Reading time: 5 min

How to clean your hand and electric toothbrush

Good oral hygiene includes not only thorough brushing of your teeth, regular check-up visits to the dentist and professional tooth cleaning, but also regular cleaning of your toothbrush. Bacteria accumulate on the bristles, the spread of which is further favored by the humid climate in the bathroom. In order to ensure the optimal oral health of your family, we will show you here how to brush properly with a hand brush and an electric toothbrush. In addition, we answer important questions about toothbrush cleaning. For example, how often you change your toothbrush and what you should keep in mind when storing your toothbrush.

Cleaning an electric toothbrush: Here's how it works

Your electric toothbrush can be effectively cleaned with very little time. With these tips, you can brush your electric toothbrush properly and make sure your teeth are brushed optimally:

Rinse the brush head with clear water after each use. So, you eliminate not only toothpaste residues, but also germs.

Not only the brush head, but also the handpiece of your electric toothbrush should be cleaned regularly, otherwise limescale deposits and other dirt will settle on it:

Remove the brush head by pulling it vertically upwards.
Do not pull the pen away to the side when unplugging.
Rinse the area of the metal shaft with warm water.
Make sure all toothpaste residue is removed.
Wipe the entire handpiece briefly with a damp cloth.
Dry the toothbrush before placing it on a dry surface or your charging station to avoid mold growth.
Don't forget to clean the charging station as well.

By the way, cleaning your electric toothbrush is not only important for hygienic reasons. Limescale deposits and other dirt can permanently impair the functionality of your device – this applies to all types of electric toothbrushes, such as rotating-oscillating devices and sonic toothbrushes.

How often should you change your toothbrush?

How often you should change your toothbrush (or the brush head of the electric toothbrush) depends on the type of bristles, the use and your brushing technique. In general, however, when the bristles of your toothbrush begin to look frayed, it is time to change the brush head or toothbrush – but at the latest every three months.¹

Philips Sonicare brush heads have blue indicator bristles. If these fade, it's time for a change. In addition, newer brushes have a brush head change indicator. After 3 months, the toothbrush indicates via a signal light that changing the brush would make sense.