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The Benefits of an Electric Toothbrush

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The toothbrush remains your primary tool in the fight against tooth decay and gum disease. As the case with any tool, the better your toothbrush works, the easier it becomes to take care of your oral health.

In recent years, electric toothbrushes have become more advanced, and now offer a major advantage when it comes to brushing your teeth. Recent surveys have even shown that the majority of dentists have now started to recommend the use of electric brushes to their patients over traditional, handheld toothbrushes. The technology has also drawn the support of both the British Dental Journal and the American Journal of Dentistry.

Depending on how much you want to spend, electric brushes offer a number of unique features, from gum massages to pressure sensors that alert you when using too much pressure while brushing. However, it’s not the fancy features that electric brushes offer that has convinced so many dentists to recommend them. Here are five benefits you can receive by using an electric brush.

Better Cleaning

Little comparison still exists when it comes to which type of brush better cleans your teeth. The heads of electric toothbrushes are designed to rotate and whirl in ways that remove plaque from your teeth better and more quickly. Electric brushes are also designed to clean hard to reach places better than standard toothbrushes, such as along the gum line and the back molars. In a recent study conducted by the American Dental Association, 80 percent of those surveyed stated that the cleanliness of their mouths had improved after switching to an electric brush.

Prevents Over-Brushing

Some individuals get a little too carried away when trying to protect the health of their teeth and gums, and actually brush too hard. Over-brushing can damage the health of your gums, and could even lead to gum recession. Brushing with too much force can also scrub away the enamel from your teeth, making it easier for harmful plaque acids to cause tooth decay.

Fortunately, with an electric toothbrush, you can’t really over brush because you’re not really brushing. The movement of the brush head takes all of the work out of brushing, so all you need to do is move the head over each tooth.

Easier for Seniors

As seniors begin to suffer the effects of arthritis, brushing properly can become a challenge. However, as we just covered, an electric brush takes all of the efforts out of brushing your teeth. Seniors and other individuals who suffer from limited dexterity will have an easier time using an electric brush, which also features a larger handle, than a traditional brush.

Your Brush for the Right Amount of Time

To ensure your mouth gets as clean as possible, you should spend at least two minutes each time you brush. Unless you frequently time yourself or always brush in front of a clock, it can be easy to lose track of how long you’ve been brushing. Studies have shown that the average amount of time most adults spend brushing their teeth falls somewhere between 30 to 60 seconds.

The majority of electric brushes have built-in timers that keep the brush moving for a full two minutes before it shuts down. If you make sure to take your time thoroughly brush each of your mouth’s four quadrants until the brush stops, you’ll greatly improve how well you clean your mouth each time you brush.

A Green Difference

The American Dental Association recommends that individuals replace their manual toothbrushes every three months. However, with electric brushes, you only need to replace the head once every three months instead of the entire brush. According to environmental impact studies, it takes the equivalent of 14 replacement heads to equal the amount of plastic found in just one traditional toothbrush.