Electric Toothbrushes

Electric toothbrushes, sometimes called power toothbrushes, use thousands more brush strokes per minute when compared to a manual toothbrush. In addition to the high number of brush strokes, there are many more reasons to use one.

They can make it easier to be gentle. Brushing your teeth can improve gum health, but if you tend to brush too hard, it can do more harm to your gums than good. A powered toothbrush can help you be gentle on your gums while still giving you a powerful clean. Beyond that, electric toothbrushes make it easier to brush longer since they do the work for you, and they fight both gingivitis (inflammation of the gums) and halitosis (bad breath) by helping you reach hard to reach spots.

Sonic: With sonic toothbrushes, the brush head vibrates back and forth. This side-to-side motion is similar to what you do with a manual toothbrush, but with much smaller and incredibly fast brush strokes, generally about 30,000 to 40,000 strokes per minute.

Oscillating or Rotating: Oscillating or rotating brushes have round brush heads which spin extremely fast in one direction, then the other, generating thousands of brush strokes per minute. Bristles may also pulsate in and out. The small round heads make them easier to maneuver around your teeth.

Made for Kids: Children’s electric toothbrushes tend to have smaller brush heads, designed for little mouths. Some have two-minute timers that play music, different power modes for little kids and big kids, and boxier shapes so the brush doesn't roll away when applying toothpaste.