We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Advertiser Disclosure
Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
How We Make Money
We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently of our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Health

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

What is a Professional Toothbrush?

Diane Goettel
By
Updated: May 17, 2024
Views: 6,010
Share

The term "professional toothbrush" is used rather loosely to market and sell toothbrushes. It is meant to indicate that a toothbrush offers the user a tooth cleaning experience that is on par with the kind of experience that one would have in a dentist's office. While some toothbrushes that are labeled as "professional" do use new technology, others are similar to the old manual bristle toothbrushes that most people have been using for decades. A professional toothbrush that does use relatively new technology may be battery-operated or electric and may use a bristle alternative to clean the teeth. Some of these toothbrushes use high-speed vibrations that help to clean the teeth in a way that is either impossible or quite difficult to replicate using a manual toothbrush.

For those who are looking for a professional toothbrush, the best place to start is the dentist's office. Ask for recommendations about the best products on the market. Also, ask the dentist what professional toothbrush really incorporates important new technology. This is a good way to identify a product that really will offer a professional-grade cleaning at home.

A professional toothbrush that does use new technology to offer superior dental cleaning may have a number of features that allow the user to enjoy different kinds of teeth cleaning experiences. Some of these toothbrushes have multiple settings such as daily cleaning, deep cleaning, and whitening. The user can choose the daily cleaning setting on a regular basis just to keep the teeth in good shape. The deep cleaning setting can be used on a semi-regular basis in order to remove plaque build up, even in areas that are difficult to access. A whitening setting is a setting that is used entirely for cosmetic purposes but is nonetheless quite important to some users.

Sometimes a professional toothbrush will also come equipped with a timer. This timer helps to ensure that the professional toothbrush user is spending adequate time cleaning each tooth or each area of the mouth. Some of these toothbrushes claim to have capabilities that replace dental flossing. These claims should be met with suspicion as most dentists assert that, no matter what kind of toothbrush one uses, flossing is an important part of daily dental hygiene. This sort of feature may help to get the areas between the teeth as clean as possible, but might not be able to clean between the teeth as well as floss can.

Share
WiseGeek is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.
Diane Goettel
By Diane Goettel
"Diane Goettel has a BA from Sarah Lawrence College and an MA in English from Brooklyn College. Diane lives in Mount Vernon, New York with her husband, Noah. They are the proud parents of a Doberman Pinscher named Spoon. Specialties: book editing, book marketing, book publishing, freelance writing, magazine publishing, magazine writing, copywriting,"

Editors' Picks

Discussion Comments
By stoneMason — On Jul 23, 2014

I think that there are some very good toothbrushes out there now. They have different mechanisms of cleaning and can be electric or manual. The bristles also come with a variety of shapes and sizes to get into the creases of teeth and remove plaque buildup.

There are even ionic toothbrushes that use positive ions to attract and remove plaque, stains or food particles. So although brushing with a professional toothbrush may not be the equivalent of a dentist visit, one can get a very good oral cleaning this way. The use of the term "professional" doesn't bother me at all for this reason.

There are also people who don't want to or can't make it to an annual cleaning at the dentist's office. So I think that regularly brushing with a professional toothbrush can be an acceptable alternative.

By fBoyle — On Jul 22, 2014

Why aren't the terms used on various products supervised more closely? What's so professional about a toothbrush? It's not like the cleaning gadgets dentists use.

By ddljohn — On Jul 22, 2014

I don't see how any toothbrush will provide a cleaning experience that's on par with a professional cleaning at the dentist's office. The term "professional" on brushes just means that this brush is just a tiny bit better than a regular, flat bristled brush. Some electric brushes do clean better, but I don't think that they ought to be called "professional" either.

So although I do use a "professional" toothbrush, I know that I still need to go in for a cleaning at my dentist's office once or twice a year.

Diane Goettel
Diane Goettel
"Diane Goettel has a BA from Sarah Lawrence College and an MA in English from Brooklyn College. Diane lives in Mount...
Learn more
Share
https://www.wisegeek.net/what-is-a-professional-toothbrush.htm
Copy this link
WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.