apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I use an electric at home (on advice of the dentist) but keep the manual ones they give me at every appointment for houseguests and traveling.

That's funny, I am the same way: electric wakes me up in the mornings, and manual puts me to bed at night. But I guess if you think about it, it makes sense. New product opportunity: a toothbrush that works well as either!

electric - dentist's orders. it's all about the gums.

I recently switched to Sonicare after a life time of manual and the difference is astounding. The hygientist even noticed the change. Well worth the cost.

I've got a Sonicare. It makes a world of difference when getting my checkups at the dentist. Plus, when I use a manual toothbrush(like on vacations) my teeth don't feel as clean.

We use the Sonicare at my house, too (dentist's orders), but I use a manual brush when I'm out of town or if I'm suffering from a migraine before bed time. I just can't handle that humming & vibrating when my head hurts.

Braun 3-D -- and with the new brushes, during last visit dentist complimented me on my flossing -- so not deserved! Partern got the same reaction (though he is a pretty frequetn flosser).

I got the sonicare flexcare pro about a month ago and I'm very happy with it. I never use a manual brush anymore.

Invest. After a particularly painful visit to the dentist (Is it safe?) I shelled out for the Sonicare and have never looked back!

I use a Sonicare at home but a manual when traveling.

Sonicare all the way baby! Got to love that relaxing humming and gentle gum massage! My mom (physician) made me switch, I use to hate electric tooth brushes, but sonicare is different. No pain, no worry, just lots of love! :-p

Has anyone compared the Oral B versus the Sonicare? The OralB is just so much cheaper. Are you really paying for much of a difference in quality?

maybe i'm crazy but i brush my teeth with the sonicare then again with manual after flossing.
my teeth still feel super clean when i wake up!

Electric tooth brush makes all the difference yes.
I've been temped by the sonicare but the price kinda scared me, BUT i might swithc when my oral b dies.. soon i guess.. or maybe i just kill it!

i use the crest/colgate battery-powered $8 electric brushes you can buy at any rite-aid.

i don't want to spend much more than that on a toothbrush...but then again, i have been horribly neglectful of my teef...soon to be toof!

I use an Oral B electric toothbrush and I LOVE it! The dental hygienist actually charged me less than her usual rate because my teeth were just so darn clean there was very little for her to do. The amount saved in dental cleaning paid for the toothbrush. Electric toothbrushes really are "all that." You just can't get the same result with a manual toothbrush.

I used to use an electric for years on the recommendation of my dentist and, I'd suppose the trend. However, the last 6 months, I switched back to manual. I find I'm more attentive to brushing with a manual. I get lazy with the electric and don't allow it to brush long enough. Plus, I like the larger surface area of bristles on a manual. And a manual is a lot cheaper than continuing to buy those refill tips!

I was pleasantly surprised to see the poll results show there are more manual brush users, though they did not all represent in the comments. I'm a manual brusher myself. I use the recyclable Preserve brushes. being a rather vigorous brusher, I tend to go through toothbrushes quickly. So now I don't have to feel so guilty about all that plastic I'm dumping out. I had to adjust a little to the unusual curved handle and the lack of special bristles found in all the other manual toothbrushes out there, but I'm now a convert.

With the electric brushes, I'm a bit skeptical. I don't think I spend a ton of time each time I brush my teeth (at least twice a day), but I am attentive and thorough. So the expense of the electric brushes doesn't feel worth it to me. And what a waste! As far as I know, there don't seem to be recyclable parts for electric brushes. If I'm wrong, please point me in the direction of recyclable brush parts for the Sonicare brand as that is the one my husband uses no matter how much I try to nag him out of it.

You'll see this differently when you get gum disease.

i'm a manual Preserve toothbrusher, too! i'm not sure about electric toothbruhes. cost vs convenience?

Are we really talking about this?

Is this post even serious?
Have we devolved to this point, really?

My god. Listen to yourselves. I thought AT readers were a tiny bit more pragmatic than......this.

Manual, of course.

I'm actually glad to see this mentioned. I wondered if it was just my dental hygenist with a strong electric toothbrush bias that wasn't really warranted. I tend to err on the side of caution with dental advice out of fear of needing actual dental work beyond a cleaning so I probably will get one. The prices do seem steep and I wonder what the difference really is between the $8 models and the $100 ones.

Bx: I think it's a valid and serious question considering it is bathroom month, and brushing our teeth is one of the most common (yet important) daily habits we all practice inside the small room of our homes.

The pragmatic choice would be to choose the option that has the best long term results on dental health. And since every dentist I've gone to has recommended using an electric toothbrush, I found it interesting to see the breakdown of AT readers basically went 50/50. What I also learned after doing some additional research about the topic was a scientific study concluded that the rotation-oscillation toothbrushes did improve plaque removal by a nominal 7% while notably improving gingivitis reduction by 17%. Compound that over the lifetime of your teeth and those figures seem worth considering and may save you money. And it doesn't get any more serious than dental pain.

I've used both Oral B and Sonicare. I have sensitive teeth, and both gave me a headache. So I eventually went back to a manual brush. My dentist noticed no difference in the health of my teeth/gums or in my level of tartar when using Oral B vs. Sonicare vs. manual. I dunno. Maybe I'm just a great manual brusher and flosser. I've heard most people don't brush long enough or thoroughly enough with a manual brush.

Been using Sonicare for over a year. Love the beeps every 15 seconds to move you onto the next part of your mouth to make sure you get the full 2 mins min. Plus you can seriously tell the difference. Its enough to make you not want to dirty your mouth afterwards.

Use a firm manual in addition too peroxide treatments.

I noticed a big reduction in tartar when I switched to a very expensive Oral B. I wouldn't switch off for the world.

I use a firm manual toothbrush for my tongue and then follow that up with a Sonicare on my teeth.

Wow, Pixie, your post was completely uncalled for.

I've been a lifelong manual user. The last time I shopped for a toothbrush, on a whim, I looked at the electric ones. Not wanting to make a big financial commitment, I bought the $8 battery-powered Crest as a trial. I'm pleased with its work so far. Now I need to investigate whether the really pricey Brauns and Sonicares are worth the extra money. Anybody know of a study that compares them?

Molly: 5 posts up, there's a link to an extensively quoted study comparing toothbrushes you might be interested in reading.

well, I saw it differently when it happened to me.

sorry if my previous comment was offensive - I should have explained more.