Interdental brushes are an essential tool for good oral hygiene. They reach areas that regular toothbrushes can’t, such as the gaps between your teeth and even down into the gum line. This helps to remove food particles and plaque from places that are otherwise hard to reach. Having a clean mouth not only reduces the risk of cavities, but also prevents bad breath.
An interdental brush is used to clean the small spaces between your teeth where dental floss or toothpicks cannot reach. This type of oral hygiene instrument has soft bristles that provide more effective cleaning action than dental floss alone. While most people use it to remove food particles, this tool is also perfect for eliminating plaque and debris that accumulates in these hard-to-reach areas of the mouth. It’s a highly effective tool that helps clean the spaces in between teeth and just below the gum line.
Brushing was once the only known way of removing your plaque. But studies have shown that brushing alone is not effective in maintaining the health of your oral cavity. Depending on the size of your gaps, there are a lot of ways of cleaning between your teeth. Interdental brushing is, by far, the most effective method.
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| Brush Brand | TePe Interdental Brush | Plackers Angle Interdental Brush | Piksters Interdental Brush | DenTek Slim Brush |
| Brush Shape | Tapered | Angled | Straight | Slim |
| Handle Material | Plastic | Plastic | Plastic | Plastic |
| Brush Filaments | Nylon | Nylon | Nylon | Nylon |
| Bristle Firmness | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| Replacement Heads | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Brush Head in Package | Varies | Varies | Varies | Varies |
| Handle Design | Comfortable | Comfortable | Good | Comfortable |
| User Reviews | Good | Good | Good | Good |
| Warranty | Varies | Varies | Varies | Varies |
| Recommended Use | Variety | Variety | Variety | Variety |
| Brush storage case | Not Included | Not Included | Not Included | Not Included |
| Recyclable material | Varies | Varies | Varies | Varies |
| Certifications | Varies | Varies | Varies | Varies |
| Effectiveness | Good | Good | Good | Very Good |
| Durability | Good | Very Good | Good | Good |
| Convenience | Very Good | Good | Good | Good |
| Price | Moderate | Inexpensive | Moderate | Moderate |
Here are the top best interdental brushes that are highly recommended:
You’ve learned how to select a good toothbrush and how to properly brush your teeth, you wash them after each meal, you never go to sleep until everything around you smells like menthol. But, the dentist each time finds a new cavity! Well, here’s the secret … In addition to what we all see when we look in the mirror, the dentist sees something more: the spaces between the teeth. And these are the places where food and bacteria collect as much as elsewhere in the mouth, but they can not be brushed out even with the best toothbrush. Now when we know the cause, it is easy to solve the problem. So, find out more about interdental brushes and how to clean the gaps between your teeth. And start cleaning!
TePe Interdental Brush – Best deal with shipping & cost
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TePe Interdental Brushes is a great alternative for flossing. But if you’re like one of the many who don’t like to floss, or if you have limited dexterity, TePe Interdental Brushes are perfect for you. This is also great to use for people who have tooth concavities, those with wide or oddly shaped embrasures and those people who have areas of food impaction.
If you have limited dexterity, TePe Interdental Brushes comes in with a longer angle. Its brush is also designed easy to use for hard-to-reach posterior areas in your mouth because it is mounted at about 90 degrees. These brushes come with the original and angled versions and both can effectively remove plaque and food debris in tooth concavities and a range of embrasures.
- TePe Interdental Brushes are safe to use around all types of dental restorations because they are coated with a plastic wire.
- They are available in many different sizes so you can find the right size that perfectly suits your embrasure, or maybe use around your implant.
- They are also available in packs of 6, 8 and 25.
- Gentle Care, TePe Interdental Brush’ ultrasoft-bristle version, is perfect for patients who have delicate gums, whether it be due to recent dental procedures or to xerostomia. It’s also ideal to use if you have implants, oral hardware or for patients in orthodontics.
- It costs more than the ordinary dental floss.
- The brushes need to be wet or lubricated first before using.
The TePe Interdental Brush Kit is an easy-to-use dental product meant to improve your oral health.
Plackers Angle Interdental Brushes – best to get to the hard-to-reach areas
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This is another great brand for an interdental brush. If you have braces, Plackers Angle Interdental Brushes are perfect for you. It is angled for comfortable teeth cleaning. It is designed to clean tight spaces, as well as effectively get rid of plaque and food debris. Its grip is engineered for comfort.
It also comes with a flexible brush head with bristles that have durable strength. This enables optimum cleaning results especially in reaching the back part of your teeth. Its high-performance bristles allow it to last cleaning for 10 days or more.
- Brushes are perfectly angled for perfect reach of the back part of your teeth.
- The Little brush is flexible and can be bent to imitate the shape of your teeth.
- They are very sturdy.
- It can perfectly clean the teeth with no bleeding of the gums.
- They are excellent in cleaning tight spaces between your teeth.
- This is considered a straight brush that can easily be bent to reach difficult areas.
- Plackers Angle Interdental Brushes can be a bit flimsy.
- Go-betweens brush is shorter and appears to be more rigid.
- Brushes can break off quickly.
Piksters Interdental Brushes – Great product along with floss and electric toothbrushes
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If you find it difficult and painful to clean your teeth using floss because of your braces, Piksters Interdental Brushes are your best alternative. It is available with different sizes ranging from 0 to 7, depending on your preferred size for easy reach of the back of your teeth. It’s easier to use than floss and is very handy-can even fit in your pocket or purse!
You simply insert the little brushes between the gaps of your teeth, twirl it a few times then remove. It’s gentle on your gums and will feel as if it’s massaging them. Piksters Interdental Brushes are coated with plastic wire making them safe to use for people with implants, bridgework and braces.
- It comes with gentle and durable bristles.
- They are excellent for cleaning difficult, hard-to-reach areas of your teeth.
- Comes in 10 different sizes.
- Almost half the price of some of the leading brands.
- It can be easily rinsed for reuse.
- More cost effective than the disposables.
- The wire stem sometimes snaps off easily.
DenTek Slim Brush, Professional Interdental Cleaners – Recommended by periodontist
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This is a disposable interdental brush which cleans your teeth with ease. It’s an on-the-go compact brush that you can take with you anywhere you go, like when you travel.
It allows you to maintain a healthy dental hygiene regimen wherever you go. Its ability to clean your teeth is just like any other traditional interdental brush, only, it has a solid design.
- This allows more sanitary cleaning since it is disposable in nature.
- It can deeply clean in between tight spaces using its ultra-thin head.
- It gently cleans your teeth and gums with its comfort wire.
- It enables easy cleaning of your teeth’s trouble spots using its flexible handle and wire.
- It keeps your mouth fresh since this dental brush comes with a cool mint flavor.
- Perfectly cleans tight teeth, for example, if you have braces.
- It’s handy and can be brought anywhere.
- This product can be hard to find in stores.
Philips Sonicare InterCare replacement brush heads – Excellent dental care product!
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InterCare is Philips Sonicare’s best interdental brush head. It provides a profound clean in between teeth as its bristles are specifically designed with three tufts. This enables Intercare to improve your gum health after 2 weeks of use. InterCare is able to remove up to 7x more plaque between your teeth than manual brushing because of its anchor-free tufting technology. This design allows better reach to achieve clinical superiority with its unique bristle patterns.
Compared to Floss action brush heads, intercare reaches 35% deeper clean between your teeth. American Dental Association recommends replacements of your brush heads every 3 months to achieve Intercare’s optimum cleaning results.
- It can clean deeper between teeth because of its extra-long bristles.
- Its tufting technology helps prevent gum recession and gingivitis.
- It is compatible on various Philips handles like 3 Series Gum Health, Diamond Clean, Healthy White and a lot more.
- Dental Professionals rated this as their number 1 recommended power tooth brush.
- Compared to a manual toothbrush, Intercare can remove up to 7x more plaque.
- It’s easy to use and very durable.
- Effective cleaning technology with soft bristles.
- Comes with an expensive price than any other Sonicare product.
- Needs to be dried after every use
Best Interdental Brushes Buyer’s Guide [2023]
Did you know that a regular toothbrush cleans only 60% of the teeth surfaces? Oral hygiene is the basis of oral health. Most of us are quite satisfied with our oral hygiene and are also assured that we are doing all that is necessary. But, many of us actually do not know that, in order to achieve excellent oral hygiene, it is not enough to clean teeth just with toothbrush and toothpaste. Specifically, each tooth has five surfaces. An excellent manual toothbrush can successfully clean only three – the front, the back and the biting surface. But often we forget to clean their side surfaces. As well as the space between two teeth. For this purpose, the corresponding interdental cleaners should be used. These include interdental brush, dental floss and/or interdental stimulator. Only when all five surfaces of each tooth are clean, we can talk about thorough dental hygiene. Also, people who have bridges, crowns and implants or wear fixed orthodontic appliances, must devote special attention to hygiene of these so-called interproximal areas.
Some tips to keep in mind when buying and using an interdental brush to get desired results:
- If any size of interdental brush does not fit between your teeth, do not force the brush between the spaces as this will not only harm the gums and make them bleed but will also widen the interdental space.
- If you want to use interdental brushes once a day, use them at night before sleeping instead of the morning as it is more important to sleep with a clean set of teeth. The saliva production reduces during the night so the mouth dries and food decays faster.
- Be systematic when using an interdental brush and clean the teeth in one position to avoid any damage to the gums.
- Consult your dentist before using an interdental brush as he will examine your teeth and suggest the right size of brush as using the wrong size can do more harm than good for your teeth and gums.
- Not all your teeth are of the same size. Use a combination of different sizes according to your interdental spaces to get better results.
- If you experience some pain even after trying the brush for a few weeks, stop using the brush as it might be too big for your teeth or your gums might be sensitive.
- Always keep in mind that pushing the brush too hard into the interdental space is very harmful to the teeth and the gums. Apply just a little or no pressure at all to clean the teeth gently.
- Air-dry your brush after use to remove all bacteria from the bristles.
- Some interdental brush packs come with a keychain so that you can attach them to your bag for ease of use. Buy such packs if you eat out regularly and travel often.
How often to change interdental brushes?
How long do interdental brushes last? After each use, they should be carefully rinsed with water and left to air dry. Same as with ordinary toothbrushes, interdental brush should also be changed when fibers gets deformed. This is because they can not thoroughly clean every region between two teeth. That’s usually after 1-3 months of daily use.
Invest in interdental brushes
The evidence for interdental brushes reducing gum disease is slightly stronger than for dental floss, though still weak. And some people struggle to fit even the smallest size of interdental brush between their teeth because they’re packed so closely together. But in spite of the lack of strong evidence,it is worth trying to get something in there, says the British Society of Dental Hygiene and Therapy. “Toothbrushing alone cleans only three of the five surfaces of our teeth, so cleaning between our teeth is a critical part of good oral hygiene as it helps to prevent gum disease by removing plaque from any areas missed by brushing alone,” says Michaela ONeill, president of the BSDHT.
Interdental Brush FAQ
Final Conclusion
So these are ten of the most popular interdental brushes available in the market which take your oral hygiene to the next level. All these brushes are great regarding design and efficiency so you can use the one which is of the right size. Make sure that you pick up the right size after trying and use the proper technique to keep your teeth and gums clean and healthy. It is crucial that you use the correct method to use an interdental brush after consulting your dentist. Refer the list of FAQs at the end to understand more about interdental brushes and how they can be used to keep periodontal diseases and gingivitis away.
How to Choose the Right Size Interdental Brush for Your Teeth
Interdental brushes are an excellent tool for keeping your oral hygiene at its best. They are specifically designed to reach the hard-to-reach crevices between your teeth and remove stubborn food particles, plaque and prevent gum disease. But to maximize the benefits of these small brushes, you must select the right size for your teeth. Here are some useful tips to help you choose the right size interdental brush for your teeth.
Firstly, you must consider the space between your teeth. Interdental brushes are commonly available in various shapes and sizes. Choosing the appropriate size for your teeth is essential as using the wrong size means ineffective cleaning. If you have larger gaps between your teeth, a bigger sized brush would be suitable, while for those with less space between their teeth, a smaller brush would be ideal.
Another aspect to consider is the shape of the brush. Some interdental brushes feature a cone-shaped bristle head that narrows down to a tiny point, making it easier to reach tight spots, while others have cylindrical bristle tips that put on consistent pressure on the entire surface area of your teeth. Ensure to choose the brush that is most comfortable and efficient for your use.
Moreover, the handle on your interdental brush is crucial in selecting the right size. Handles come in various lengths and shapes, and you must choose one that fits comfortably between your fingers and allows for easy maneuvering to reach the gaps between your teeth. You want to select an interdental brush with a handle that is long enough, but not too long or too short, to facilitate proper cleaning, easy grip and control.
Overall, choosing the right size interdental brush is essential for effective cleaning, healthy gums and teeth, and general oral hygiene. Selecting the appropriate size will ensure efficient cleaning of your teeth and gums while preventing damage to them. Take the time to experiment and find the right fit for your oral hygiene routine to ensure optimal results.
Interdental Brushes vs. Flossing: Which is More Effective for Oral Health
Maintaining oral hygiene is one of the essential habits that we must follow to keep our teeth and gums healthy. Brushing twice a day is undoubtedly a crucial step in maintaining oral hygiene, but it is not enough to prevent dental problems like gum disease, cavities, and tooth decay. There are two primary methods for cleaning between teeth – interdental brushes and flossing. Both methods involve removing food particles and plaque bacteria that get stuck between teeth.
Interdental brushes are small brushes designed to clean away plaque and food particles between teeth. Unlike regular toothbrushes, interdental brushes are small and narrow and can easily slide between the teeth because they are designed to reach the gap between teeth. The bristles are made of nylon or wire, and their size varies depending on the gap between the teeth. These brushes are easy to use, and they are suitable for people who find it challenging to handle floss or dislike the taste of it.
Flossing, on the other hand, involves using a thin nylon thread to clean between teeth, remove plaque, and food particles. Floss threads are available in many varieties, such as waxed, unwaxed or flavoured. Floss is an effective tool to remove bacteria that cause bad breath and gum diseases. Flossing helps remove plaque and trapped food particles between teeth that your toothbrush may not reach. Flossing is a precise technique that takes time and patience to master. To floss, you need to wrap the floss thread around your fingers, slide it between your teeth, hug each tooth with it, move it back and forth.
To sum up, both interdental brushes and flossing are effective for removing plaque and food particles between teeth. However, you should use the method that suits you best. If you have spaces between your teeth, the interdental brush may work better. If your teeth are tight together or you find it difficult to handle the brush, flossing would be ideal. Whatever method you choose, it is critical to clean between your teeth to maintain good oral health.
Tips for Proper Use and Maintenance of Interdental Brushes for Optimal Oral Health
Interdental brushes are an excellent tool for maintaining good oral hygiene. They are tiny brushes that come in a range of sizes and shapes designed to fit between the teeth to remove any food particles and plaque that normal brushing can miss. Though most people have heard of interdental brushes, they don’t know how to use them or maintain them correctly. With that said, here are some tips for proper use and maintenance of interdental brushes.
The first tip is to buy interdental brushes that fit correctly between your teeth. A brush that is too big or small won’t be effective. To test for the right fit, gently push the brush in between your teeth, and if it’s a snug fit, it’s the right size for you. The second tip is to be very gentle with the interdental brushes. Pushing them too hard between your teeth can cause gum bleeding, swelling, or even damage. Using gentle wiggle motions, push the brush in between your teeth and move it back and forth lightly like how you floss.
A third tip is to use the right interdental brush for the right area of your mouth. Some interdental brush shapes are designed to get between the front teeth, while others are suited to reach the back of the molars. Ensure that you have the ideal brush shape to make it easy to reach all the areas of your mouth. Lastly, maintain your interdental brushes regularly by cleaning them with warm water before and after use. Additionally, after using them for about a week, it’s best to replace them with a new one.
In summary, interdental brushes play an essential role in maintaining good oral hygiene but must be used correctly to avoid damage to the gum and teeth. Choose the correct size, use gentle wiggle motions, select the right brush shape for the right area of your mouth, and maintain them regularly by cleaning them with warm water and replacing them once a week. By following these tips, you can maximize the effectiveness of your interdental brushes and ensure healthy teeth and gums.
What is your favorite type of interdental brush?
My favorite type of interdental brush is a manual one with bristles.
There are many different types out there, but I recommend a manual one with bristles rather than anything electric or powered because it forces the user to get their mouth more wet and use more water. This way, they have to swirl the brush around and makes sure every part of their teeth and gums gets scrubbed for two minutes. Merely brushing along your gum line does not even come close to being enough for total dental protection or polishing so that’s why I like this type instead that helps ensure thorough tooth cleaning even if you don’t have good arm strength.
What is your favorite way to use an interdental brush?
Interdental brushes are often great for removing the plaque that builds up in your mouth. One of the most common ways people use them is to insert into each inter-space (between teeth) and then twist, so that the bristles clean out all the buildup from areas you can’t reach with a toothbrush alone.
*Alternatively*, if you’re a little more daring, some people like using their interdental brush as a chew toy or just to chat with– making funny noises as they insert it between their teeth and talk through it! All joking aside, there’s no right way to use an inter-speechial brush – whatever makes you happy!
How Often Should I Use Interdental Brushes? The dentist recommended it to me, how often should I interdental brushes?
You should use it after each meal or ATLEAST once a day.
Interdental Brush instead of dental floss?
i have mostly interdental cavities because my teeth are very tight and tooth bushes don’t clean the areas that well. my dentist recommended using floss every night but i just don’t like floss. i saw interdental brushed for the first time in a store and was thinking would they have the same effect as the floss? i don’t know much about these small brushes. what do you think?
Floss is the best, especially if you have tight contacts. But if your teeth have WIDE gaps between them, then an interdental brush is okay.
Only floss can get UNDERNEATH the gums. using the interdental brush, you’ll only be cleaning above the gums.
here is a great animation from the American Dental Association website. Play close attention when they floss in the front teeth. Watch the floss disappear under the gum. The interdental brush can’t do this.
And therein lies the problem with IB’s. I love them, I recommend them to at least 50% of my patients. But they’re not for everyone. Just as floss isn’t for everyone. Everything is case dependent and more importantly, dependent on motivation.
Recommending floss for the 30th time to someone who has displayed a complete lack of interest in flossing? You fail as a clinician.
Recommending floss/brush/waterpik for a person whose teeth can’t accommodate the application? You fail as a clinician.
Recommending a common sense product that adapts to a person’s teeth & they enjoy using on a regular basis? You win!
I’ve been flossing daily for years, and I’m fairly certain I use the right technique (the c shape). However, my gums seem to always bleed when I get a gum inspection and my pockets are always somewhat bigger than what you’d hope.
My dentist suggested using a interdental floss, and man the gum between my top right molars bleeds and is sore like crazy for about the past week when I use it. I never bleed when I floss. So my question is, is flossing + interdental brushes needed to properly clean the gums?
I’ve honestly never heard of interdentl brushes until my dentist suggested it to me, and it seems like brushing + flossing has been an age old advice for taking care of teeth.
Flossing is great, but even the right C-technique can miss some areas depending on the tooth’s unique anatomy. Interdental brushes are really convenient and considered more thorough than flossing. Some people need the interdental brushes, in addition to flossing, to remove plaque properly on a daily basis and avoid periodontal issues.