Most electric brushes 'no better' at cleaning teeth

Electric toothbrushes costing up to £100 are no better at cleaning teeth than the manual kind which retail for about £2, but one type of powered toothbrush may hold an advantage, researchers have found.

Electric toothbrushes costing up to £100 are no better at cleaning teeth than the manual kind which retail for about £2, but one type of powered toothbrush may hold an advantage, researchers have found.

A review of 29 trials involving 1,700 people discovered no statistical difference between powered and standard toothbrushes when their capacity to remove plaque and reduce gum disease was compared. But the researchers found thatthe rotation-oscillation type of powered toothbrushes, with spinning brushes, performed better.

They found that people who used rotation-oscillation brushes such as the Philips Jordan and Braun models reduced their plaque levels by 11 per cent and their risk of developing gum disease by 6 per cent.

Colgate also makes rotation-oscillation brushes, but its electric toothbrushes were not included in the study.

The researchers say in the Journal of Dentistry: "No other powered-brush designs were consistently superior to manual toothbrushes."

The other designs tested had brushes that vibrated from side to side instead of spinning.