"Mine didn't say anything until I asked about sensitivity...then suddenly it was all about brushing too hard."
Same here, actually. My dentist never mentioned gum recession till I brought up sensitivity—felt like I uncovered some secret dental conspiracy, lol. Tried electric too, but still second-guessing myself constantly... hoping it's helping, but who knows?
"felt like I uncovered some secret dental conspiracy, lol."
Haha, totally get that feeling... dentists seem to wait till we ask before dropping the gum recession bomb. Honestly though, electric brushes do help a lot if you use them right. Trick is to let the brush do the work—no scrubbing, just gently glide it tooth by tooth. Took me a while to break the habit of pressing too hard, but sensitivity improved noticeably after a few weeks. Hang in there, you'll get the hang of it eventually!
I totally feel your pain on this one. When our dentist first told me to switch the whole family over to electric brushes, I was like...really, is it THAT much better? But honestly, after watching my 7-year-old brush his teeth manually (think: two quick swipes and done), I figured anything had to be an improvement. 😅
At first, though, it was a bit overwhelming. Did you get stuck in the toothbrush aisle staring at all those different models too? I swear, picking out toothbrushes now feels like shopping for a new phone or laptop—way too many features that I didn't know I needed. "Pressure sensors," "quad pacers," "Bluetooth connectivity"...I just wanted something that cleans teeth!
Anyway, we eventually settled on a basic model that buzzes every 30 seconds to remind you to move to another area of your mouth. It sounds simple, but it made a huge difference for my kiddo (and honestly, me too). Before that, he'd spend half the brushing time on his front teeth and completely neglect everything else. Now he actually brushes evenly and seems way more motivated.
The only thing I'd add is that switching definitely takes some getting used to. Did you find the vibration weird at first too? My son giggled uncontrollably for the first week—said it tickled his gums. 😂 But now he's totally used to it and even reminds ME if I forget to charge it.
Also, good point about pressing too hard—I had no idea how gentle you're supposed to be until our dentist showed us. Apparently I was brushing like I was scrubbing grout or something...oops. Did your dentist give you any tips on how long it takes before gums start feeling better? Ours said a couple weeks, and she was pretty much spot on.
Either way, hang in there—it's definitely worth the learning curve.
We went through the exact same thing—standing in that aisle felt like prepping for a NASA mission, lol. We ended up with one of those mid-range ones with the pressure sensor because apparently I brush like I'm sanding furniture...who knew? My daughter thought the buzzing was hilarious at first too, but now she's totally into it and actually brushes properly. Hang in there, your gums will thank you soon enough!
"apparently I brush like I'm sanding furniture...who knew?"
Haha, same here—my dentist always gives me that look like I've committed a crime against my gums. Did you find the pressure sensor actually helps? I'm still debating if it's worth the extra money. Honestly, standing in front of all those toothbrush options makes me anxious...too many choices. Glad your daughter adjusted quickly though, gives me some hope I'll get used to it eventually.
