 Hello everybody. As a dental hygienist one of the more common questions that I get asked are is an electric toothbrush really better than a manual toothbrush and which one should I use? So whether you are a child, adult, a senior, this is actually a different answer depending on the condition of your mouth. We will start with children. So I've been in a dental profession for 18 years now. I've had my own mobile dental hygiene practice for since about 2018 where I go into patients' homes to clean their teeth and children love this because they don't have to go to a dental office, see all of those scary things per se, hear all of those scary sounds. They love having their teeth cleaned in their own home and tooth brushing always comes up. So if a child has a lot of plaque, their teeth don't look as good as they should. Maybe they have a lot of cavities. It doesn't matter what the age is, but I start with their toothbrush. Are they brushing well? First of all, are they brushing twice a day? If they say they are, but they still have a lot of plaque, are they brushing well enough? And it might be the toothbrush they are using. Whether it's a manual toothbrush or an electric, if they don't like their toothbrush or they're not using it properly, they're still going to have plaque on their teeth. So if they're using a manual toothbrush, but I do see a lot of plaque, I like to show them how to brush their teeth. If they're actually doing a good job, then it just might be the toothbrush that isn't right for them. So then an electric toothbrush would be better for them. Sometimes you kind of have to go back and forth and every child is different. I've had some children who love the electric toothbrush so much, they brush more often because they're excited to brush their teeth. But I've also had other children that switch to an electric and they don't like it. They don't like how it feels on their teeth. So then they actually stop brushing all together. So don't ever force them to use something that maybe scares them a little bit or they don't like how it feels. You want to make toothbrushing not a chore. It is a chore. We all know that, but we try whatever we can to make it not so. So then maybe a manual toothbrush is better for them. Same for adults. I personally use an electric toothbrush and a manual. So I like to go back and forth. I don't know if this is a thing, but I kind of feel like my teeth get used to a certain brush and then they don't feel it's clean over time. So then I switch back to either the manual or electric and then my teeth feel better. So I do like to use a little bit of both. The thing about electric is it does do the hard work for you. So if you have somebody who's lazy and might brush for 10 seconds, then an electric might be better for them because you just have to hold the toothbrush against the teeth and it does the spinning motion for you. But a manual toothbrush, you have to physically do that to get the plaque off. If you're just simply doing this, trust me, it's not working very well and you will still have plaque on the teeth. But even with the electric, if you are very, very quick with it, it's at least spinning on its own and it can get in there a little bit easier. But I will quickly add, you do not need the $500 electric toothbrush either. Go on Amazon. I will leave some links for you down below. You can get an electric toothbrush for $30 that I promise you works just as well as those more expensive electric toothbrushes. Those more expensive electric toothbrushes, they might be a certain color or they might charge faster or just look nicer. But who cares unless you want those things. If you want it to hook up to your cell phone so it keeps track of things, then you will be spending $300 on an electric toothbrush. But if you don't care, you just want an electric toothbrush that does a good job. A $30 one from Amazon is fine. But make sure it's chargeable. Do not get a battery-powered electric toothbrush. The batteries do not work over time and the power just doesn't stay the same. If it's too low power, even an electric toothbrush won't be doing anything for you. You're better off using manual. The same that goes for kids. I hate to tell you guys, but those battery-powered, cheaper electric toothbrushes do not work well enough. Throw them out, get a rechargeable one for your child. That's what I highly recommend or have them use a manual. So it really depends on what your mouth looks like and what you'd like to use. If you prefer the electric toothbrush, you're kind of more excited to brush your teeth each time than use that. The same goes for toothpaste, especially for kids. Pick the toothpaste that they want to use. So I hope this helps you guys. If you have any questions, please comment below. I'm going to leave some links down below for you too. If you want to look at Amazon toothbrushes, electric toothbrushes that are so much cheaper, and I'm going to also link the manual toothbrush, that is my absolute favorite. It is ultra soft and comes in many different fun colors. If you're ever a patient of mine, I will always give you a nice free toothbrush at every single appointment, and I've had patients actually say to me, can I purchase extra ones? I would love to give them to family members, because this is the best toothbrush I've ever had. And they're talking about a manual one. So I'm going to link that one down below too. Let me know though, if any questions, I am very happy to help. And thank you guys so much for watching.