Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
by Dr Dominic Wall, The Gap Dental Practice, QLD
The most common question I get asked as a dentist is, what toothbrush should I be using? Recently, I have been encouraging my patients to take a look at the Oral-B IO series.
What’s good about it
I’ve seen a lot of patients with recession caused by brushing too hard with a manual toothbrush. I suggest that they should use an electric toothbrush that’s gentler on the gums and teeth. The IO series has a system that utilises magnetic drive technology. Older electric toothbrushes have the head moving in a rotational way whereas this system is vibrational and much gentler. It’s a great toothbrush for people with sensitive teeth, such as my wife. She suffered from sensitivity when brushing until she started using one of the IO series toothbrushes.
Even though it’s gentle, it still does the job and gives the teeth a thorough clean. There is a range of price points in the IO series but the most important thing is to use one that has a pressure indicator light. That ensures the user doesn’t press too hard.
The charging station has a timer on it so the user can clean for the full two or three minutes. I have found that children and young adults tend to find it more comfortable to use compared to manual toothbrushes.
What’s not so good
The IO series of toothbrushes are quite expensive. They also have a feature called whole mouth mapping. It uses sensors in the handle to ensure 16 zones in the mouth are cleaned. I found this to be quite inaccurate and a bit of a gimmick.
Where did you get it
Chemist Warehouse or anywhere that sells toothbrushes.
