There are two kinds of electric toothbrushes. There are battery-powered ones and there are those which can be recharged and plugged in before using. Which is better? Actually, the answer to that is preference.

Battery-Powered

Some electric toothbrushes were designed to fit two AA batteries. This is good because battery-powered toothbrushes provide the vibration that cleans teeth thoroughly. For those who are hesitant about rechargeable electric toothbrushes, this is the better choice.

Depending upon use, the AA batteries must be replaced once a month. If the battery is new, it is said to remove 75% of the plaque on teeth, according to dental studies. However with constant use, the battery will drain and you need to replace it. Performance is a bit affected by the slowed vibration due to the drained battery. But you can always change it up and it will be good as new.

If used properly, it helps eliminate gingivitis. All you need is to use if for 2 minutes and it will do its work. It is also better if you choose a battery-powered toothbrush with a rotating head (if you can find one) compared to a sliding head. It is cheap too – $10 is the usual price range of a power toothbrush.

The setbacks in using a battery powered toothbrush are four things: you will have to use the same brand on the toothbrush heads if you replace them (no variability), you have to change batteries from time to time (constant buying of batteries), the heads which will fit the base are limited (soft bristles, hard bristles and the likes) and it is big because you need to put in 2 AA batteries. But still, for its price and performance, it is a good electric toothbrush nonetheless.

Plugged In

The plugged in electric toothbrush is generally more high-tech than the battery powered one. It does not mean though that it is better. But a lot of people are saying (those who have used both battery-powered and plugged in toothbrush) that they will rather use the plugged in ones and keep the battery-powered as an extra or for travel. Again, it is a matter of preference.

You can charge the plug in ones for an a few hours and use it good for the whole week. It has an alarm feature that prompts the user if it is low on charge. And even if it starts to drain, users have reported that it still performs the same way as if it was just charged. (comparing it to a battery-powered one which loses its power once the battery is draining)

Because it is high-tech, it has brushing modes like for sensitive teeth, for gum massaging and more. It also has timers which beeps every 30 seconds to tell you if a specific on your teeth/gums/mouth is clean enough. It will also remind you (digital screen) if you need to replace the head.

Speaking of heads, there are many choices. You can customize your toothbrush head and use it accordingly. Plus these heads are mostly in an oscillating-rotating feature. This cleans out plaque formation up to 80%, studies show.

Only two setbacks to a plug in electric toothbrush – price (a couple of hundred dollars, yes, steep) and at times, the charging feature is a down side. But other than that, if you are after thorough mouth and teeth hygiene, this is your best bet.

Is it Safe for Young Kids?

The American Dental Association says that electric toothbrushes are safe to use if the user is well-oriented on how it is done. So as parents, if you are thinking about letting your kids use the electric toothbrush, it is your responsibility to teach them how to do it. It is the same as teaching your child how to take a bath properly, how to ride a bike, how to use the spoon and fork and other basic things. You also have to teach your child how to properly use an electric toothbrush.

Why Let your Kids Use Electric Toothbrushes?

There are things at home which are a riot for kids and these include taking a bath, eating a healthy veggie meal and brushing their teeth. With this, letting your kids use the electric toothbrush can make the daunting task fun and exciting. There are many ways in which a kid will love to use the electric toothbrush:

• Do you remember when brushing your child’s teeth were such a traumatic event for the both of you? Now, it will be happy a thought only, the miracle has arrived and your prayers are answered thanks to the electric toothbrush. Your child might even say that they want to brush their teeth without you telling them to do it!

Using the electric toothbrush is fun for your child. The act itself can be a play time activity. It vibrates on its own and has that buzzing sound that can be amusing for a kid. You can also turn on the music mode of the toothbrush and your child will be humming and wiggling while cleaning their teeth.  

• A child is more prone to teeth and gum problems as compared to adults. This is the main reason why they have to be taught how to brush well. It is a basic need to clean the teeth at least two times a day to prevent it from decaying.

You can tell your child that the cavity monster will not anymore be a problem. If he or she brushes her teeth using the electric toothbrush, the “monsters” will be brushed away and there will be no more toothache and bad breath. Keep them entertained with stories and how heroic they are because they are brushing their teeth.

• A child as young as 6 months old needs to be accustomed to tooth brushing. The concern now is the routine act which makes the art of brushing boring to a child. With the electric toothbrush, the action can now be desirable and looked forward to.

The toothbrush has many designs and colors you can choose from. Plus for a little kid who cannot manually brush on his own, the electric toothbrush can do the trick. These types of brushes are very child-friendly too. You can switch the toothbrush head from infant to toddler when they get older.

The price can be a bit steep. Some electric brushes costs $4-$5 but for a parent, it is so worth it. Try it for your child today and you will be amazed on how they will love brushing their teeth from now on.

Now, does it answer our question? Yes it does, in one sense though, there is a BUT. Using an electric toothbrush is more desirable than a manual toothbrush because we know that it can help with gum problems and diseases. BUT how does it help? And what type of electric toothbrushes do you have to use? Read on so you will better understand all about plaque, gum disease and electric toothbrush connections.

Electric Toothbrush vs. Manual Toothbrush

Why is an electric toothbrush better than a manual toothbrush? The electric toothbrush cleans more compared to the manual toothbrush at the same amount of time. This is because the electric toothbrush rotates faster. Let us say for 30 seconds – the electric toothbrush has covered and cleaned thoroughly the upper outer portion of your teeth. At the same amount of time and manual brushing motion, the coverage is half less than the former. It means that the electric toothbrush cleans the mouth and teeth effectively and at least twice as fast as the manual brushing.

With the manual toothbrush, it is difficult to reach back teeth and it is more often left unclean. It also cannot effectively disturb plaque formation like the electric toothbrush can. The electric toothbrush can penetrate even the unreachable areas. Because it is electric, the brushing motion can disrupt the bacteria from forming on the teeth and gum line. This is the only thing that prevents bacteria from destroying teeth and gums – periodic cleaning with a dentist and every day brushing. (For severe cases, brushing with an electric toothbrush and a special type of grainy toothpaste is advised by dentists.)

Orthodontic.az also performed a study on the tooth brushing time between electric and manual. It is said that manual tooth brushing is a daunting task and the brushing technique is really complicated. If you do not know how to use it, it can even damage your teeth and gums. In the same manner, if you fail to use it at the allotted time frame, germs and bacteria will not be washed off. Brushing will be useless.

To continue with the study, the experts at Orthodontics.az agreed that 2 minutes is all you need when brushing using an electric toothbrush. And the same also dislodges more dental plaque compared to a manual tooth brushing time of 6 minutes. Imagine that, 2 minutes compared to 6 minutes and the latter is not even enough!

To taint the reputation of electric toothbrush makers, bad publicity like quick brushing action can destroy the teeth, was released. This is a false accusation on electric toothbrushes. There are no studies to supplement that hearsay. But there are studies which show how efficient an electric toothbrush are for users. No wonder people have shifted to using electric toothbrushes and threw away the manual ones. It can help solve gum diseases at a lesser amount of brushing time.

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