Home Care Products: The Good, The Better, and The Best

Although you visit your dentist for checkups and cleanings, much of your dental routine is carried out at home with home care products. Because of this, you will want to make sure you are using home care products that will maximize your dental routine and be beneficial to your oral health. In order to help you achieve this goal, we at Summit Dental have compiled a ranking system of some common home care dental products including the electric toothbrush, tongue scraper, and waterpik.

 

Electric Toothbrush:

 

The Good: Oral-B Vitality

The Oral-B Vitality electric toothbrush uses both an oscillating (twisting rotation of 30 degrees) and a pulsing (pushing up and down) motion to clean teeth and remove plaque. It also has high-quality bristles and is an affordable option.  However, it has an intense motor and no pressure sensor, meaning it could potentially be damaging to the gums.

 

The Better: Kolibree

The Kolibree is a technologically advanced toothbrush that can detect proper brushing technique and interact with your smartphone. It is especially beneficial for children, since it comes with a game that helps motivate them to brush their teeth properly. However, this brush can be costly.

 

The Best: Philips Sonicare Diamondclean

Sonicare toothbrushes use sonic technology at the rate of 30,000 strokes per minute to clean efficiently eliminate bacteria and clean your teeth. In addition the Diamondclean model has a two minute timer and pressure sensor to ensure you are using the proper brushing technique. However, this toothbrush can be costly and the rapid motion can tickle sensitive teeth.

 

Tongue Scraper:

 

The Good: Orabrush Tongue Cleaner Fresh Breath Brush with Scraper

Orabrush actually uses a combination of bristles and scraper to achieve the desired results. The handle is strong and the brush gives a clean feeling that lasts for a prolonged length of time. However, the number of bristles can take some getting used to and some people do not like the tickly feeling they get.

 

The Better: DenTek Comfort Clean Tongue Cleaner

DenTek offers a plastic tongue cleaner which provides an alternative for people who don’t like the feeling of a metal scraper. It also comes with a mint flavor on the scraping edges, however this has not been found to affect breath in any way. It has three scraping edges, meaning less strokes are needed, however it is somewhat flimsy and most likely will not last as long as a metal option.

 

The Best: Dr. Tung’s Tongue Cleaner

Dr. Tung’s Tongue Cleaner is made of stainless steel and is stiff enough to give you adequate control when tongue scraping. The scraper itself is thick enough to not feel sharp, but thin enough to still give a slight scraping sensation. It has rubber grips on either side that makes it easy to maneuver. It is also easy to clean and comes with a travel case.

 

WaterPik:

 

The Good: ProFloss Water Flosser

The ProFloss Water Flosser offers effective water flossing without the need for a large tank that will take up counter space. Instead, it connects directly to the faucet, meaning there is no reservoir to fill or clean out. This flosser is portable, non-electric, affordable, and allows for easy control of water pressure and temperature. However, it is unable to compensate for weak water pressure, is limited by the amount of water coming from the tap, and only comes with two flossing tips.

 

The Better: Panasonic Portable Dental Flosser

The Panasonic Portable Dental Flosser allows for countertop waterpik benefits in a smaller, easy-to-use portable option. It contains its own reservoir, ensuring that your teeth will be properly cleaned no matter what water pressure your faucet has. It also has a collapsible design, 2-speed settings, and a two year warranty. The only negative is that it only comes with a single flosser tip, although more can be purchased separately.

 

The Best: Waterpik Aquarius Water Flosser

The Waterpik Aquarius Water Flosser is the first water flosser to meet the American Dental Association’s standards and earn their Seal of Acceptance. It has been clinically proven to remove up to 99.9% of plaque and has been found to be more effective than floss alone. It has seven different tips for different uses, a timer and pacer, and comes with a three year warranty.