Too lazy to brush

A year ago, at my regular dental checkup, my hygienist suggested that I should look into an electric toothbrush. I've always had good tooth habits, brushing and flossing, but as age creeps up on us, our gums tend to creep away from our teeth.


To asuage this recession, I've been using little wooden (originally) and now plastic Stimudents for several years to massage the gums and keep them virile.





Even this isn't enough any more, and when Charmaine's hygienist told her to look into an electric toothbrush for much the same reason, we bit the bullet. Say hello to our little pal, Oral B.

And check out how "youthful" the couple in the ad are. I hope we become like them.

This baby vibrates away in our mouths, making our teeth shiny and bright, and our gums healthy and pink. It even runs for two minutes, (the recommended brushing time,) then pulses off and on to let you know you can quit. It isn't without problems, though. Who knew that you could create so much toothpaste foam? We're spitting constantly! And at first, we did it with wide-mouthed excitement, a fine minty cavity fighting mist enveloping our head (and mirror and countertop and shirt.) Another shortcoming is where to plug it in? It has to charge constantly, so now it's clutter on the countertop, and we each have our own detachable brush head, that now makes a sloppy puddle in the medicine cabinet.

The thought of an electric toothbrush always seemed to invoke an image of laziness, something the rich and famous would use, (perhaps in, say Kennebunkport,) but if both our professionals wanted us to use one, so be it.

The history of the electric toothbrush (here's the Wikipedia page) goes back to the late 1800s when a "Dr. Scott" claimed to invent an "electric" toothbrush. The bristles didn't move, it just sent a strong electrical current through the brush to whoever was using it at the time. Ouch!

The first actual electric toothbrush was sold in 1939 in Switzerland, and debuted in the States in 1960.

I found many websites that questioned whether an electric toothbrush actually did anything more for you than regular brushing, but I'm buying the theory that we become complacent in our manual brushing, even lazy, and the electric brush adds renewed vigor to this daily task.