• Dental Phobia Support

    Welcome! This is an online support group for anyone who is has a severe fear of the dentist or dental treatment. Please note that this is NOT a general dental problems or health anxiety forum! You can find a list of them here.

    Register now to access all the features of the forum.

Different types of toothbrush

L

littlestar88

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 15, 2008
Messages
444
Location
England
Im a bit confused as to what is best for my teeth. At the moment I use a regular manual toothbrush and have done most of my life...never got any cavities at ant of my dental appointments.

(Don't really know why i got this fear and stopped going...i am kicking myself!)

In my late teens I started using an electric toothbrush. My dentist asked what type I used and then told me an electric toothbrush makes no difference and that there were origionally only invented to clean the teeth of the mentally handicapped as it took less scrubbing. He even said that its easier to damage your gums scrubbing too hard with an electric

Now I'm confused because advertising makes electric toothbruses sound really good. Have they improved? Are they worth using or is it not really worth the money. Is this just an advertising ploy? What do you recommend?

Its just after worrying for ages over which toothpaste is best to find out they are pretty much all the same I don't want to do the same thing again! Thank you all...I'm sorry i think im becoming a hyperchondriac!
 
It's good you are thinking about things like that. I wish I was more conscientious about stuff like that when I was your age.

Your dentist may be right. But I guess you can scrub too hard with just about anything. I bought a Sonicare a while back, because it was advertised as being almost foolproof for damaging gums. I liked it, but I think it is too harsh for me.

Whatever you use, just make sure to be as gentle as you can when brushing. Studies show that aggressive brushing does not work any better than gentle brushing.
 
The only electric tooth brush which has any actual independent research to back up the makers' claims for it is the Braun Oral-B brush. I think there's a Cochrane review on it out there someplace if you want to look for it. Cochrane reviews are large unbiased science reviews on published research, they're quite good for finding out stuff.
 
Thats good. I'll probably ask santa for a soni care or oral B one! (edging towands oral B now...thanks Gordon :) ) And you are right you can damage your gums with just about any brush. My sister got paranoid about cavities while she had her brace and her dentist had to tell her to brush less (she was on 5 times a day!). And that was just with a manual.

I just worry myself. every time i see a different advert i think I should have that. I went through a phase of using 5 differnt toothpastes at once just cos I didnt know which one was best!

Thank you
 
Last edited:
Unfortunately I was an 'early adopter' and had the original Braun straight electric brush which tilted through 45 degrees in the late 1970s...I was told to use it by an NHS dentist and I think it did damage my gums so I eventually stopped.
Various dentists over the years have given me conflicting advice about electric versus manual and I have kept changing....eventually switched to the rotating head Braun oral B and then later was pleased to find out it was the one with research behind it on this website (Cochrane review as Gordon mentioned)....I also tried my Mum's sonic one once and thought it much too harsh. You can also get extra soft brushheads for the OralB ones if you are inclined to press too hard or have sensitive teeth/gums.
I think even just with OralB it is very hard to choose, as they all look and do much the same but the more expensive ones oscillate with more revolutions per mninute and I figured the less my gums were rubbed the better and so have quite a basic model which seems to be doing the trick.
I can well understand your confusion....I now think that flossing once a day (although a pain), is even more beneficial for long term gum health.
 
I really can't floss properly! i know i should and i can do the first 4 teeth on both the top and the bottom but cant go past that. Im convinced the floss will get stuck and i wont be able to get it out or I'll somehow mannage to pull my teeth out. (completely unfounded but no one said a phobia had to be rational!) Is there anything that makes this easier? i heard about waterpik but what does it do? Does it hurt? what about with sensitive teeth?
 
Flossing gets easier over time and maybe the floss you are using is too thick..it comes in different thicknesses and flavours. Avoid tape type probably. It can get stuck but is much less likely to if you use the pull it through method rather than the vertical squeezing it back up between two touching teeth.
If a piece really did get stuck your dentist/hygienist could remove it in seconds....so don't let this outside possibility put you off too much.
 
I have a Waterpik and like it. Although, I don't think it is a substitute for flossing. You need to floss. I think it is just a different tool that should be used along with brushing and flossing. I think a Waterpik is good to have. It can get just under the gumline and in some places flossing and brushing won't. However, my dentist and a periodontist I went to didn't have much good to say about it when I told them I was using one and loved it. Go figure.
 
i do the same thing...thats why i dont really eat foods with bits! One my teeth are all sorted i'll get the hygeist to show me what im meant to do.
 
Back
Top