# Ratings for electric toothbrushes

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ratings-for-electric-toothbrushes/202384>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 18, 2003, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ratings-for-electric-toothbrushes/202384 "2003-09-18T15:00:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2003, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ratings-for-electric-toothbrushes/202384/1 "2003-09-18T15:00:00Z")

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Does anyone know where I can find comparisons for electric toothbrushes – it seems there are dozens on the market these days. I checked out the Consumer Reports site and they have no reports on them.

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**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2003, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ratings-for-electric-toothbrushes/202384/2 "2003-09-18T15:11:57Z")

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Check out [this](http://www.consumersearch.com/www/family/powered_toothbrushes/reviews.html)

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**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2003, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ratings-for-electric-toothbrushes/202384/3 "2003-09-18T16:57:01Z")

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Or [this](http://www.epinions.com/search/?submitted_form=searchbar&search_string=electric+toothbrush&tax_name=&search_vertical=all).

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**Author:** ![Rib\_Eye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/53a042/32.png) [@Rib\_Eye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rib_Eye)\
**Post date:** [September 18, 2003, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ratings-for-electric-toothbrushes/202384/4 "2003-09-18T17:33:20Z")

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fotw: Study: Most Electric Toothbrushes No Better than Manual Ones

About 55 million Americans use electric toothbrushes, but a new study finds that only one type works better than the old-fashioned, manual ones.

The Washington Post reports that electric toothbrushes with bristles that spin in both directions are the only ones that offer an advantage over the manual type. An example of that type is the Braun Oral-B device, made by Gillette Co. The company says Oral-B is used by 41 percent of electric toothbrush users.

The report was conducted by the Cochrane Collaboration of Oxford, England, which periodically issues studies on medical devices whose worth hasn’t been proven.

Other models studied included the Philips Sonicare, the Interplak, the Teledyne Aqua Tech, the Ultrasonex, the Rowenta Dentiphant and the Rowenta Plaque Dentacontrol Plus, the Post reported. They were “not worse, but they were just not any better” than manual brushes, said William Shaw, a professor of orthodontics at the University of Manchester who led the study.