Oral B vs. Sonicare?

[cransplash]

I am looking to buy an electric toothbrush and not sure which one to get.

Any one choose one over the other? I am getting mild gum recession and moving to these toothbrushes (I think) will help.

ETA: I think I am going to look into Sonicare. Which one do you recommend/own?

[greekypie]

I asked my dentist, he said there is no comparison to Sonicare (even the lower end models). My H had the Oral B and I bought a Sonicare. He tried mine once & bought a Sonicare for himself. I think I paid $50 or $55 for mine and I really like it.

[holly116]

I had an oral b before I got my sonicare and I agree, there's no comparison.

[simpsongal]

I've had both and the Sonicare is way better. Electric toothbrushes have improved the health of my teeth dramatically. Totally worth the investment - good luck!

[caramia17]

Only the oscillating, rotating toothbrush (Oral B Professional Care) has been shown to be better than manual toothbrush for plaque removal. No other electric toothbrush has.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15190692

What do you mean gum decay? Gum recession? Periodontal disease?

Impeccable oral hygiene is important regardless, but please consider seeing a periodontist if you have periodontal disease.

If recession is an issue, I also recommend getting the Professional Series Oral B as it has a light on the display that shows if you are pushing too hard (i.e. white-knuckling the toothbrush). And I would ask for an examination of the amount of fixed (attached gingiva) gum tissue at the areas of recession. That can be a predictor of future susceptibility to recession.

Please check with your dentist/periodontist about your individual needs.

[kangaroo11]

Jul 23, 2013 14:41:55 GMT -5 holly116 said:

I had an oral b before I got my sonicare and I agree, there's no comparison.

Yep. 

[sergey]

I have an Oral B and H has a Sonicare. He always gets better feedback about his tooth care at the dentist even though I floss and he doesn't.

[stephm0188]

My dentist wanted me to buy Sonicare specifically. I love it.

[ladygrey]

I love my Sonicare and ditto the recommendation about buying at Costco.

[whitemerlot]

I love my Sonicare from Costco. I got a 2 pack for me and my H for $79.

[stever]

I love my Sonicare!

[dottyblue]

Another plug for Sonicare here. DH and I had used an Oral B for years, but my teeth were getting too sensitive for it. My dental hygienist recommended the Sonicare and it. is. amazing. DH switched after trying the Sonicare and we tossed the Oral B toothbrush.

[zelda25]

Jul 23, 2013 14:45:33 GMT -5 caramia17 said:

Only the oscillating, rotating toothbrush (Oral B Professional Care) has been shown to be better than manual toothbrush for plaque removal. No other electric toothbrush has.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15190692

What do you mean gum decay? Gum recession? Periodontal disease?

Impeccable oral hygiene is important regardless, but please consider seeing a periodontist if you have periodontal disease.

If recession is an issue, I also recommend getting the Professional Series Oral B as it has a light on the display that shows if you are pushing too hard (i.e. white-knuckling the toothbrush). And I would ask for an examination of the amount of fixed (attached gingiva) gum tissue at the areas of recession. That can be a predictor of future susceptibility to recession.

Please check with your dentist/periodontist about your individual needs.

You're a dentist, right? Are you compensated for plugging Oral B?

The study is almost 10 years old and I can't tell from the abstract if Sonicare was even part of the study. I'd be a lot more interested in a (recent) Sonicare vs. oscillating electric study.  

My personal experience is that Sonicare is the bomb.

[raangoli]

I must be the only one who likes my Oral B brush. I can't remember what the model number is exactly, but it does have the feature that lets me know that I am brushing too hard that caramia17 mentions. I've never used a Sonicare, so I can't really compare though.

[sa]

H and I both prefer Oral B to Sonicare. We like the smaller, round brush. H also had irritation from the Sonicare.

[cransplash]

caramia17- I meant gum recession. Fixed original post.

[cransplash]

Thanks everyone for the rec.

If you don't mind, which Sonicare do you own/recommend?

[diamondsnpearls22]

We only recommend Sonicare, I have the Sonicare diamond clean and I loveeeee it!!

[elleblue]

Jul 23, 2013 14:45:33 GMT -5 caramia17 said:

Only the oscillating, rotating toothbrush (Oral B Professional Care) has been shown to be better than manual toothbrush for plaque removal. No other electric toothbrush has.

I was just coming in here to say this. I had a sonicare for many years before switching to Oral B. I wouldn't switch back.

[shaynaatl]

I used to have Soniccare but moved to Oral B at my dentist's recommendation. I think both work well though.

[caramia17]

Jul 23, 2013 15:38:19 GMT -5 zelda25 said:

Jul 23, 2013 14:45:33 GMT -5 caramia17 said:

Only the oscillating, rotating toothbrush (Oral B Professional Care) has been shown to be better than manual toothbrush for plaque removal. No other electric toothbrush has.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15190692

What do you mean gum decay? Gum recession? Periodontal disease?

Impeccable oral hygiene is important regardless, but please consider seeing a periodontist if you have periodontal disease.

If recession is an issue, I also recommend getting the Professional Series Oral B as it has a light on the display that shows if you are pushing too hard (i.e. white-knuckling the toothbrush). And I would ask for an examination of the amount of fixed (attached gingiva) gum tissue at the areas of recession. That can be a predictor of future susceptibility to recession.

Please check with your dentist/periodontist about your individual needs.

You're a dentist, right? Are you compensated for plugging Oral B?

The study is almost 10 years old and I can't tell from the abstract if Sonicare was even part of the study. I'd be a lot more interested in a (recent) Sonicare vs. oscillating electric study.  

My personal experience is that Sonicare is the bomb.

I am a dentist. I get no compensation from Oral B or Sonicare. That is a Cochrane Review, which is an independent meta-analysis and the highest level of research evidence. I don't recommend one or the other for plaque removal. Just stating a fact that the current research supports the oscillating, rotating mechanism of mechanical toothbrush. It is a pretty weak advantage (as you can see in the article) The sonic toothbrush mechanism of mechanical toothbrush (produced by both Oral B and Sonicare) as well as rotary toothbrushes (Rotadent, Crest Spinbrush, etc.) were also included.

Here is an additional analysis:

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15846633

A more recent Cochrane Review showed no difference between modes of power toothbrushing with regards to gingival health and plaque retention.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21154357

Also, with research on mechanical toothbrushes, one has to consider the Hawthorne effect, which is that when someone gets a new "toy", for lack of a better term, they like to play with it and do better/spend more time/etc., but this slowly slips away, so studies less than 6 months may show a difference, but the effect may wear off around 6 months.

[caramia17]

Jul 23, 2013 16:35:44 GMT -5 cransplash said:

caramia17- I meant gum recession. Fixed original post.

Whichever one you get, make sure that it has a mechanism for letting you know if you are pushing too hard.

The top of the line Sonicare (Diamondclean) and the Oral B Professional Series do. The Sonicare stutters and stops vibrating when you push, the Oral B Professional series lights up on the display and stutters/stops rotating. The lower tier mechanical toothbrushes do not. Just be aware that because the brush heads are smaller, you may be able to apply more pressure than a manual brush. You have to brush differently. If you can bring whichever one you choose into your dentists' office and have your dentist/hygienist go over it with you that can be really helpful. At least bring it with to your next appointment.

[cransplash]

Jul 23, 2013 17:41:28 GMT -5 caramia17 said:

Jul 23, 2013 16:35:44 GMT -5 cransplash said:

caramia17- I meant gum recession. Fixed original post.

Whichever one you get, make sure that it has a mechanism for letting you know if you are pushing too hard.

The top of the line Sonicare (Diamondclean) and the Oral B Professional Series do. The Sonicare stutters and stops vibrating when you push, the Oral B Professional series lights up on the display and stutters/stops rotating. The lower tier mechanical toothbrushes do not. Just be aware that because the brush heads are smaller, you may be able to apply more pressure than a manual brush. You have to brush differently. If you can bring whichever one you choose into your dentists' office and have your dentist/hygienist go over it with you that can be really helpful. At least bring it with to your next appointment.

Thank you for the detailed description. I ended up purchasing the Sonicare FlexClean before I read this post- and now I can't tell if it has the "stop if you're pressing too hard" mechanism. Trying to look it up on Amazon, which is where I purchased it.

How do I brush it differently? I would take it to my dentist, but I just left there this morning (the dental tech who cleaned my teeth recommended I get an electric one).

[Deleted]

My dentist recommends an electric toothbrush and particularly likes the sonicare. I've been using it since the beginning of the year and they noticed a big difference at my last appointment. It took a little getting used to, but I really like it now and it feels really weird using a manual toothbrush.

[caramia17]

As far as I can tell, it does not have a pressure gauge. You can call Phillips customer service and check.

You need much less force with a mechanical toothbrush. Let the brush do the work. It really is much easier to show someone than to tell, but you want to angle the brush at a 45 degree angle with the bristles to the gum line so that they go slightly under the gums. Do not move the toothbrush, let the bristles and vibration do the work. Move the brush to the next area. Aim for 3 seconds of brushing per quadrant. That toothbrush does have a timer to alert you to move to another area.

Be aware that the brushing technique I described may not be best for your recession area and areas with minimal attached gingiva.

I will actually have an oral hygiene appointment with patients where we go over this kind of thing so that we can customize their oral hygiene routine to their needs. Your dentist may have the same thing, if you a still thinking about which one is best or feeling like you aren't optimizing the brush you chose.

Good luck!

[cransplash]

Jul 23, 2013 19:11:03 GMT -5 caramia17 said:

As far as I can tell, it does not have a pressure gauge. You can call Phillips customer service and check.

You need much less force with a mechanical toothbrush. Let the brush do the work. It really is much easier to show someone than to tell, but you want to angle the brush at a 45 degree angle with the bristles to the gum line so that they go slightly under the gums. Do not move the toothbrush, let the bristles and vibration do the work. Move the brush to the next area. Aim for 3 seconds of brushing per quadrant. That toothbrush does have a timer to alert you to move to another area.

Be aware that the brushing technique I described may not be best for your recession area and areas with minimal attached gingiva.

I will actually have an oral hygiene appointment with patients where we go over this kind of thing so that we can customize their oral hygiene routine to their needs. Your dentist may have the same thing, if you a still thinking about which one is best or feeling like you aren't optimizing the brush you chose.

Good luck!

Thanks- I ended up ordering the Sonicare Platinum and it has the pressure gauge.

[hbomdiggity]

My sonicare is ancient, but I much prefer to anything else. It has greatly improved my gums and overall oral hygiene. H has oral b and I don't think it does as well.

[drmattwilson]

Currently I have Sonicare DiamondClean. It's a top model from Sonicare and my third sonic toothbrush. My wife has Oral B Precision Black 7000 which is a top model from Oral B, so I had the privilege of trying them both. I found Precision Black 7000 to be too aggressive for my taste and my wife says DiamondClean doesn't give her same feeling of freshness.

Don't read studies, there are more than 250 of them and most are biased in a favor of a specific company (Braun or Philips of course). If oscillating / rotating technology is the only one proven to be better with plaque removal than manual toothbrush (Braun claimed that until recently), than why did Braun start to produce sonic (vibrating) toothbrushes again in 2013? It makes no sense. Oscillating technology has been also proven to be too harsh on enamel in some of those studies.

I'm going to say that both are equally good and choosing between them is a choice of preference. I prefer sonic technology, but if I bought an oscillating toothbrush right at the start, I would probably like those better. Both brands have models that can be compared by their price, but Oral B brush heads are cheaper. I believe Sonicare has the edge with cheaper toothbrushes (below $60).

[kalil]

I use a Sonicare Diamond and I <3 it. I work in a dental office and it's what our dentists recommend.

[glitzy07]

caramia17 Can I threadjack and ask for your take on the Sonicare Airfloss? www.sonicare.com/professional/en_us/OurProducts/AirFloss.aspx

I saw this at Costco the other day and was intrigued. H's uncle is our dentist so I can also ask him, but worth it? I'm terrible about flossing and really need to be better. This may have the same effect that you mentioned earlier about the new "toy" that you play with a lot in the beginning.