While most dentists find that some of their patients are able to do an excellent job brushing with their manual toothbrush only, not everyone is able to maintain such impeccable oral hygiene.  It is always frustrating when some patients really do try their hardest but are still unable to manually clean certain areas of their teeth, many of these patients do end up having much more success by using an electric toothbrush appropriately and can truly feel the difference in their mouths after cleaning.

Electric toothbrushes have been constantly evolving and have gotten to the stage now where their technology is quite sophisticated, indeed much more so than a few bristles on the end of a plastic stick!  One key thing to remember when making the shift from manual to electric tooth brushing is that the technique is totally different to what you would normally be accustomed to.  So there is always a learning period, especially getting used to the lack of the need for a “brushing” motion and the lack of pressure required.  Some studies have shown that people using and electric toothbrush can remove up to 2 times as much plaque compared to using a standard manual toothbrush.  As always, you can't just rely on the brush and you can't do it on your own.  ToothShop recommends that you still use dental floss or other aids for cleaning between your teeth, and you still need to keep up your regular visits to your dentist.

The first decision to make when choosing an electric toothbrush is your budget.  The top of the line models, whilst more expensive than the entry level models, do offer technical advantages to the lower models so it is advisable to purchase as much as your budget can allow.

Our electric toothbrush range at ToothShop caters to all levels.

1. Premium Toothbrushes

The battle for the best toothbrush in New Zealand used to be between the new Oral-B Triumph ProfessionalCare 9000 series powered by Braun and the Sonicare Elite Professional 9000 series from Philips which has been leading overseas markets for the past few years but unfortunately Philips have now decided to withdraw Sonicare from the Australian and New Zealand markets just recently (although they will still have replacement heads for exisiting users).

Oral-B has literature from the Cochrane Collaboration stating advantages over all toothbrushes including Sonicare.  Sonicare has independent literature stating advantages over Oral-B technology.  Who really cares?  At the end of the day they are both awesome toothbrushes and it is simply a matter of personal preference

Oral-B basically owns the NZ market in electric toothbrushes presently and looks to continue this with the new Triumph.  This toothbrush has it all with the coolest features to satisfy any tecchie.  As well as having all of the latest Oral-B toothbrush technology, it also has an onboard “computer” and now has the SmartGuide wireless LCD display available in NZ.

The Sonicare Elite was simpler to use with less functions to play with but some may say far more elegant.  It comes with a traditional shaped head but more streamlined and has a refreshing sonic vibration action compared to the oscillating/rotating action of Oral-B.  As mentioned already, unfortunately these have been withdrawn from the local market and the next best thing would be Oral-B's Sonic Complete Toothbrush.

The Triumph has been available overseas since 2005 with the SmartGuide available in 2007.  The Sonicare Elite 9000 series had been released overseas in 2006 and features an additional smaller brush head and variable power adjustment as minor advances on the 7000 series, the technology otherwise is unchanged.  There has since been an new model Sonicare released overseas.  For travellers the Triumph has a universal voltage adapter built in.   If you get any Sonicare brushes while overseas just make sure the voltage will be suitable

Oral-B have phased out sales of the original Triumph without the SmartGuide (it still had the LCD display on the handle however) and the only way to get it in 2008 is with the Dual Handle Value Pack which is in limited supply around Christmas time.  Their focus is more on the SmartGuide which has had studies showing that people using it are 5 times more likely to brush their teeth for the dentist recommended 2 minutes.

If you would like to see in depth features for these brands, try the following sites.    This dentist has had 2 different Oral-Bs and 2 different Sonicares over the years and I would recommend both as good toothbrushes.

http://www.oralb.com/us/products/power/triumphsmartguide/

http://www.sonicare.com/brushes/elite/elite_9500_packcont.asp

See the SmartGuide feature on the Ellen show below

 

2. The Rest Of The Range

All of our other rechargeable toothbrushes are from the Oral-B range.  They were all top of the range at some point in time but have now been superseded over the last few years but are still very similar in the technology they use with the exception of the Oral-B Sonic Complete which is their version of the Sonicare, and the Oxyjet which uses an oxygenated jet of water which some patients with bridgework, dental implant work and big spaces in their teeth find very useful.  In 2008 Oral-B have done a facelift of the old 7000 and 8000 series models and left the same 3-D technology inside but have come up with a more modern looking ProfessionalCare 7400 and 8850 which is good value for money.  These have the same inherent brushing qualities of the Triumph but has no SmartGuide and communication from the brush head, less preset cleaning modes (the 7400 only has 1 cleaning mode), and does not have the multivoltage adapter built-in - but if you don't need or desire any of these extras the 7400 and 8850 are still extremely good brushes.

Budget conscious shoppers have the choice between the traditional AdvancePower 950 TX which has been a leading standard electric brush for some time with head storage in the charger and now comes in great bright colours, and Braun Oral-B has also brought out their Vitality entry-level reachargeable brush late 2006 in an effort to allow the consumer a simple way to enjoy the benefits of electric toothbrushes.  While the entry level brushes do not have the extra 3-D pulsation movement of the other brushes they still boast a more than adequate 7600 oscillations/rotations a minute.  The Vitality is also available as a Sonic toothbrush if you prefer, is a very attractive brush, and a fantastic solution for the budget conscious.