The dentists at our Surrey and Langley office often recommend that patients replace their manual toothbrushes with electric ones in order to help them to clean their teeth better. Here's a few reasons why electric toothbrushes have an edge over manual ones.
We'd like to preface this post by saying that manual toothbrushes are very effective tools for cleaning teeth, provided that they're used with the proper technique and for the recommended two minutes twice a day.
If you are satisfied with your manual toothbrush and your dentist is happy with your oral hygiene and general oral health, great job! You can keep doing what you’re doing.
But, if you and your dentist feel that your oral hygiene could use a boost, an electric toothbrush might be helpful for you.
Here's why:
They do the brushing for you
One of the most significant benefits of an electric toothbrush is that it requires very little effort or concentration to use.
Electric toothbrushes with rotating, oscillating heads make the ideal, circular brushing motion all by themselves, so all you have to worry about is guiding the toothbrush lightly over all the surfaces of your teeth; the electric toothbrush will do the brushing work for you!
Built in Timers
Without using a watch or timer, it can be hard to tell exactly when the recommended two minutes of brushing is up. You might be surprised, it’s longer than you think!
Many electric toothbrushes come with timers built right in that go off after two minutes, in order to let you know when you're done.
They make it easier to clean hard-to-reach places
There are two main reasons for this. One is the small, round head can reach those difficult to reach crevices more easily than a standard-sized manual brush. The other is the fact that you don't have to actually perform the brushing motion yourself, which can be difficult when you're brushing the backs of your teeth in particular.
Brushing too hard? An electric toothbrush may actually help with that, too.
This might surprise you, but it's true! Since you’re not making the brushing motion yourself when using an electric toothbrush, it's easier to avoid brushing too hard. You just guide the brush lightly, and evenly, around all your teeth, without really pressing down. It's very easy to start pressing too hard when you're scrubbing, and electric toothbrushes eliminate that problem.