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Electric toothbrush
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An electric toothbrush is a toothbrush that uses electric power to move the brush head, normally in an oscillating pattern, though electric toothbrushes are often called 'rotary' toothbrushes.
History
Dr. Scott's 'electric' toothbrush
In the late 1800s in the USA, a man named Dr. George A.
Discussion
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Encyclopedia
An electric toothbrush is a toothbrush that uses electric power to move the brush head, normally in an oscillating pattern, though electric toothbrushes are often called 'rotary' toothbrushes.
History
Dr. Scott's 'electric' toothbrush
In the late 1800s in the USA, a man named Dr. George A. Scott claimed to invent an "electric" toothbrush. However, unlike actual electronically-powered bristle brushes, Dr. Scott's brush did not move on its own, and was not actually electrical at all. Like Dr. Scott's other "electric brush" products, the device merely contained a magnet in the handle. The magnetic field was claimed to provide health benefits.
Evolution of the modern toothbrush
The first electric toothbrush , the Broxodent, was conceived in Switzerland in 1954 by Dr. Philippe-Guy Woog, with the first clinical study showing its superiority over manual brushing published by Pr. Arthur Jean Held in Geneva in 1956. It was introduced in the USA by Squibb Pharmaceuticals at the centennial of the American Dental Association in 1959.
These were initially created for patients with limited motor skills, as well orthodontic patients (such as those with braces). Claims have been made that these are more effective than manual toothbrushes, as it leaves less room for patients to brush incorrectly.
Effectiveness
Independent research finds that most electric toothbrushes are no more effective than the manual variety
. The exception is the "rotation-oscillation"-models, including many of the electrical brushes in Braun's Oral B-series, but even this brush performs only marginally better than a regular manual brush. The research done indicates that the way the brushing is performed is of a higher importance than the choice of brush. For certain patients with limited manual dexterity however, dentists strongly feel that electric toothbrushes can be especially beneficial .
Key Functions
Type of motion
Three main mechanics in how the toothbrush head works in electric toothbrushes are vibrating, oscillating, and sonic. Most studies have focused upon the vibrating and oscillating heads, but not the sonic type.
Power source and charging
The electronic compartments in most of the electronic toothbrushes are completely sealed to prevent water damage. There are no metal contacts. These toothbrushes charge using a technique called inductive charging. In the brush unit is one half of a transformer, and in the charge-unit is the other part of the transformer. When brought together, a varying magnetic field in one coil induces a current in the other coil, thereby allowing for the charging of a battery.
Other electric toothbrushes use replaceable batteries, disposable or rechargeable, storing them in the bottom, generally thicker than a normal toothbrush.
Timer function
Most electric toothbrushes have a timer for two minutes via extra buzzing or noise. Quality models may have an incremental timer that buzzes four times or every thirty seconds up to two minutes. Dentists consider the incremental timer to be a key function . The benefit of the timer function is to encourage brushing to last two minutes. The benefit of the incremental timer is to alert the user to brush each quarter of the mouth for a consistent clean in all areas of the mouth. A new release in 2008 was the Smart Guide by Oral B Braun that shows individuals via a wireless display of functions to guide brushing. The timer function is important because brushing too quickly is a significant cause of inadequate oral hygiene.
Visual Stimuli
Some electric toothbrushes use LCD screens, which, in addition to showing how many minutes you've brushed (or the optimal amount of time, usually 2 minutes or more) show smiley faces or other images to encourage optimal brushing.
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