Diary of a reformed aggressive brusher: A review of the ZentFlex toothbrush

We spend countless hours per year teaching our patients to properly brush their teeth. Today's electric toothbrushes even try to help us with this: they have built-in timers and pressure sensors, and some use artificial intelligence to encourage a complete toothbrushing experience. It's all part of a united effort to keep our patients on track. But electric toothbrushes have a smaller market share among Americans today. According to Statista, in 2019 nearly 266 million Americans used a manual toothbrush¹ and approximately 123 million used an electric toothbrush.² If so many people are still using manual toothbrushes, how can we ensure that they are utilizing proper toothbrushing technique? And is there a product that can help reinforce good technique?

Here’s my experience with ZentFlex, as recorded in my "toothbrush diary." 

Day one: Four clicks

Dear diary: I am extremely surprised to discover how little pressure caused this brush to bend. I applied an appropriate pressure on most of my tooth surfaces, but quickly realized that I tend to "scrub" localized areas in my mouth. It required multiple attempts to correct my technique.

Day two: Two clicks

Dear diary: I was trying to be mindful of the pressure I was applying to my teeth while brushing, but it’s tough to break old habits. I seem to have figured out the proper approach to apply a safe amount of pressure to the questionable areas from the day before, but I still have some work to do.

Day three: Zero clicks

Dear diary: Success! I have been able to figure out how to brush my teeth with a manual toothbrush without applying unnecessary—or potentially damaging—pressure to my tooth surfaces. I have found that brushing with less than 150 g of pressure to my tooth surfaces has instinctually increased my brushing time. I am finally practicing what I preach with manual toothbrushing: more time, less pressure.

Day four and after

Dear diary: I have found that brushing with ZentFlex has encouraged mindful toothbrushing with proper techniques. I shared this toothbrush with some of my colleagues and my patients and the consensus seems to be the same: “I cannot believe how much pressure I was applying to my teeth!” To be completely honest, my brush still clicks from time to time, reminding me that my aggressive brushing habit has not completely resolved.

Lessons learned

I have spent numerous years discussing the facts about RDA (relative dentin abrasion) values and toothpaste abrasivity. Despite conflicting evidence,⁹ many commercially available toothpastes have been criticized for playing a role in tooth abrasion, gingival recession, and even noncarious cervical lesions.¹⁰ 

My next statement is pure conjecture: If, in general, we are applying too much pressure to our tooth structure and marginal gingiva with our manual toothbrushes, I’m wondering if we might owe some of our toothpaste-manufacturing colleagues an apology. I would argue that it's a question worth pondering.

I encourage all of you to give the ZentFlex pressure-sensitive toothbrush a try. For me, it was an incredibly eye-opening experience to comprehend that when using a manual toothbrush, I have been brushing my teeth with too much pressure. This simple, clever technology can encourage safer brushing habits for manual toothbrushers. I would be interested to hear how many clicks you get!

Editor's note: This article first appeared in The Product Navigator, a twice-monthly newsletter from DentistryIQ, Dental Economics, and RDH. To subscribe, visit the DentistryIQ subscription page.

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