Hello, and thanks for reading my first official product review blog post. I was given a Dr. Tung’s Ionic Toothbrush to try among other Dr. Tung’s products. With the toothbrush came a double blind study done by some professors at Marquette University Dental School. I’ve never heard of an ionic toothbrush so this was certainly an interesting product for me to try.
Here’s the study for those of you who like reading this stuff:
First, the toothbrush itself looks very similar to other designs out there except there is a metal band across the middle of the handle. The bristles are very soft which is what I recommend for my clients because harder bristles can wear down the enamel over time. There are two sets of bristles, a larger more dense group and a less dense but longer set of bristles in between. Other than that, the toothbrush is a standard size and weight.
However, the outside appearance hides the fact that this toothbrush changes the polarity of the teeth through a small electric charge generated by a 3V lithium watch battery in the handle. Once the toothbrush is activated by touching the metal portion of the toothbrush, ions flow from the battery to the teeth changing the charge from a negative to a positive charge. Why is this important? Teeth are normally negatively charged and plaque is positively charged. That’s one of the reasons why plaque loves sticking to teeth. So if the tooth becomes positively charged, it will help repel the plaque since positive repels positive and negative repels negative (think of playing with magnets when you were little and how the would stick or repel each other depending on how you held them). The toothbrush is negatively charged so it will also attract the positively charged plaque too. Sorry about the science lesson here but I just wanted to let you know that the science behind it sounds legitimate. I wanted to know though if I felt any difference using this toothbrush myself.
So, I’ve used this toothbrush exclusively for a week now brushing twice a day. But before I go over my experience with the Ionic Brush I’d like to tell you my normal brushing habits. I’m normally an electric toothbrush user and am pleased with the cleaning action of my current toothbrush. I brush twice a day, once in the morning after breakfast and once before bed for approximately two and a half minutes every session. My electric toothbrush does a good job of removing plaque but I notice the decline of plaque removal as the bristles wear out. And I must admit, on occasion I still notice tiny sections of plaque on my teeth sometimes after using my electric brush. That’s to be expected, that’s one of the reasons why I recommend cleanings at least every six months which help remove those missed spots of plaque which turn into tartar or hardened calculus.
After my first brushing with the Ionic Toothbrush, I immediately noticed my teeth felt very clean and plaque free. However, I think I brushed for over two and half minutes (my normal brushing time) because I wanted to be extra thorough. Since I’ve been an electric brush user for years now, I had to make sure I had the proper brushing technique down since I’ve been “out of practice” for awhile. But as my routine switched to normal, I still noticed that my teeth felt extra clean after every brushing session. And after a week’s use, I can confidently say that I do notice a difference in plaque removal. So I’m very confident that the positive results from the study are accurate.
I did have my hand tire from trying to brush with my thumb resting right on the metal band. It’s not my normal grip on a toothbrush and until I switched grips and had my palm touch the band, it was straining on my thumb. The instructions did say that any part of the hand could touch the metal band but for some reason I kept wanting to put my thumb there. Once I changed my grip and had my palm touch the metal everything is fine now. I guess I should have went against my natural instinct and just adapted my grip from the beginning. The toothbrush is more expensive than your standard manual toothbrush but I feel with the higher plaque removal, it’s a fantastic toothbrush choice for those who want maximum plaque removal. I give this product my 100% recommendation, you can visit www.drtungs.com to get more information on the product and to see where you can purchase one. These shortcomings I mention are very minor compared to the benefits received, after all brushing your teeth is done to remove plaque so why not use a tool that’s superior in that job?
On a final note, I don’t get paid anything for this endorsement, it’s just a product given to me to test and this review is my honest unbiased opinion.