Should You Switch to an Electric Toothbrush?

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Nancy, can you explain once and for all why two minutes when you're brushing your teeth with a manual toothbrush is the equivalent of 37 minutes in any other part of your day?

I'm Christine Seer-Clissette. I'm Kyla Blackwell.
I'm Rosie Guerin, and you're listening to The Wire Cutter Show.

Friends, today's topic is teeth. Oh, God.
You both have really, really nice teeth. Well, thank you.
So do you. I also want to address that Kyra, you and I have...

been trolled by Christine for months now

to stop using our manual toothbrushes and use an electric. Yeah, like we're cavemen or something.
I just don't understand why you are still back in

the olden time.

I will always remember the transition from going from manual to electric, and it was like my teeth felt so much cleaner.

And my dentist, multiple dentists over the years have just reinforced every time I go to visit. Oh, yeah, you're using an electric toothbrush.
Good for you.

Well, first of all, I'm paranoid that dentists are always trying to sell me stuff.

So that's a different episode. That's a different episode, but I don't like going to the dentist and they're like, you should really get an electric toothbrush.

Because when I switched to manual to electric the first time, I felt like I was like, I had a jackhammer in my mouth. It sucked.
So I'm team manual all the way.

We're going to jump way into this topic today with Nancy Redd. That's right.
Nancy is one of our health writers at Wirecutter. She was on the show for an episode we did on sunscreen.

She knows a ton about oral health and about toothbrushes. And she spent years testing like dozens and dozens of toothbrushes.
She's been on this beat for six years.

So we're going to take a quick break. And then when we're back, Nancy will be on with us to talk about manual versus electric, proper brushing technique, and the toothbrushes that she recommends.

Be right back. We're gonna win.

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Welcome back. With us now is Nancy Redd, who's a senior staff writer on the health team, and she covers everything from menstrual products to prescription glasses to toothbrushes.

She's also a New York Times best-selling health author, and her most recent nonfiction book is called The Real Body Manual.

She was recently featured on our podcast covering sunscreen, so if you haven't listened to that yet, you definitely should. Welcome to the show, Nancy.
Hi, Nancy. Hi.
It's so great to have you back.

I've been using all of your hot tips for sunscreen since you last visited us. I've been putting even more on than I did and and I did before.
More is more. More is more.

Nancy, let's move beyond sunscreen. We're here to talk about oral health.
We're here to talk about toothbrushes.

Beyond your work at Wirecutter, you've done extensive research about health and oral health specifically for your book, The Real Body Manual.

So I'd love to know, what is something that people don't know about their oral health?

I think just how important it is. Oral health is key.

You know, many studies show and experts and I both agree that teeth and oral hygiene in general are really deeply connected to your mind, overall health, and self-esteem.

You know, one tooth truth I have learned is that gum hygiene can actually be directly related to dementia and heart health. But a lot of this, yes, a lot of this drama can be mitigated by oral health.

So how is poor gum health contributing to dementia and poor heart health outcomes?

well I like to talk about it kind of like you know that if you get a puncture wound or if you have a scratch on your body and there's bad bacteria that can get into it and get infected right and you know how sometimes you could either just have like a little red spot on your arm or you could have like a staph infection same thing with your mouth your mouth is a breeding ground for all kinds of bacteria from all kinds of sources whether it's who you're kissing what you're eating uh even just the air you breathe, especially if you're a mouth breather.

And so,

when a certain type of bacteria breeds and overgrows, it can really get into your bloodstream, it can affect your health. It just feels good to have clean teeth and clean gums.

What a wonderful segue into discussing how you test toothbrushes, Nancy. I found I really regressed during the pandemic and started to neglect my oral health.
I used to use an electric toothbrush.

I went to manual. I'm considering going back to electric.
So I want to know, Nancy, how do you do this toothbrush testing?

Okay, well, you're not, as long as you're brushing, I don't care if you're brushing with a twig, a stick, a manual, or an electric toothbrush.

As long as you're brushing your teeth twice a day for two minutes, you're golden. You're doing great.
So pat yourself on the back if you are brushing your teeth with anything.

How I test toothbrushes is very

simply I brush my teeth.

I've tested about 50 different toothbrushes over the past six years. I brush twice daily and I get my family in on the fun as well.

And I have a bunch of long-term testers and specialized testers within Wirecutter.

Like for little kid toothbrushes, because my kids are now teens and tweens, we have a variety of ages who are testers.

Like we have a cute little tiny toothbrush that I'm excited to extrapolate upon in my next update to the guide because a lot of people with smaller little tiny mouths loved it.

It's great. I love what I do and I love doing the research on what are the latest studies about toothbrushes, what experts are saying about how they use toothbrushes or anything they're seeing.

I also like to replicate real life chaos with the actual toothbrushes I test to see how durable they are. I'll dunk them in water to test if they actually are waterproof.

I'll do drop tests to see how sturdy they are, which is actually extremely important for the children's toothbrush guide. I know that's right.
Oh, gosh.

I also measured the approximate amount of noise each toothbrush makes when used with a sound level meter.

It's fun, it's thorough, and it means that I have had a clean bill of health at the dentist for the past six years, ever since I started.

Well, okay, so I want to ask you, you've probably been using an electric toothbrush for the last six years, right? Here she goes. Here I go.
I'm going to get on my soapbox.

I am very much a team electric toothbrush. I've used one for over a decade.
Kyra and Rosie recently told me that they were like on the fence.

We know that they've both used them in the past, but they're not completely convinced why they should use an electric toothbrush.

So I'm curious from your perspective, you know, I just want you to tell me that I'm right, first of all, but you just said that like as long as you're brushing, it's fine, right?

You can be using whatever, but why would you suggest someone get an electric toothbrush?

Well, I like an electric toothbrush because I feel that it is a little luxury that makes a very mundane daily or twice daily experience just a bit more professional.

It's like using a really good nail polish remover.

It just gets the job done more efficiently and with literally a polish. Now, again, if used properly, manual toothbrushes are just as effective.

And it's important to note that a good 20% of dentists that I interview actually use manual toothbrushes, right?

Yeah, I mean, so you guys are not doing poorly in regards to your teeth. The problem is lay people tend to struggle to use manual toothbrushes properly and for long enough, meaning it's really hard.

And studies have shown that without a timer, people tend to only brush their teeth for about 45 seconds, which isn't enough time to really get into all the nooks and crannies and to ensure that all the food particles or bacteria have been erased, so to speak.

So that's why we recommend electric toothbrushes, only with a two-minute timer, especially a quadrant timer, because what that means is for each of the four quadrants in your teeth, that you are then giving it a good 30 seconds.

And that enables you to really be thorough.

Nancy, can you explain once and for all why two minutes when you're brushing your teeth with a manual toothbrush is the equivalent of 37 minutes in any other part of your day.

It's funny. If you do use a manual toothbrush, the big trick is to try to sing the happy birthday song before each quadrant.
Happy birthday to you. That gives you something to do.

But our brains are just not equipped for this. And electric toothbrushes are a godsend for people who

you know tend to have a difficult time keeping track of time. Also, people whose teeth are brushed by other people.

And I know with children who might be sometimes too small, it helps to say, okay, just wait for the beep or the little vibration and then we can move to the other side.

It gives you something to hold on to, some sort of North Star to know

when your service is up.

I

didn't used to have an electric toothbrush. I actually switched back to a manual manual because my dentist was telling me that I was definitely brushing too hard.

And now that I'm using a manual, I actually sing the Fresh Prince theme song twice. That's a good variation.
I love that because it's 60 seconds, so I do it for the top row and the bottom.

Does that make you want to brush your teeth? It does. It at least helps me focus long enough for two minutes.
But yeah, I just felt like the electric toothbrush was way too harsh on my teeth.

It actually really hurt. That's why I'm loving the manual right now, but I'm hearing what you're saying, and I'm wondering if I should switch back to an electric.

Well, you might

have been using your electric toothbrush incorrectly. And there also, we'll get more into this later.
There are different types of electric toothbrushes.

It just depends on your style, what type of sensitivities you have to vibrations or rotations.

But most importantly, you do not use a manual toothbrush in the same way that you use an electric toothbrush.

If you use an electric toothbrush like you use a manual toothbrush, you're going to have a bad time. You're going to have some gun recession.

You have to hold the toothbrush to your teeth gently and let the motor do the work as you move it around your mouth. Oh, I was definitely doing that wrong.

I think I had an oral B, but I was definitely like still putting elbow grease into it scrubbing. No, no, no.
You don't have to put your back into it. You just have to groove with the motions.

It's like a car wash. You know, you put your car in the car wash and you take it off of drive.
You just park it and let the

brushers brush your car it's like your teeth like each quadrant you just slowly move it

around

up it's like less is more less

and we do have a great instagram video of this that we will link into the show notes um that kind of walks people through the various ways to use an electric toothbrush I want to hear about our picks.

Nancy, you recommend the Oral B Pro 1000 and the Philips Sonic Air 4100. Now, I am totally a SonicAre girl.
I always go for the Sonic Air over the Oral B. I think this is a hot debate.

Can you illuminate for us the difference between these two toothbrushes specifically, but also kind of like the different vibe of each of these brands when you're using them? The different vibe.

Because it's really a vibe. It is a vibe.
And so if you're not into certain vibes, it's a bad time. Now, both of them have powerful motors, a two-minute timer, and affordable refills, right?

So that's why they're both the pick. And they have been our long-standing pick.
I have tried so many times, blind testing, just personal testing, all kinds of testing to overthrow these picks.

And it always comes back to these are solid picks. Now, the main difference between the Oral B Pro 1000 and the Phillips Sonic Air 4100 is how they move.
So it's the motion of the ocean.

The Oral B oscillates. and the Phillip Sonic Air vibrates, okay? So that means that the Oral B goes round and round and the Sonic Air goes back and forth ridiculously fast.

And Kyra, Kyra, you said that the toothbrush you didn't like was our oscillating pick, right? The Oral B? The Oral B, yeah. Yes.
So as you hear from Christine, many people are vibrators only.

Like they only like to vibe when they're brushing their teeth. It's a vastly different experience.
It can be a softer experience. It can actually be a lot quieter.

You might actually like the vibrating toothbrush. I myself am an oral bee aficionado.
I'm an oscillator. Why do you like the oral bee then?

I like it because even though it's louder and more perfunctory, like it's definitely a basic experience like compared to the elegant vibrations.

It's louder, it's not as pretty, but I feel like it gets in there. I just feel like I have a really sensitive mouth.

Like I really do try to take care of my teeth, but I feel like I need an extra soft bristle brush and I brush my teeth manually, but very gently.

And I kind of am not convinced that the Oral B or the Sonic hair are still going to be gentle enough for my mouth. Do you have any other suggestions for me, Nancy? I mean, that's entirely fair.

I do not have a sensitive mouth, and I can't use a sonic hair because vibrating toothbrushes with a plastic hard back tend to cause a very uncomfortable sensation in my mouth when the vibration hard back knocks against my teeth during brushing.

So I totally get that. When I feel like I need a more gentle toothbrush, I actually use our kid toothbrush pick, which is the SonicAre Design a Pet.

Because the Kid Sonic Vibrating Head is really small, it's soft-backed with a rubberized material that doesn't clack and clang against teeth, and it's so comfy.

I recommend that, especially for people who like vibrating toothbrushes, because the cool thing is all of the Sonic Air heads fit on all of the Sonic Air brushes.

So, if you don't want to have a sticker decorated,

and I don't think that matches my bathroom vibe, vibe.

That's not your aura.

You can just get the blue rubberized head.

And I think that you like that. I actually love that toothbrush.

And it's actually, I'm going to include it likely in another good electric toothbrush in the regular guide in our next update because I find myself leaning to it a lot, even though I don't like vibrating toothbrushes personally.

Yeah, that sounds like a good compromise for me. I think I'm going to try that.

Nancy, how

young is too young for an electric toothbrush, would you say? Because I've considered that for my kids, but they're still pretty young.

Well, the toothbrushes we recommend suggest starting at age three and up.

But whatever you're using, just make sure that the child is comfortable and it's not too harsh on their very delicate gums.

A lot of kid toothbrushes have options for three to six and seven and up because obviously that's when by seven, you've got most of your interest,

you know, and you've got a larger mouth and also more patience. Right, right.
We should also say that it is important.

I know some people don't think it is, but it is important to brush kids' baby teeth. Oh, baby teeth are very important.

If you do not take care of your baby teeth, you're just setting the whole scene for chaos and cavities.

So both of your top adult picks are pretty inexpensive.

It's like the Oral B looks like it's $50 and the Phillips looks like it goes for around $40, which is pretty cheap for something that will last a pretty long time.

But I have seen plenty of really fancy electric toothbrushes with like whopping price tags in the hundreds. Why would anybody spend that much more on a toothbrush?

Well, the biggest difference is elegance and not function. It's like, why would you spend more on a Ferrari when you can get a Toyota? That's the question I always ask.
Why not just get the Toyota?

I think one of the fun things about my position is I can honestly say I've tried the Ferraris of toothbrushes. I have tried the Pintos of toothbrushes.

I have had toothbrushes break off in my mouth, tiny little pieces that could easily choke a child or cause a health concern.

And so I can thoroughly say that not only are our pics great, they are as effective as the toothbrushes that are hundreds of dollars more. And I will say they are perfunctory.

In particular, my beloved Oral Bean. I mean, it's not winning a beauty pageant anytime soon.
But

the only thing you're going to get different with a more expensive toothbrush is beauty, elegance, and also occasionally an app.

But all you really need to care about is what are you willing to pay for a toothbrush that matches your bathroom decor?

And if that's the kind of person you are, go for it, as long as you're using that thing twice a day and it's not just a statement piece.

So what I'm hearing is that if someone is on the fence, let's say I'm in a room with people who are on the fence about getting an electric toothbrush, it's not a requirement for great oral health.

Just good toothbrushing two minutes a day is what is really crucial, but it can make it easier.

And if people are looking for a toothbrush, they should probably think about what kind of sensation they want.

Do they want the oscillating oral B style, or do they want that sort of vibrating sonic hair sensation? And that might be a good way to kind of figure out which lane to pick.

We're going to take a quick break, and then when we're back, we're going to talk with Nancy about surprising things you can do to take care of your oral health, plus her expert tips to get kids in on the toothbrushing habit.

Be right back.

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Welcome back. Nancy, before the break, we got into all the dirty details of how to pick out a toothbrush, but now let's dive a little deeper.

What is the one tool beyond an electric toothbrush that you think more people should know about to improve their oral health? Well, we should all be doing the floss, not the dance,

but actually flossing our teeth.

And water flossers, which are basically electric toothbrushes, but for flossing, are a huge help, especially for people who just struggle to floss i have found that households are either flossing households or not flossing households are you all flossers yeah i'm a flosser yeah i i can't say that for the household we are a shoeless household and a flossing household yeah those are non-negotiables

it's incredible the amount of gunk what you can get out of your teeth with a good flossing And so a water flosser essentially is like, again, like a power washer for your gums and teeth.

It just basically shoots pressurized water, very strong flow of water to push out the stuff that you're supposed to get manually. Most of the time, a water flosser is better than nothing.

I think nothing,

even though I'm obviously a big fan of water flossers, I use one, I use a lot because I test them. I think sometimes I still got to get in there with my little floss picks.

But if you are having a difficult time not adhering to guidelines in terms of the importance of flossing. Water flossers can really help.

They're fast and they just feel like they're doing something and it's not manual.

We got portable water flossers for my kids when they both got some kind of orthodonta and it was like hard to get stuff out of the teeth.

And this is like a little portable one that you don't have to have a big bulky thing on your on your counter. It's battery operated and I've used it.
I like it.

I do find though that it's incredibly messy.

It feels like I am just spraying the walls with it so i've i've started using it in the shower do you have any tips for not being super messy with a water flosser again christine like you're brilliant oh the shower use it in the shower i think that it's a great time to use it in the shower because

there's water everywhere anyway i think that's a great solution i use my water flosser in the shower i I also used to use my portable water flosser in the shower, but my bathroom has terrible ventilation and it got moldy and gross, even though I cleaned it like really fast.

I ended up throwing it away. It makes me very sad.
I always tell people, depending upon the user and the bathroom circumstances, like if you have the unfortunate bathroom that gets musty and moldy,

these water flossers can get really gross. So you might have to replace them like once a year or once every other year, but they're pretty inexpensive.

So it's well worth it if you won't floss any other way.

Does it matter what order you do your oral hygiene routine? Like floss first, then brush, then rinse, or is it just as long as you're doing it, it doesn't matter.

I'm just happy that anybody does anything, right?

So I'm never going to be a stickler on order because like if you like to floss in the shower, you know, that's, you know, I'm just happy that you're doing anything.

However, experts recommend that you floss before brushing. It helps to strengthen tooth enamel.
It helps to make brushing more straightforward.

I guess you get the big stuff out of the way and then the toothbrush comes in as the little like polish.

But just do it. Just do it all.
Right. As long as you're doing it.

Nancy, I want to talk about your tricks for getting kids to brush their teeth regularly.

I brought the twins to the dentist for the first time when they were one and I've really tried to emphasize the routine, but it is hard. It's hard to get them calmed down.

I'm wrestling them to the ground and I'm sort of hovering over them and I'm, you know, cranking their mouths open and I'm trying to get the back teeth.

And if I let them do it themselves, then they just literally suck the toothpaste off and then hand me back the brush. It's a whole thing.
Sounds like me trying to brush my cat's teeth.

It's not far off, I suspect. Have you tried wrapping them in a towel?

Like a cat.

You know, first and foremost, I commend you for living with twins.

I don't have advice from any other perspective than the person who's been testing toothbrushes for almost as long as my children were sentient about toothbrushing.

So you have to understand, imagine growing up in a household where in your bathroom, there's always like 30 toothbrushes.

You make the message at a certain point.

So I think it's very important to get kids to pick out their own toothbrush. First of all, also explain what's going on.
Do your kids know, do they understand the correlation between

terrifying black holes in your beautiful white teeth and them going long with the toothbrushing experience? You know, we haven't gotten there.

Yeah, are you like implying that you should use a little fear tactics with your kids? I'm not, I'm not opposed to that. Oh, how about we say I believe in informed citizens

encourages civic engagement. I have found at my big age with my 14-year-old and my 11-year-old, beginning whatever the process is with hygiene, with why

is very important. Why do I need to brush my teeth?

I think it's very valuable to show kids YouTube videos of cavities because half of people have a cavity before they graduate from elementary school, okay? A lot of them are just entirely unnecessary.

These are preventable problems. All they do is brush their teeth.
So

showing them what happens if you don't brush your teeth, and then if there's reticence, saying, Well, remember the video, which would you prefer?

To spend two minutes now or to spend two hours at the dentist? The number one that you can do is take your kid to get their very own toothbrush.

Let them pick out a toothbrush, even if it's not our pick. Okay, let's just get them on the bandwagon with the toothbrushing by personalizing it to them.

Helping them understand, okay, this is part of your life now. This is like big person underwear.

You got your toothbrush, you got your panties, and you're just riding off into this adult life starting now. Wow, so exciting.

We're going to end on a lightning round, true or false. Are you ready, Nancy? I'm so ready.
As you can tell, I love my toothbrushes. So do I.

Yeah.

You ready? True or false, you only need to brush once a day if you floss. False.
Twice a day, every day keeps the dentist away. And it also feels great.
Okay.

Soft bristles are better than medium or hard. Yes.
Soft bristles are delightful. For the most part, no one needs a hard bristle toothbrush.

A nice soft bristle breast when used for two minutes in every nook and cranny of your mouth is plenty tough enough to degrime your grin. Cavities can be contagious.
Yes.

Cavities absolutely can be contagious. If you are kissing on someone with mouth rot, unfortunately, the bacteria that causes cavities can be transmitted.
Last, true or false.

As long as you brush your teeth every day, you don't need to go to the dentist. What you think I'm going to say? Yeah.

You're talking to the girl who goes for Nendas for a while. Four times a year.

Before we wrap, we always ask one final question. So, Nancy, what's the last thing you've recently bought that you really love? Oh, I love this question.

The The last thing I have bought that I really love are these disposable face towelets. It's a company called the Clean Skin Club.
Oh, yeah, I've used these. I love them.
They're so great.

They're in particular for my delightful children who are entering their teen years. And bacteria is the enemy whether it's in your mouth or on your face.

And I noticed that there may or may not have been reused washcloths, towels that that may or may not have been affecting

the texture of their facial skin.

So I basically said, here's these clean skin club clean towels. If we are touching our face, just use one of these.

And that changed the game in terms of skin hygiene, skin texture, and avoiding acne.

Amazing. Well, thank you so much, Nancy.
Oh, this was a pleasure. And again, anyone listening, you just love your teeth and love yourself.
Thanks, Nancy. Thanks, Nancy.

Kyra, Rosie, I'd like to know what you thought about that conversation. Where are you now at with the manual versus electric? Do you just want us to say that you were right?

I'm waiting, I'm waiting, I'm waiting.

Well, we were also kind of right. So we all win.
That's true. If I'm taking one thing away from this episode, it's that just brush for two minutes, right?

It's either use your manual for two minutes or use the electric for two minutes, and you do you.

And I won't be so judgmental of my kids when they choose to use their manual toothbrush now instead of the electric. That's right, yeah.

I think my takeaway is that I'm probably gonna try and get a water flosser again because I did like it. I'm just not gonna keep it in the bathroom when I'm not using it.

Yeah, hopefully, that'll make it last a little bit longer. And I'm gonna try a kid's toothbrush.

I think, on the vein of the kids, I am gonna have to have a real serious talk with my toddlers about the importance of oral health. And we'll see what they retain.
It'll be a little like

Chris Farley down by the river when they're on the couch. Are you going to like body slam your couch or something? What is this, like scared straight SNL version? Yeah.

Yeah.

But seriously, I think trying to impress upon them as much as I can how important it is in setting up that foundation for later in life is a gift.

Well, and you could always just show them scary pictures of rotten mouths. So I think that feels like a bridge too far.

If you want to find out more about Nancy's reporting, you can check out our website or our show notes. That's it for us this week.
Appreciate you listening. Bye.
Bye.

The Wire Cutter Show is executive produced by me, Rosie Guerin, and produced by Abigail Keel. Engineering support from Maddie Mazziello and and Nick Pittman.

Today's episode was mixed by Catherine Anderson. Original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Alicia BaeTube, and Diane Wong.
Cliff Levy is Wirecutter's deputy publisher and general manager.

Ben Fruman is Wirecutter's editor-in-chief. I'm Kyra Blackwell.
I'm Christine Sear-Clissette. And I'm Rosie Guerin.
Thank you for listening.

But does it mean that when reruns come on, you instantly like, where's my toothbrush?

Like, like Pavlovian.

No, thankfully.