What’s the best electric toothbrush to reduce gum disease?

If you've been reading our work for a bit, you have probably come across our 2 part series that explores the question, "Are electric toothbrushes or manual toothbrushes better?".

And while we still love our not-fancy-but-effective Bass toothbrushes, if you find that you just don't have the time to manually get your teeth as clean as you'd like or have some physical challenge that compromises your manual dexterity, we may have found the solution for you…

 

Our embarrassing personal introduction to this electric brush…

Last year, a company reached out to us saying, "Hey, we see that you educate the public about the Bass Brushing Technique. Would you like to try out our electric toothbrush that uses the Bass Technique?"

It sounded good at first, then my 'judgment alert' rang loudly.

The name of the toothbrush: 30 Second Smile.

"Ugg", I thought, "The recommended 2 minutes for brushing is already such a short amount of time. Now there's a company that suggests that we can get our teeth clean in 30 seconds???"

I mean, after all, we've written an article arguing that 2 minutes isn't enough time to get your teeth clean.

One member of our family was willing to give it a try, so we accepted the gift.

It came and sat on my desk for weeks as I silently judged the preposterousness of getting your teeth clean in 30 seconds.

Until, of course, the family member was willing to use the brush. She found that she not only liked it, but she felt it got her teeth cleaner than she was able to achieve using manual Bass brush! That was when the humble pie began to hit me in the face.

It was at that point that I decided to take a closer look and formed as unbiased a view as I could of this electric toothbrush.

(Full disclosure, parents, the axiom 'you can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink' definitely applies when it comes to children and brushing teeth.  We can model good habits, encourage, cajole, demand, beg, whatever.  But ultimately, it's our children's choice whether they want to walk the path to taking responsibility for their oral health.)

 

Impressive clinical study results…

In one clinical study, the 30 Second Smile brush went head-to-head with a Sonicare toothbrush. Researchers tested to see which toothbrush helped reduce gingival inflammation, plaque index, and number of bleed points (all measurements that are commonly used in dentistry for quantifying gum disease). The 30 Second Smile brush outperformed across the board.

An important point…

Like many studies, half of the participants used one brush and half used the other. Both groups were told to use the brush twice per day.

But (and it's a big but in this case), the participants using the 30 Second Smile brush were instructed to only use their brush for 30 seconds for each brushing. Meanwhile, the participants using Sonicare were instructed to use their brush for 2 minutes for each brushing.

In other words, the 30 Second Smile brush outperformed a Sonicare brushing in 1/4 of the brushing time.

This really doesn't surprise me because we know the Bass Brushing Technique is specifically looking to address gum disease. If you're not familiar with the story of Dr Bass, check out our article and video tutorial, "how to brush your teeth to reduce gum disease" here.

If you'd like to read the whole clinical trial article, here's the link.

 

2 year warranty…

I'm also really pleased that the company behind this brush solution offers a no-questions-asked 2 year warranty on the product.  Unlike other electric toothbrushes where we like the brush but don't care for the company, the company behind the 30 Second Smile brush backs up their products with a solid warranty.

 

Various applications

We see several potential applications for this toothbrush solution:

1. Anyone with Parkinson's disease or MS or any health challenge that compromises our ability to brush well
2. For those adults who just don't have the time on a daily basis to clean their teeth like they know is best
3. For young children who lack the fine muscle control required to perform Bass brushing correctly

 

Does this mean I can 'just' use this brush?

Not so fast there–nothing can replace you taking control of your oral health.

The fact is, each of us must soberly become the MVP (most valuable person) on our path to health/wellness. No product innovation, gadget or new supplement is ever going to allow us to 'set and forget' when it comes to our oral (or whole body) health.

However, if you find that your life is so full right now that you're just not able to make the time to give your mouth the regular cleaning it really deserves, this brush may help.

Yes, we still encourage each of us to take a moment to 'hack' our lives to create more space/time for our individual needs. But we get it. Sometimes life is just so full that it's all we can do to stay the course and wait for calmer waters.

 

Discount for OraWellness community

If you want to check out the 30 Second Smile brush, the company has extended a really great offer for our community.

They have offered to give you 23% off their retail price. To get the discount, just use the coupon code orawellness (all lowercase) to get your special pricing.

You can learn more about the 30 Second Smile brush here.

(Affiliate disclosure fine print:  Yes, the company behind this helpful toothbrush does give us an affiliate commission if you purchase a toothbrush from them.  We asked them to just give you the extra discount, but they insisted that we get a little something for our effort to share their solution with you.)

 

Helpful, Related Resources:

Electric vs Manual Brushing: Which is better? (part 1) [article]
Electric vs Manual Brushing: Which is better? (part 2) [article]
OraWellness Bass toothbrushes
FAQ: "How long should I brush my teeth?" [article]
How to brush your teeth to reduce gum disease

30 Second Smile toothbrush site

 

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