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Electric toothbrushes used to be mainly a sideshow. They came with cartoon figures in the handle to make them interesting for kids, but their brush heads basically only vibrated. Vibrating brush heads didn’t really do much to brush the plaque and food from your teeth unless you basically used them just as you would a manual toothbrush. The consensus was, “What’s the point?” 

That all changed when Oral-B introduced electric/powered toothbrushes with rotating and oscillating brush heads. To prove the worth of their new tools for great dental hygiene Oral-B went out and gave various dental practices free Oral-B powered toothbrushes (16,000 in all) to give to their patients. All they asked was for the hygienists and dentists to report back to them how the teeth of their patients were before (when still using their manual toothbrush) and after using the Oral-B Electric Toothbrushes for six months. 

Although not completely scientific, the results were striking. When asked about the changes, the dental professionals said the electric toothbrush had a positive effect on the oral health of over 80 percent of their patients. 

It seemed the American Dental Association was paying attention — shortly thereafter it gave five Oral-B Powered Toothbrushes its vaunted Seal of Acceptance. The ADA approved the Oral-B Pro CrossAction 1000 and 1500; the Oral-B Professional Care 2000; the Oral-B Pro 3D White 3000; the Oral-B Pro SmartSeries 5000, 6000, and 7000; and the Oral-B Pro Genius 8000. 

We talked about the Oral-B approvals in Dr. Egger’s blog a while back. 

Since that blog, the category of powered toothbrushes has exploded. The ADA expanded their Seal of Acceptance list as they tested these new offerings. Here is the ADA Accepted list in addition to the Oral-B models mentioned above: 

These are the others: 

•     AquaSonic Black Series, Duo Pro Series, Vibe Series
•     Arm & Hammer Spinbrush Pro Series Battery Powered Toothbrush
•     Brightline Sonic Rechargeable Toothbrush
•     Fairywill Sonic Electric Toothbrushes: P11-Plus, 507, 508, T9, E11, and P80
•     Oral-B (as described above) plus the iO Series and the Oscillating-Rotating-Pulsating Electric Rechargeable Toothbrushes
•     Philips Sonicare ProtectiveClean 4100 and 4700
•     PRO-SYS VarioSonic Powerbrush
•     quip Electric Toothbrush, quip Kids Electric Toothbrush
•     Shyn Sonic Toothbrush
•     CVS Health EasyFlex Pro Premium Rechargeable Toothbrush, CVS Health Infinity Rechargeable Toothbrush, CVS Health SmileSonic Max Power Pro Toothbrush, CVS Health SmileSonic Pro Advanced Clean Sonic Toothbrush

There you have it. Now you have lots of choices when it comes to these new tools for maintaining a new level of home hygiene. What do you have to lose but plaque, gingivitis, and tooth decay? 

At Dr. Egger’s, we’re big fans of these great toothbrushes. If you have any questions about these new powered toothbrushes, please ask us next time you’re in for your six-month exam and cleaning. Is it time to make your next appointment? Call us at (989) 773-3560 to make your appointment.