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In the recently released sequel, she’s upgraded to a power toothbrush:
Now, when we saw that scene in the cinema, let’s just say it produced a bit of a reaction. Just as a musician might cringe upon seeing someone pretend to play an instrument but get the fingering wrong, dentists and dental workers may cringe at the sight of someone aggressively scrubbing their teeth with a power brush.
So while Andy has updated her toothbrush, she hasn’t updated her technique.
A power toothbrush isn’t designed to be pushed back and forth like a manual brush. In many cases, the brush head is already making thousands of cleaning movements every minute on its own.
With a manual toothbrush, its effectiveness depends almost totally on you, You create the cleaning motion. You determine the pressure. You decide whether you’re spending enough time in each quadrant of your mouth. If you’re distracted, rushing, or brushing too aggressively, the toothbrush simply goes along for the ride.
Powered toothbrushes work differently.
Many models use oscillating, rotating, sonic, or vibrating movements to handle most of the cleaning action. Rather than scrubbing, you just need to guide the brush slowly from tooth to tooth and let the brush head do its thing.
For manual brushing, there are actually several recognized techniques, and dental professionals don’t agree on every detail. Still, most share a few common principles:
- Use a soft-bristled toothbrush.
- Hold your brush at a 45-degree angle toward the gumline.
- Use gentle pressure.
- Make small, controlled movements instead of energetically scrubbing back and forth or up and down.
Note that whether you’re using a manual brush or a powered one, brushing harder isn’t necessarily brushing better. In fact, brushing too aggressively can contribute to gum recession and tooth sensitivity over time.
Still, the question remains for a lot of people: Is one type of toothbrush better than another?
Kinda sorta.
Researchers reviewing dozens of individual studies — including in reviews from 2024 and 2025 — have generally found that powered toothbrushes do better than manual brushes when it comes to plaque removal. Some have also found modest advantages in measures of gingival (gum) health.
Yet this doesn’t mean that manual toothbrushes don’t work.. They absolutely do. It’s just that the overall patterns observed among large groups of people suggest that power brushes tend to have a small but consistent edge.
This isn’t because powered brushes are magic. What they do is reduce the need for mindful technique. Many include timers that encourage the user to change quadrants every 30 seconds and brush for the recommended two minutes. Some include pressure sensors that let you know when you’re brushing too hard.
A powered toothbrush isn’t just a cleaning tool; it’s also a kind of coaching device.
Most people don’t brush poorly because they want to. Ineffective brushing usually happens when you’re distracted. Or tired. Or just unaware you’re missing certain areas of your mouth when you clean. A toothbrush that can help correct those habits provides an extra advantage.
That advantage may be even more significant for some people. Those with arthritis, hand injuries, tremors, limited mobility, or other dexterity challenges often find it easier to brush effectively with a power toothbrush than a manual one. In such situations, the difference between that and a manual brush may be much more meaningful than for someone with good manual dexterity.
That’s why we’re hesitant to declare an outright winner in the long-standing battle of toothbrush types. A person with excellent technique and a manual toothbrush can absolutely maintain excellent oral health. Many people do. At the same time, the evidence in favor of powered brushes suggest that they may be the better choice for other people.
We know it’s not an especially thrilling conclusion, but ultimately, the best toothbrush is the one you use correctly and consistently. If that’s a powered toothbrush, great. If it’s a manual toothbrush, that’s fine, too.
What matters most isn’t whether the toothbrush has a battery. It’s whether it helps you clean your teeth effectively, twice a day, day after day.
FAQs:
1. Is an electric toothbrush better than a manual toothbrush?
2. What is the proper way to brush my teeth?
3. Does the type of toothbrush I use really matter?
