Recently, a patient emailed us and asked what type of toothbrush is best. Of course, every patient is different, and certain patients may need different types of toothbrushes. That being said, my response to this patient would probably be useful for 95% of our patients, so I thought I would share it with you.
Good Afternoon [NAME REDACTED], I've sent over a couple of links to toothbrushes that I like.Any of the Oral B products are great (it's what I use), and the variability in pricing is more due to different auxiliary features as opposed to how well the toothbrush actually works.
Oral-B Pro Electric Toothbrushes
Personally, I don't care if my toothbrush has Bluetooth technology. However, I would definitely want my brush to have a pressure sensitivity indicator, which is why I would recommend any of those models, from the 1500 to the 7000.
Sonicare also makes great toothbrushes: Sonicare Electric Toothbrushes
They also tell you when it's time to change the brush tip, which is a nice feature. Again, the difference between the most expensive and least expensive looks like it just some auxiliary features. So if it is important to you to have options for intensity, or different modes, then maybe it makes sense to spring for the more expensive version.
For what it's worth, I use an Oral B Toothbrush that is about 10 years old, and it still works well, and Dr. Liz uses a Sonicare that's probably about 8 years old or so.
I think the real important part of these toothbrushes is that they time you to make sure you're spending at least 2 minutes brushing. That and the pressure sensor are the two most important features.
Let me know if you have any questions!
Toothbrush Subscription Services
Since I wrote that response, I’ve had a few people ask me about Quip. To be honest, I wouldn’t have ever guessed that a toothbrush subscription service would be something that would interest people, but it’s a great idea. Most of our patients do know that they should change their toothbrushes (or toothbrush heads if they’re using electric toothbrushes), but because Quip automatically sends you replacements, it’s no big deal if you forget! As far as I know, we still don’t have any patients that use Quip, so I can’t speak to the effectiveness of the toothbrush, but it is a really cool concept.
If you are using Quip, let me know!
Also, if you have a suggestion for a blog post, send us an email at admin@gladnickdentistry.com!
Dr. Tommy
