Explainers
These 8 are the questions that come back again and again in owner discussion. Each leads with a short answer, cites where its health statements come from (a Cochrane review, the ADA, or a maker, named as the maker’s claim) and says what that evidence does not show. None of it is advice for your mouth; your dentist is the one to ask about that.
Modestly, on average. A 2014 Cochrane review of 56 trials found powered brushes reduced plaque and gum inflammation a little more than manual ones, and called the clinical importance unclear. The ADA says both kinds are effective at removing plaque.
Read the full answer →A 2010 Cochrane review found rotation-oscillation brushes reduced plaque and gingivitis slightly more than side-to-side brushes in the short term, but the difference was small, its clinical importance unclear, and there were too few trials of other designs to rank them.
Read the full answer →It tells you when you are pressing harder than the maker intends, by a light, a vibration or both. 24 of the 53 brushes here list one. It is a feedback feature, not a treatment, and makers do not publish the force at which theirs trips.
Read the full answer →The ADA says every three to four months, or sooner if the bristles are matted or frayed; most makers say three. Genuine heads in this catalog run from about $3 to $10 each. Third-party heads can be cheaper, but they are not the product the maker's figures, or any ADA listing, describe.
Read the full answer →It means the ADA's Council on Scientific Affairs reviewed evidence the maker submitted and found the product safe and effective for what the listing says, typically removing plaque and helping to prevent and reduce gingivitis. It is awarded per product. 14 of the 53 brushes here have a live listing on the ADA's own search.
Read the full answer →The handle is cheap; the heads are not always. Over three years the heads decide the cost. The subscription brands in this catalog sell optional auto-ship at the same prices as buying heads outright, so there is no required fee to add, but their heads are some of the dearest per unit.
Read the full answer →Makers set their own starting ages, from 2 to 6 across this catalog, and some state none. An adult should still supervise: the brushes time the two minutes, and none of the kids' models here lists a pressure sensor.
Read the full answer →The ADA notes that people with dental appliances such as braces may find a powered brush easier to use. The features that match the usual advice are a pressure sensor and a gentle mode. Your orthodontist or dentist decides what is right for your appliance; this site does not.
Read the full answer →For the specifications themselves, what each number on a toothbrush page means and which of them can be compared, see how to read a toothbrush spec sheet, where every figure is computed from this catalog.