How do you choose an electric toothbrush?
Choose an electric toothbrush
With an electric toothbrush, you can brush your teeth better than with a regular toothbrush. Thanks to the high speed of the electric toothbrush, you can remove more plaque than with a manual toothbrush. To choose the toothbrush that best suits you, it's important to ask yourself some questions.
- Do you want a rotating or a sonic toothbrush?
- Which brushing modes do you need?
- Do you want a pressure sensor?
- Do you want feedback on your brushing behavior?
- Which accessories do you need?
Do you want a sonic or a rotating toothbrush?
Rotating toothbrushes
Rotating toothbrushes oscillate. That means that the brush head rotates with a high speed and often vibrates as well. With rotating toothbrushes, you have to brush every tooth individually. Do you have difficulty reaching your molars with a manual toothbrush? A rotating toothbrush is a good choice, in that case. Thanks to the small brush attachment, you can easily brush difficult-to-reach spots. The Oral-B toothbrushes use this brushing technique.
Sonic toothbrushes
Sonic toothbrushes have an oval brush head that vibrates at high speed. The toothbrush makes an up-and-down brushing motion. That's the same motion you use if you brush your teeth with a manual toothbrush. Do you like brushing your teeth the way you do with a manual toothbrush? The sonic toothbrush is a good choice, then. The Philips and Silk'n toothbrushes use this brushing technique.
Which brushing modes do you need?
Now that you know whether you want a sonic or rotating toothbrush, it's time to determine which brushing modes you need. There are 7 different brushing modes:
- Standard: for daily use.
- Sensitive: soft cleaning to brush sensitive zones.
- Extra sensitive: extra soft cleaning to brush sensitive zones.
- Massage: massages your gums and helps heal inflamed gums.
- Whiter teeth: removes discoloration on your teeth.
- Intense: for extra thorough cleaning.
- Tongue: removes bacteria from your tongue and prevents bad breath.
Do you want a pressure sensor?
Light signal or vibration
Do you have receding gums or sensitive teeth after brushing? That probably means that you brush with too much pressure, so a toothbrush with pressure sensor would be a good choice. That's because a toothbrush with pressure sensor notifies you when you brush with too much pressure. Most toothbrushes notify you with a light signal on the handle. Some toothbrushes also vibrate briefly or even lower the brush intensity
Via app
Smart toothbrushes show when you apply too much pressure on your teeth or gums in the accompanying app. This information in the app is an addition to the light signal or vibration of the handle. The advantage of the pressure sensor in the app is that you can see exactly which teeth you apply too much pressure to. Many apps show when you apply too much pressure, but also when you should apply more pressure.
Do you want feedback on your brushing behavior?
Smart toothbrushes are electric toothbrushes that work with an app. You can connect the toothbrush to your smartphone via Bluetooth to receive feedback on your brushing behavior. That's useful, as it teaches you to brush better and work towards healthy teeth without any cavities. If you choose a smart toothbrush, keep in mind that smart can mean various things. It could be a timer and pressure sensor, or detailed feedback on where and how you brush your teeth.
Accessories
Travel pouch
Do you travel often or take your toothbrush to work? You should choose an electric toothbrush with a travel pouch. This allows you to safely and hygienically store your toothbrush and the brush attachments. There are 2 types of travel pouches for electric toothbrushes, regular travel pouches and travel pouches with a USB charger. So before you choose a toothbrush with a travel pouch, ask yourself whether you want to be able to charge your toothbrush in the pouch.
Brush attachments
To get the most out of your toothbrush, it's important to choose a brush attachment that suits your teeth. There are brush attachments with extra thin bristles to clean thoroughly between your teeth, and brush attachments to brush sensitive teeth and inflamed gums, for example. There are also special brush attachments to remove stains from your teeth. For the best brushing result, you should replace the brush attachment after 3 months.
Electric flossers
If you want clean and healthy teeth, it's important to clean the space between your teeth as well. With a electric flosser, you can floss your teeth quickly and easily. There are 2 ways to floss, with water or with water and air. Water flossers shoot water droplets between your teeth and molars with high pressure. Airfloss electric flossers use a combination of water and bubbles to remove the dirt between your teeth. Which electric flosser suits you, depends on whether you want to floss with water or with air and water.
