Which Toothbrush Should You Buy?

Consumer product reps are always welcome in dental offices. They always bring gifts of toothbrushes, coupons, floss, and fluoride. The most important item they carry is information. Recently, the new Oral-B (www.oralb.com) rep for Malden, Massachusetts, paid a call. Michael Garvey is a senior account manager. His job is to educate dental office staff on the advantages of Oral-B products. Oral-B's continued dominance of the toothbrush market depends on Mike's effectiveness.

Mike begins his presentation over lunch with a discussion of Oral-B's history and mission. Dr. Robert Hutson, a periodontist (gum specialist) founded the company in the 1950's. His design for a soft bristle toothbrush with smooth filaments is the basis for all of the company's toothbrush products. Gillette, already the parent company of Braun, bought Oral-B in 1984. Braun and Oral-B began to work together to design powered toothbrushes. Today, Oral-B is the top retail toothbrush. The company offers a wide range of manual and powered toothbrushes, floss, fluoride products, and other dental hygiene products. Oral-B aims to produce the best oral care products for dental professionals to recommend to patients.

The most important question for a dentist is which toothbrush design to recommend to patients. Mike's answer is simple. Oral-B feels that research shows that the power toothbrush is superior to manual brushing. Oral-B has always made articles available to dentists that demonstrate the superiority of their brushes. Mike quotes a new study by an independent, British research organization, "The Cochrane Collaboration" (www.cochrane.org). The Cochrane Collaboration reviewed many research projects that compared manual to electric toothbrushes. They found that the non-sonic style of powered brush made by Oral-B is proven more effective than other powered or manual brushes. (Robinson, et. al., The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2005 Issue 3) The results of this study have been widely reported in the print and electronic media.