Do sonic toothbrushes really work?
July 12, 2019
Sonic toothbrushes are often advertised to be better than regular electric toothbrushes- but is this really true?
Sonic toothbrushes use an entirely different technology than the other toothbrushes available out there. On a whole, it can be said that they are indeed more effective than the average electric toothbrush out there.
[Wondering about how this technology works and how better it really is? Keep reading to find out!]
How do Sonic Toothbrushes really work?
Well, the first thing that you need to know is what sonic toothbrushes primarily are, how they actually work, and how it differs from the average electric toothbrush out there.
As it so happens, regular toothbrushes actually depend on the rotating head to get rid of the plaque and food particles stuck in your teeth. Because of their physical movement, they often seem to be pretty powerful, and some models do indeed work really well.
Sonic Toothbrushes, on the other hand, mostly rely on a 24,000-40,000 vibrations per minute to produce a ultrasound and sonic waves that help clean the teeth of plaque. Quoting Colgate,
A sonic toothbrush is a type of electric toothbrush that uses specific technology to remove plaque and clean teeth. According to a study in the Journal of Oral Hygiene & Health, most electric toothbrushes emit ultrasound and sonic waves — as many as 16,000 strokes per minute — to vibrate the brush. The sonic waves massage the salivary glands, which increases saliva flow and assists with cleaning teeth.
As such, depending on their way of working and the results that have so far been achieved, most of the people do seem to agree that sonic toothbrushes indeed are pretty good at their job- so it is pretty safe to say that Sonic toothbrushes do really work!
Again there might be a lot of other factors at work here, as Bellatory states, which make one wonder if Sonic toothbrushes really are all that efficient after all, or if it just seems like that because it is only the really concerned people who go for the sonic devices after all, at the end of the day. Here’s what Bellatory thinks of it,
This study from Stanford found that plaque could be reduced significantly up to 3 mm from the tips of the bristles by the violence of the sonic agitated water flux.
Studies have found that levels of gingivitis in group using a sonic toothbrush are better than in groups using ordinary toothbrushes.
The thing is, it cannot be proven that it is the sonic element of the toothbrush that is improving tooth care. It could be that when someone buys one of these machines they put more thought and effort into brushing.
The built in timer helps to keep people brushing longer. Getting value for money (spent on the sonic device) might matter too, as a motivation to brush more carefully.
Do you still need to use your Waterpik?
A lot of people assume that just because they are using ultrasound and sonic waves to get rid of their plaque, they are now free from having to use their waterpik- and trust me, they couldn’t be more wrong.
Using your waterpik still is just as important as earlier, and you need to use it efficiently. Honestly, most of the people that I have talked to weren’t really sure about how often they should use their waterpik, and ended up either overusing or underusing it, none of which were really very healthy for their teeth.
So, Tooth Advocates has also prepared an article on this for you discussing how often you should ideally use your Waterpik- click here to check it out!
Is Hanging a toothbrush from the wall or mirror a good idea?
Well, you might wonder at one point or another if hanging your toothbrush is such a great idea after all.
As it turns out, it actually meets all of the requirements of a proper way of storing your toothbrush. This actually makes hanging it a pretty great idea to go for!
However, there are still a few things you need to keep in mind. The most important of these by far is where you plan to hang it.
[Most people I know choose to hang it in their bathroom, here’s why that’s a horrible idea!]
As it turns out, most of the people choose to store it in their bathroom. This is by far one of the worst things out there that you can do!
Why, you wonder? Well, turns out, we have already prepared an article for you on exactly this! Please click here to check out our article on why you should not store your toothbrush in your bathroom!
Tooth Advocates is here for you!
Well, so we’ve reached the end of today’s article and are really grateful to see that you’ve been here with us till the very end. We really hope that you found the information that you were looking for. We really hope that you would actually be able to put this information to use in real life and make your overall brushing experience even better so that you can keep that smile up for a long period of time!
Of course, we understand that we might have missed a few points (although we did try to cover them all) and we are really sorry for any points that we missed. If there’s anything that you’d like to know and think we might be able to help you with, please do not hesitate in reaching out to us!
Once again, thank you so much for being with us till the very end. We are really glad to have had you here, and we really hope that you’d be there for our next article as well! Hoping to see you again on many more awesome articles like this one, Tooth Advocates takes your leave!
Until we meet again, here are a few articles you might want to check out:
i. Can Water Flossers damage gums?