Which Type of Toothbrush Should I Use? Part one of two

Walking into a store to pick up a replacement for your toothbrush has become a daunting chore.  Which style or brand is best for me?  Which type should I be using?
There are mainly three types of toothbrushes in the market: 1) Regular manual toothbrushes, 2) Battery charged electric toothbrushes, and 3) Rechargeable electric toothbrushes.
Regular manual toothbrushes are the most common type of toothbrush.  They are the basic toothbrushes made of a plastic hand and various nylon bristles on the brush head and doesn’t require any electrical power source.  Battery charged electric toothbrushes are toothbrushes powered by a battery source, typically AA battery.  They have a similar design of a regular manual toothbrush having just enough mechanical vibration to add some extra cleaning.  Rechargeable electric toothbrushes are mechanical toothbrushes powered by a rechargeable battery plugged into a wall socket with a different kind of cleaning technology, such as oscillating-rotating brush head (Oral B) or sonic technology (Sonicare).
Regular manual toothbrushes have varying types of bristles design.  The main difference is bristle strengths of soft, medium, and hard.  Dentists typically recommend patients use a soft bristle toothbrush.  The soft bristle easily enters into the curvatures and crevices of the teeth to brush off food debris and plaque at the same time not damage the gum tissue next to teeth.  Using a hard or medium bristle toothbrush increases the chances of injuring the gum tissue while brushing and possibly causing gum recession and temperature sensitivity.
Electric toothbrushes come in battery or rechargeable battery powered.  Most dentists recommend rechargeable battery powered toothbrushes.  These electric toothbrushes tend to more expensive compared to regular manual toothbrushes but offer more features that increase their cleaning power.  Sonicare toothbrush offers a patented sonic brush strokes of 31,000/min to deliver a dynamic cleaning action that removed plaque biofilm and stains.  Oral-B offers a rotating oscillation action to remove plaque biofilm.  Both brands also come with a timer in the toothbrush to guide the user to brush for a full 2 minutes and require changing the brush head every 3 months to maintain optimal cleaning power.
Next month’s editorial will be a continuation discussing the different benefits between a manual and mechanical toothbrush.
For more information, go to Tourney Medical Plaza 27420 Tourney Rd, Ste. 280, Valencia, or call 661-253-0588 or see our website at www.drfangdds.com.