The short answer is YES!
Butย how an electricย toothbrush removes more plaque and whatย research has been conducted to proveย that they remove more plaque?
As Iย stated at the top of this post, anย electric toothbrush can remove moreย plaque and it has been clinically proven. Now I should state that when we say removing more plaque,ย this is inย comparison to the use of a manual toothbrush. Ifย a manual toothbrush is usedย correctly, it is perfectly adequate forย brushing your teeth. But there areย benefits to using an electric toothbrushย and studies have confirmed that anย electric toothbrush can remove moreย plaque than a manual brush.
Plaque is essentially the very reason that we brush our teeth. It’s essentially a buildup of bacteria that forms primarily around the gum line of the teeth. If we don’t remove it, this plaque can harden into something called tartar or calculus and in turn, this complicates our oral health and can lead to conditions such as gingivitis and gum disease that we want to avoid.
Manyย studies have looked into theย efficacy of plaque removal by anย electric toothbrush. But research groupย Cochrane hasย perhaps done the bestย independent research. Theyย looked at data from severalย studiesย from 1964 throughย 2011. The independent analysis thatย Cochran carried out revealed that overย 5,000 participants had taken part inย these studies that they analyzed. Theย data clearly showed that electricย toothbrushes removed more plaque. Thereย was an 11% reduction in plaque atย 1-2 months of use and a 21% reduction in plaqueย when assessed after 3 months of use. For gingivitis or the early stages ofย gum disease, there was a 6% reduction at 1-3ย months of use. An 11 % reduction when assessed after 3 months of use.
More recent studiesย notably a very impressive 11-year studyย into electric toothbrush use found thatย 36.9%ย of theย participants had less probing depth, which is a measure of overall gum andย oral health. The 11-year studyย clearly showed that 36.9% of participants had betterย oral health after using an electricย toothbrush.
Not all of these studiesย necessarily tally 100%. Different studiesย look at slightly different parametersย and use different toothbrushes. So the results can vary. However, the consensus is based on the data that anย electric toothbrush can remove moreย plaque. It does so because ofย how an electric toothbrush works. An electric toothbrush isย powered by a motorย so that you get a moreย consistent movement in the bristles atย the brush head,ย which in turn means thatย the brushing is generally more effectiveย for users like you and meย and ultimatelyย removes more plaque in the process. How you use your toothbrushย will have a bearing on how effective itย is.
You can still have perfectly healthy teeth and gums when using a manual toothbrush. But the increased movements and consistency of the movements in an electric toothbrush allow the electric toothbrush overall to perform better and improve your oral health.
