.
Think brush heads are expensive? Price dental work.
I've had both Oral B and Sonicare and prefer the Sonicare. Either are far superior to the manual method.

This sums up my experience as well.

I used to use Oral B, it was very good, packs of brush head replacement available at Costco.

I switched after having a bridge installed, because WaterPik does a good job of cleaning under the bridge area with the water jet. The brush and water jet are in a combined unit, so you can use either one, depending on which button you press.

My dentist always gives a new toothbrush after a cleaning visit.
He used to offer a choice of manual or electric, but for the last two years or so it's manual only.
I don't know if that is just a cost thing for him, though.