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Are Ionic toothbrushes better at cleaning than a normal toothbrush?

Mitch Avatar By: Mitch | Last updated October 10, 2021

toothbrush over a nice sink


The toothbrush as we know it today has been around for decades. And there are lots of people that still use it for their day-to-day dental care. While there are improvements to the brushes and the overall design of the toothbrush, for the most part, it remains the same throughout the world. 

The major improvements come in the form of an electric toothbrush. It is a toothbrush that is equipped with a motor and specially-made brush heads that could produce a different variety of brushing motions. For a long time, this is hailed as the best kind of toothbrush out there. 

But even an electric toothbrush, with all of its bells and whistles, couldn't totally get rid of your plaque. And that is when an ionic toothbrush finally came along. A new kind of toothbrush that has been proven by experts and regular people alike to be the best option for our dental care. 

So, are ionic toothbrushes really better at cleaning teeth than a normal toothbrush? What is an ionic toothbrush anyway? How does it work? This brief article would give answers to those questions.

What is an ionic toothbrush?

Before you decide whether or not an ionic toothbrush is better than the normal ones, you need to know what exactly is an ionic toothbrush. An ionic toothbrush is a toothbrush that utilizes the chemistry principle of ionic bonds to affect the polarity of the charges in your teeth and the plaques. 

The polarity of the teeth is charged with negative ions while the plaques are charged with positive ions. And for ionic bonds, just like a magnet, opposites attract each other. That's why plaques are naturally attracted to your teeth. And that is also why no matter how hard you brush your teeth, as long as the opposite polarity exists, you could not totally clear the plaques from your teeth. 

When in use, an ionic toothbrush is charged with negative ions. And similar to math, negative to negative would result in positive. That's why when the toothbrush comes in contact with your teeth, it would turn its polarity into positively charged. And if opposite attracts, then identical ions would repel each other. 

So because the toothbrush changes the polarity of your teeth to positive, it will naturally repel the plaques that are also positively charged. And since the toothbrush is negatively charged, it will attract the plaques that are repelled from your teeth to the brush. 

Are ionic toothbrushes better at cleaning than a normal toothbrush?

Now that you know what an ionic toothbrush is, then the answer to that question is clear. The answer is yes, an ionic toothbrush is better at cleaning your teeth and removing the plaque than a normal toothbrush. 

Unlike a normal toothbrush that simply tries to scrape off the plaques from your teeth as hard as it can, an ionic toothbrush utilizes a chemical reaction to totally repel the plaques. When brushing it off the old way, there will be plaques that are still left due to their ionic bond. But the method that ionic toothbrushes use would make it possible to cleanly and totally remove the plaques.

Advantages of using an ionic toothbrush over a normal toothbrush

More effective cleaning is not the only advantage an ionic toothbrush has over normal ones or even an electric toothbrush. There are also other reasons that make an ionic toothbrush superior to any other types of toothbrush that come before it. 

  1. One of the biggest advantages of an ionic toothbrush over normal ones is the health of your gums and nerves. A brushing motion utilizes friction to scrape off the plaques and the more powerful the brushing motion, the greater the risk of harm to the gum and the nerves. An Ionic toothbrush requires you to only use minimal force when brushing your teeth with it. As long as the brush could get into contact with the teeth, the ionic bonds could be affected. Therefore, there's little to no potential harm to your gum and nerves.
  2. An electric toothbrush has a motor that powers the moving parts at the tip of the brush. In order to house all of these mechanical components, an electric toothbrush has to be bulky and rather heavy. Ionic toothbrushes, on the other hand, only consist of a small lithium battery inside the handle that is connected to a titanium rod that runs along the length of the toothbrush. That makes the size of the toothbrush only slightly larger than a manual toothbrush, and therefore lighter and much easier to use. 
  3. And finally, there is the fact that you don't necessarily need to use toothpaste when brushing with an ionic toothbrush. To use an ionic toothbrush, all you need to do is simply press your moist finger on the thin metal plate that surrounds the handle of the toothbrush. It would trigger a closed circuit of electricity and turn the polarity of the toothbrush to negatively charge. And that is enough to affect the ionic bonds between your teeth and the plaques. Toothpaste is not a necessary part of the equation. 
Is using an Ionic toothbrush safe?

Yes, using an ionic toothbrush regularly is perfectly safe. There have been numerous studies conducted all over the globe by researchers on dental care regarding the long-term use of Ionic toothbrushes. The majority of them found that ionic toothbrushes significantly remove the plaques and improve overall dental health. 

There's also the aforementioned fact that less friction on an ionic toothbrush means your gum and nerves are less likely to get hurt when you brush. This means using an ionic toothbrush is not only safe for you but also improves your health. In a way, an ionic toothbrush is a much safer option than a normal toothbrush.

Should you use an ionic toothbrush

Yes, you should use an ionic toothbrush. Ionic toothbrushes have been proven by experts and regular users alike to be significantly better at cleaning plaques from your teeth. Not only that, but it is also lighter, easier to use, and more importantly, safer for your gum and nerves. 

Compared to a manual toothbrush or even an electric toothbrush, an ionic toothbrush is superior in every way. So if you still use either of those types as your daily toothbrush, then it is time to try something better. Both to achieve better results and maximize your dental care. It is time to give ionic toothbrushes a try.