Can Electric Toothbrushes Help Avoid Periodontal Disease?
Periodontal disease can have lasting effects not only on your teeth, mouth, and gums but your entire body. If you are looking for ways to prevent, or at least reduce the likelihood of developing periodontal disease, you may want to think about switching from a manual toothbrush to an electric toothbrush.
Why Make the Switch to an Electric Toothbrush?
Many dentists, oral surgeons, and dental hygienists recommend their patients switch to an electric toothbrush because it can help improve oral health. An electric toothbrush has been proven to not only clean teeth more effectively than a manual toothbrush, but to also remove plaque from hard-to-reach places.
Benefits of Switching to an Electric Toothbrush
People who switch to using an electric toothbrush receive many benefits. Some of the benefits that come with making this switch include:
- Cleaner teeth – an electric toothbrush can brush more strokes per minute than a manual toothbrush. This means debris and plaque buildup can quickly, easily and more effectively be removed.
- Gums are protected from brushing too hard – brushing too hard can cause gums to become inflamed and irritated. An electric toothbrush does all the work for you, so you aren’t left scrubbing your gums and causing them to be irritated.
- Easier to reach those hard-to-reach places – electronic toothbrushes can easily get into all the small nooks and crevices in your mouth where food particles, bacteria, and other debris can hide. Removing these things from these areas helps to improve your oral health and prevent the start of periodontal disease.
What Makes Electronic Toothbrushes So Special?
Many patients wonder what makes electronic toothbrushes so special. After all, they appear to be like manual toothbrushes only they run on batteries, but they are so much more than that.
Electronic toothbrushes come with a number of special features that help you work to improve your oral health. The features that are found on your electronic toothbrush will vary depending on the manufacturer and the make or model of the toothbrush.
Some of the features that can be found on electronic toothbrushes include:
- Pressure sensor – some electronic toothbrushes have a small pressure sensor in them. If you happen to be brushing and you start brushing your teeth too hard, a small light will appear to alert you that you could be damaging your gums.
- Gum massage – you need to brush much slower and gentler when you are brushing around your gums. The gum massage feature on electronic toothbrushes gently vibrates the toothbrush head so that it is just the right speed for you to brush around your gums without causing any irritation or damage.
- Timers – dentists recommend that you brush for at least 2 minutes. Most people take a guess of how long that is, but you don’t have to do that with the timer on electronic toothbrushes. Electronic toothbrushes use a timer that has them run for 2 minutes – the exact amount of time you should be brushing.
- Different motions for the toothbrush head – toothbrushes don’t just need to move back and forth. They also need to move in circular motions if you want to properly remove plaque from between the teeth and around the gum line. Some electronic toothbrushes allow you to choose which way your toothbrush head moves.
Using an Electronic Toothbrush isn’t All You Need to Do to Prevent Periodontal Disease
While switching from a manual toothbrush to an electronic toothbrush will help improve your chances of not getting periodontal disease, it isn’t all you have to do. There are a number of other things you will want to do to help reduce your chances of getting periodontal disease.
Other things you will want to do include:
- Scheduling regular professional cleanings with a dentist or an experienced periodontist
- Flossing at least once a day
- Learning proper brushing and flossing techniques that properly remove plaque from around the teeth and gums
- Following up on any dental procedures, such as fillings or deep cleanings, that need to be performed
Looking for more tips on how to prevent periodontal disease? Call Vero VIP Implants & Periodontics to schedule an appointment to speak with Dr. Brown. He is an experienced periodontist who can help with the treatment and maintenance of periodontal disease.