Electric toothbrushes can help improve your dental hygiene quickly. These are easy-to-use, effective, and fun devices. However, the noise produced by these toothbrushes can be a bit irritating for many.
If you don’t want to spend any time modding your electric toothbrush, then the best way for you would be to get a new one. The latest toothbrush models vibrate faster and hence make less noise. However, there’s a much more viable way around it.
In this article, we’ll discuss how to make electric toothbrushes quieter. So, let’s get started!
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How to Make An Electric Toothbrush Quiet?
The first step in making your electric toothbrush quieter would be to find the source of the noise, which can be the head, battery, or body.
- If the toothbrush head is making more noise, then you better replace it.
- To solve the battery problem, ensure it’s not low on charge.
- Finally, if the body makes noise, you should wrap it with a washcloth or a towel to silence it.
Clean the brush head
When you use an electric toothbrush to brush your teeth, the brush head can become contaminated with food and toothpaste particles. A dirty brush head will make more noise when it is vibrating. You should frequently clean the head of your toothbrush to make it quieter. You can remove it from the toothbrush and rinse it under running water.
Choose a softer brushhead
Every electric toothbrush manufacturer, including Oral B and Philips Sonicare offer different brush heads with different hardness of bristles. Hard bristles can make more noise when they are brushing your teeth.
To make an electric toothbrush quieter, choose a toothbrush head with softer bristles. I believe this advice is somewhat obsolete because most current brush heads have medium softness bristles, but still, you should always avoid hard bristles.
Check for loose parts
Sometimes, the components of an electric toothbrush can become loose, making the toothbrush make more noise.
In this case, you will not be able to do much because taking apart and reassembling an electric toothbrush without special skills and tools is challenging.
I suggest you only check the brush. To check the toothbrush, you can simply shake it and listen for any noise inside. If you hear any unnatural rattle, it might be time to look for a new toothbrush.
Use a lower speed setting
Some electric toothbrushes have different speed settings. Using a lower speed setting can make the toothbrush less noisy. Using a toothbrush at a lower speed will not diminish its cleaning potential.
Use a toothbrush with a less powerful motor
An electric toothbrush has a small motor inside it that makes it work. Some toothbrushes have less powerful motors, which can cause less noise than those with powerful motors that create lots of cleaning motions.
Try wrapping the brush in fabric
If none of the ways to make an electric brush quiet works, then there’s a possibility that there is something wrong with your toothbrush. In such a case, you can try the most straightforward solution. Just try wrapping the brush with a thick cloth to muffle the noise. You can also use your old T-shirt or hand towel for this, but the thicker the fabric is, the more the noise will be reduced.
This isn’t a permanent solution, and it can get on your nerves as you’ll need a towel or a cloth every time you use your brush. Some may make this solution permanent by wrapping the brush with fabric. However, doing so will only make things worse. This will hamper the charging process and pose a fire hazard!
This is why you should consider getting a new and quiet electric toothbrush if the problem really bothers you.
What Makes an Electric Toothbrush Noisy?
Electric toothbrushes aren’t that sophisticated in technical terms. If you pull one apart, you’ll find only a handful of items in each of them. The gears, motor, and cam are the major components that facilitate the vibration mechanism in an electric toothbrush. A modern sonic electric toothbrush vibrates up to 500 times per second.
As there’s a back-and-forth vibration in the head of the toothbrush, this can be identified as the primary source of the noise. However, sometimes the problem might not be with the head but with another part of the toothbrush.
There’s a simple science behind the noise of electric toothbrushes. The slower a toothbrush vibrates, the louder its sound will be. This is why it’s essential to get a toothbrush that vibrates fast. Then again, even a fast-vibrating toothbrush can vibrate slowly if the battery isn’t charged correctly or if the battery is worn out.
If the battery is low on charge, then it won’t be able to provide the required energy for the head to vibrate fast enough. This will cause more noise than usual.
Related reading: Do Teeth Whitening Strips Expire?
How to Identify the Source of Noise?
As we’ve discussed earlier, the source can either be the head, the body, or the battery. It’s important to identify which part is the main reason behind this first, or you won’t be able to reduce the noise. We highly recommend using the process of elimination to determine which part is creating the noise.
First, it’s recommended to take a look at the battery charge. You should try charging the electric toothbrush for a while, and if this fixes the noise problem, you won’t have to spend a penny extra.
However, if that’s not the case, you should check the head of the toothbrush. Is the toothbrush being used for months? If so, then you should definitely change the head. This will not only keep the noise low but also very hygienic.
The problem is with the handle or the body if the noise persists. Sometimes, there are problems with the wiring inside the toothbrush’s body, which can be fixed with some effort. We’ll go further into this later in this article.
How to Change the Brush Head Correctly?
People usually find that the brush has been used for too long, which is the principal cause of the noise. In this case, you need to change the brush head, but first, you’ll need to buy a new one for yourself.
When getting a new brush head, get one from the same brand, or it won’t support your brush. Once you have one, remove the brush head. Most brush heads are easily attachable and detachable, meaning that you won’t require any tool to take them off or install them. Some come with a screw-in design, while most will just pop off.
Remember how you took the head off and attached the new one similarly? The best way to ensure that the handle and the head are joined properly is by turning the brush on. Once it’s turned on, check if the head pops out or dangles from the handles.
If it remains firmly on the handle, then you’re good to go! This is one of the easiest ways of fixing the noise problem of your electric toothbrush.
How to Fix the Body of the Electric Toothbrush?
In sporadic cases, it’s found that the noise is being caused not by the head or low battery but because of the wiring inside the electric toothbrush. These aren’t technically perfect tools, and the components inside them will decay over time. There’s a big chance that the wiring will get messed up, too, because the brush shakes continuously, and some wires may come off.
To determine if this is the main problem, you must take the brush apart and check for disconnected wires. If you come across any, simply take a soldering gun and put the wires back together. If you’re new to soldering, then this can be a bit tricky for you. However, there are tons of tutorials online, and learning it doesn’t take much effort either.
Related reading: Can You Bring Electric Toothbrush On Plane?
Summary
In the end, it all comes down to your dental health. You may be suffering from a noisy electric toothbrush, but it will still do a better job to clean your teeth than the quiet manual toothbrush most people use.
Making your electric toothbrush quieter is possible by following a few simple steps. Start with cleaning the brush head, using a softer brush head, checking for loose parts, wrapping your toothbrush in a towel, and using a lower speed setting are all effective ways to reduce the noise level of your electric toothbrush.
When you implement these techniques, you can enjoy a more comfortable and peaceful brushing experience that will not bother your roommates or family.
Experiment with different methods and find the one that works best for you.