We are happy to introduce our patients and friends to an electric toothbrush called Sonicare. It is brand-new to our office and we are going to have the Diamond Clean model available at a discounted rate for our patients. It is made by Philips who is a world renowned company for medical devices.
For those of you I haven’t met yet I am Christine the dental hygienist at The Dentist at 70 Pitt street. I have been using a Sonicare for more than 15 years and when we moved to Australia I was surprised at how many patients had never even heard of this type of brush before. They are very popular in both Canada and the USA. I have been recommending this type of electric toothbrush to my patients, family and friends since the beginning of my career as a dental hygienist.

Part of the reason that this type of brush is so effective is because of the features that it has. It has a 2 minute timer in all of the models. Did you know that most people don’t brush their teeth for long enough? The 2 minute timer helps to make sure you are spending enough time brushing your teeth. There is also a signal to let you know when to move to a different area of your mouth to help ensure you don’t miss any areas.

The other thing that we really like is that the brush is engineered to be gentle. For all of those people who press too hard with a regular toothbrush—including myself!—the Sonicare will take the guess work out of the equation by ensuring that you are not brushing away your teeth. No more wondering if you are being gentle enough—the Sonicare will always be gentle on your teeth and yet thoroughly remove plaque. 1

The Sonicare also removes more plaque than a regular toothbrush. Plaque is full of bacteria and the less you have in your mouth the healthier you can be. The Sonicare range has been shown to remove more plaque than a regular brush in clinical studies updated in 2010 and published in the Journal of Dental Research.2

The Diamond Clean comes with a spiffy travel case that can be charged via USB—no more worries about taking it travelling. It also has a lovely glass charger to be used at home. This particular model is also shown to remove stains more effectively than a manual toothbrush.

In fact, the only thing that the Sonicare doesn’t do is floss your teeth! So, for all of you who hate to floss, Philips has come out with the Air Floss—pop by our office and have a look at it for yourself!

Works Cited
1) de Jager M, Nelson R, Schmitt P, Moore M, Putt M, Kunzelmann KH, Nyama I, Garcia-Godoy F, Garcia-Godoy C. In vitro assessment of toothbrushing wear on natural and restorative materials. Compend Contin Educ Dent. 2007; 28 (Suppl 1):42-50. As viewed on October 11, 2012 at: http://www.sonicare.com/professional/en_US/pdf/Gentleness_FC_2007_de_Jager.pdf
2) de Jager M, Schmitt P, Jain V, Master A, Wei J, Strate J. Updated meta-analysis on the clinical efficacy of side-to-side powered toothbrushes vs. manual toothbrushes. J Dent Res. 2010; 89 (Spec Iss B): 3694. As viewed on October 11, 2012 at: http://www.sonicare.com/professional/en_US/pdf/Meta-analysis_2010_de_Jager.pdf