When I was in dental school, I was trained to teach people the proper technique for brushing:Spend 30 seconds on each quadrant of your mouth and angle the brush in the appropriate way, making sure to hit the area where the gums meet the teeth.

Back in the 70's, there were very few types of toothbrushes on the market. But, today, as you walk down the oral care aisle of any supermarket or drug store, you'll see up to 50 different types of toothbrush styles, with varying handles, bristles, colors, etc. It can be extremely confusing. However, for the most part, it's safe to say that "A toothbrush is a toothbrush". As long as you are using a soft, nylon-bristled brush, you're in pretty good shape.

The one glaringly obvious exception to this rule is when we're talking about a "power toothbrush."

The manufacturers of power toothbrushes claim that they have plenty of studies that show that their power toothbrush will remove more plaque (and volatile sulfur compounds!) than brushing by hand.

Now, is it possible to get the same results with a manual toothbrush? Absolutely, but the reality is that most people are lazy brushers, and you can't make as many strokes in such a short period of time as you can with a power toothbrush.

Now, to take that even one step further, with the advent of technology it's now possible to brush with a "sonic" toothbrush, whose "sonic" waves can literally help blast away even more plaque and bacterial debris.

So what exactly do I like about the Waterpik Sensonic Toothbrush? Simple - it does an incredibly effective job at cleaning your teeth, while still being gentle on the gums and easy to use.

When I first opened up the Sensonic to try it out, I was pleasantly surprised with the "heft" of the toothbrush. It wasn't too big or bulky, but it had a good, professional feel. To me, it felt as if I had a professional dental instrument in my hand.

Included are 2 different brush heads and they are color-coded (in case you're sharing your brush with another person such as a spouse or child.)

My first use was extremely easy - you just have to let the unit charge for a while, but it really was as simple as plugging it in, puting on a brush head, and starting.

The toothbrush is controlled by a single button in the middle of the device that selects
3 different "levels" of speed:

1. Off
2. Low (for gentle cleaning and gum massage)
3. High (for superior plaque removal)

Pressing the button simply toggles between those 3 levels of speeds.

One nice feature was the built-in timer with a short automatic pause after 30-seconds (a reminder to start brushing your next quadrant!). This toothbrush automatically turns off after 2 minutes (i.e. 4, 30-second intervals).

I have my own suspicions on what percent of people will be able to consistently brush for the entire 2 minutes (I'm guessing less than 15% of you!), however the reality is that although you SHOULD brush for 2 minutes, any amount of brushing at all with this toothbrush is better than none.

I do have one word of warning for you, and that is to make sure you turn off the toothbrush while the bristles are still inside your mouth! The Sensonic moves so quickly, that if you pull the toothbrush out of your mouth while it is still on, you will fling small droplets of toothpaste all over your bathroom mirror!


Oh, one more thing: Studies show that using a power toothbrush with "old-fashioned" toothpaste (the kind that contains sodium lauryl sulfate) will create more foam than a rabid dog. This will definitely make you stop brushing in about 9 seconds. So, if you're still not a TheraBreath (or any of our other) toothpaste user, now is the time.