Recommendations for Best electric toothbrushes??

[amb42]

I invested in Sonicare toothbrush for 75.00. It is a bit harsh.
How about Oral-B? Is that any better? thanks for any help!

 

[annie778]

Maybe you are pressing against the tooth surface too much.

I've found the sonicare professional to be the best I've used. I've not tried the latest oral B range, but I do have a newer sonicare elite and I don't like it so much because the head of the brush is a less gum-friendly shape. found the old circular spin bristle brushes to be useless for gums and not really any better than ordinary brushing.

Funny you should ask about this, because I've just ordered another professional from the telegraph shop, which seems to be the only place selling it these days. I Phillips have some very expensive new models now (some are £170, claiming to be better than oral b in tests) and given the elite's less impressive performance I'm a bit cynical. I tend to wait until new tech drops in price after they have covered their R&D and advertising costs to launch it. In about a year and half they will fall to a reasonable price and then I might try the flexcare and such. The professional used to be £95 but I found it on the net yesterday for £49. You can prob get it cheaper if you have time to look.

If you do try oral B be sure to report back!

 

[Gordon]

The only brand with good data to back up their claims is Oral-B, if Sonicaire have some new information, I haven't seen it yet.

Based on this, I recommend Oral-B. There are meant to be some cracking deals on Oral-B brushes on eBay going by previous posts here.

 

[Deleted member 34]

dont get the one with smart guide omg it never shuts up............ i even put it in water and its still alive.........

 

[annie778]

Well these are the studies on the sonicare website which presumably back up the claims on their packaging that they remove more plaque than oral B.

[broken link removed]

This is a similar article on oral B's website claiming to remove as much plaque as sonicare elite. However, there are no claims on the oral B site vs sonicare Flexcare (their latest offering).

[broken link removed]

Personally I have found that Sonicare is great for my teeth. I first saw a sonicare in a dentist's cabinet in 2002 when the same dentist told me I needed a filling on a back tooth. Instead of having the filling I went home and looked up sonicare on the internet (I still don't have the filling). I was surprised to find that some implantologists were offering a discount for their services if you purchased and used a sonicare post treatment because this meant the gums would be healthier. Anyway I was intrigued and went out and bought one. I was amazed with the difference it made to my gums (I'd had major problems with gum tenderness and recession around one crown). I didn't go to the dentist for about a year and a half, but when I did I was told my teeth were very clean and I also had the same verdict from a hygienist. The gum recession was reversed for about three years or more until so it delayed my having a crown replaced. Maybe it just works brilliantly for me. You do have to follow the instructions and concentrate on the gum line rather than over brushing the teeth.

 

[letsconnect]

Oral-B makes quite a few different models; I think Gordon was referring to the oscillating rotation ones, which according to a Cochrane meta-analysis of studies did the best job (abstract follows):

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Manual versus powered toothbrushing for oral health

Robinson PG, Deacon SA, Deery C, Heanue M, Walmsley AD, Worthington HV, Glenny AM, Shaw WC

Summary

When compared to manual toothbrushes, powered toothbrushes with a rotation oscillation action provide protection against gum inflammation in the long and short term and better plaque removal in the short term

Removing dental plaque by toothbrushing helps prevent gum inflammation (gingivitis). Toothbrushing with a fluoride toothpaste prevents tooth decay.
Powered toothbrushes simulate manual toothbrushing in different ways (such as moving side to side or circular motions). The review of trials found that only rotation oscillation (where brush heads rotate in one direction and then the other) is better than manual toothbrushes at removing plaque and reducing gum inflammation, and is no more likely to cause injuries to gums. Long- term benefits of this for dental health are unclear.

This is a Cochrane review abstract and plain language summary, prepared and maintained by The Cochrane Collaboration, currently published in The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2008 Issue 1, Copyright © 2008 The Cochrane Collaboration. Published by John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.. The full text of the review is available in The Cochrane Library (ISSN 1464-780X).
This record should be cited as: Robinson PG, Deacon SA, Deery C, Heanue M, Walmsley AD, Worthington HV, Glenny AM, Shaw WC. Manual versus powered toothbrushing for oral health. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2003, Issue 1. Art. No.: CD002281. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD002281.pub2
This version first published online: January 20. 2003
Date of last subtantive update: February 17. 2005

Abstract

Background

Removing dental plaque may play a key role maintaining oral health. There is conflicting evidence for the relative merits of manual and powered toothbrushing in achieving this.

Objectives

To compare manual and powered toothbrushes in relation to the removal of plaque, the health of the gingivae, staining and calculus, dependability, adverse effects and cost.

Search strategy

We searched the Cochrane Oral Health Group Trials Register (to 17/06/2004) and Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library Issue 2, 2004); MEDLINE (January 1966 to week 2 June 2004); EMBASE (January 1980 to week 2 2004) and CINAHL (January 1982 to week 2 June 2004). Manufacturers were contacted for additional data.

Selection criteria

Trials were selected for the following criteria: design-random allocation of participants; participants - general public with uncompromised manual dexterity; intervention - unsupervised manual and powered toothbrushing for at least 4 weeks. Primary outcomes were the change in plaque and gingivitis over that period.

Data collection and analysis

Six authors independently extracted information. The effect measure for each meta-analysis was the standardised mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) using random-effects models. Potential sources of heterogeneity were examined, along with sensitivity analyses for quality and publication bias. For discussion purposes SMD was translated into percentage change.

Main results

Forty-two trials, involving 3855 participants, provided data.

Brushes with a rotation oscillation action removed plaque and reduced gingivitis more effectively than manual brushes in the short term and reduced gingivitis scores in studies over 3 months. For plaque at 1 to 3 months the SMD was -0.43 (95% CI: -0.72 to -0.14), for gingivitis SMD -0.62 (95% CI: -0.90 to -0.34) representing an 11% difference on the Quigley Hein plaque index and a 6% reduction on the Löe and Silness gingival index. At over 3 months the SMD for plaque was -1.29 (95% CI: -2.67 to 0.08) and for gingivitis was -0.51 (-0.76 to -0.25) representing a 17% reduction on the Ainamo Bay bleeding on probing index. There was heterogeneity between the trials for the short-term follow up. Sensitivity analyses revealed the results to be robust when selecting trials of high quality. There was no evidence of any publication bias.

No other powered designs were as consistently superior to manual toothbrushes.
Cost, reliability and side effects were inconsistently reported. Any reported side effects were localised and temporary.

Authors' conclusions

Powered toothbrushes with a rotation oscillation action reduce plaque and gingivitis more than manual toothbrushing.
Observation of methodological guidelines and greater standardisation of design would benefit both future trials and meta-analyses.
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It's quite possible that the Sonicare is just as good, but the studies they cite aren't that well-controlled or large enough and not always in vivo.



People tend to have quite strong preferences on either Oral-B (the professional series now corresponds to what used to be called their 3D range) or Sonicare. Personally I prefer Oral-B due to the smaller brush-head, but I suppose it may depend on the shape of your jaw. It's probably best to go with a toothbrush you find comfortable, as you'll be more likely to use it ...

 

[annie778]

I think Gordon was referring to the oscillating rotation ones

I think any electric brush removes more plaque than manual brushing.

It's the oscillating rotation ones that I found least useful for gum problems. They just irritate the gum rather than getting at any plaque nestling under it. I did have an oral B rotation model for about four years and would never buy another rotation model from any company. The sonic ones seem to get below the gum line and remove hard to reach plaque without irritating the surrouding tissue, so the gums are healthier.

The sonic complete brush from oral B is the one I'm curious about. That's a direct competitor to sonicare. Are there any more robust studies comparing that with Sonicare?

 

[letsconnect]

I think any electric brush removes more plaque than manual brushing.

According to that Cochrane meta-analysis, this wasn't the case... though I'm sure it would depend on the individual user's brushing technique anyway.

It's entirely possible that sonic toothbrushes are better for gum problems, it's just that the available evidence isn't solid enough to unequivocally prove this.

 

[letsconnect]

I invested in Sonicare toothbrush for 75.00. It is a bit harsh.
How about Oral-B? Is that any better? thanks for any help!

Sometimes, there are different brush-heads available for the same model of toothbrush - you could check if there is a "soft" version brush-head available for your model .