Metal Mouth Message Board

I've always had issues properly brushing my teeth with an adult toothbrush, even with a compact head. I always felt like I was missing whole areas, since the toothbrush hits two or three teeth at a time. I also have a really hard time getting an adult toothbrush far enough into my mouth to brush the outside face of my molars.

Someone in this forum recommended the STAGES Stage III child's toothbrush, so I figured I'd try it. I love it! It's small enough that I can really get into all the crevices and odd shapes around and between teeth, it's soft enough that it's not uncomfortable to use, and it's shaped really well for dealing with braces and gaps.

I also got a plain straight-cut child's toothbrush to keep at work (less expensive) and I also like that better than adult toothbrushes. But the Stage III is my favorite!

I don't know if a child's toothbrush labeled "soft" is in fact any softer than an adult's toothbrush labeled "soft". I do know that it's easy to find ones labeled "extra soft" for children, while not so easy to find the same label in adult sizes.

For me it's more a size thing, though the "extra soft" makes me less concerned about accidentally damaging something if I brush too vigorously.

Karen, that's the 2nd mention I've read here about the ortho heads for oral B electric toothbrushes. I haven't seen them anywhere around here, do you know if they can be found online? I use the extra soft heads right now, and it works great! But I am very curious about these "ortho heads". Thanks!

I've got a braun/oral b electric brush already, and just found the brushheads at drugstore.com!
http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod. ... T-0-SEARCH

Both Target and amazon were out, but you're right, they're still about $10 a pop. Thanks BUNCHES, this forum is so great.

Hmm, scratch that I think I spoke too soon, that's the interdental head, which would work, but not the ortho head. I did just find the ortho head on amazon, it didn't come up in my first search! Look at this deal, both interdental and orthoheads together:
http://www.amazon.com/Oral-B-BraceCare- ... 948&sr=1-3

Awesome! I ended up ordering that 4-pack set of heads. At my last adjustment the first thing the assistant said was "wow, you're doing a great job brushing. Do you have an electric toothbrush?" Yep! I have for years, I love the smaller size even before I had braces. So I suppose I don't "need" the ortho heads, but it will certainly be easier to wield around the nooks and crannies, and I can use the interdental as my nighttime big clean between the brackets. I expect to get an A1++ at my next adjustment, haha!

But, another thought: I was going through the oral b extra soft heads pretty quickly because the braces were so abrasive to the bristles. How soft are the ortho heads, do they stand up a bit better to metal?

That makes sense, and pretty much echoes my routine. The brush the ortho gave me with a built-in little interdental brush on the handle wore out long ago! Can't wait to get my package from amazon, I think it shipped yesterday!

Has anyone tried the OralB battery operated toothbrushes you can get at the drugstores/Target, etc? I have one but it seems to be kind of "fast" and I'm afraid I'm going to hurt something. I wonder if the ortho heads would work on this toothbrush even though it is not the electric one. I think it takes the same type replacement heads as all other OralB powered toothbrushes. I've been using children's toothbrushes for all of my cleanings just because I feel like I have more control due to its size and it is very soft.