Choosing Your First Electric Toothbrush: A Guide to Better Oral Hygiene

Buying your first house can be daunting. There are so many things to consider and making that final decision after viewing so many homes can be stressful. This is why your realtor usually recommends making a list of what you are looking for in your new home. Your new home might not meet all the criteria on your list, but it will certainly satisfy the most important criteria for you.

The Challenge of Choosing an Electric Toothbrush

Likewise, buying your first electric toothbrush can be challenging, considering there are so many sellers and so many designs to choose from. To make this easy for you, I recommend making a list of your oral hygiene needs or goals. Ask yourself what exactly you are trying to achieve. What issues did your dentist or hygienist discuss with you during your last dental visit? What are you not happy with right now about your teeth and gums that you could change? It could be anything from bleeding, stains, plaque buildup, bad breath, or even braces.

Prioritizing Your Oral Hygiene Needs

Arrange your list from most important to least important. Go and buy the electric toothbrush that checks off most of the criteria on your list. Be sure to use your toothbrush consistently according to the manufacturer's guide for the best results.

Analogies to Help You Decide

Having a car eases transportation to and from work. It makes life easier and more convenient, but this is not the only reason people are willing to pay huge down payments for a car. If you ask first-time parents who are looking for a new car, they might say safety for their baby is what they are looking for in a new car. For someone living in Minnesota, a car that drives well in snow might be what they really want. This analogy holds true when deciding on the purchase of an electric toothbrush. Your oral hygiene needs must come first.

The Evolution of Toothbrushes

Thirty years ago, a watch was just used to tell time. Today, our watches do way more than just telling time. Some of them track our heart rate, calories, sleep cycles, some can make calls, check emails, and even remotely control the lights in our homes! Why was there a shift to change the way we use our watches? The simple answer is efficiency; to make life easy and convenient, and we are willing to stand in line and pay hundreds of dollars for these watches. Likewise, our toothbrushes have also evolved from 30 years ago. Today, a premium electric toothbrush can track how you brush, signal if you are brushing too hard, and has multiple brushing functions to fit your oral hygiene needs.

Key Features to Look For

Hence, whatever electric toothbrush you decide to purchase should do more than just clean your teeth. It should be able to clean (remove plaque), polish (remove stains), and protect your gums from recession and inflammation. The above three settings should be your deal breaker. If it is indeed true that our toothbrushes have become more efficient compared to a couple of years ago, why are we still skeptical and hesitant about prioritizing our oral health and hygiene? Why are we not standing in line to invest in an electric toothbrush, something that adds value to your overall health?