We had Power Tools Week on LookinGood awhile back and it got me to wondering about the evolution of the power toothbrush.  Did the simple thought “Gee, I wish I could take this experience home with me,” occur during a regular, terrifying moment at the dentist?

Or maybe it was an epiphany by a lazy person.  Or it was a mechanical engineer from the UFO Area 51 who got bored after a few years.  And had bad teeth.

You’re bristling with anticipation, aren’t you? The original electric toothbrush was invented by a guy in Switzerland in 1939, but Dr. Woggs couldn’t find a market, so his invention was quickly dismissed.  Here in the states, the electric toothbrush was reintroduced by Broxo, then and still owned by Squibb Pharmaceuticals. Dentists and consumers alike hailed the idea of more efficient brushing, but the device had one big problem. Apparently, high-voltage that is directly applied to the teeth and gums is not always healthy, and can be downright dangerous.  Hence, the boom in handheld plaque-busters. And, of course, just like Tim Taylor from TV’s “Home Improvement,” once manufacturers start tinkering with a power tool, they can’t quit until we’ve got – say it with me – “more power (grunt, grunt, grunt).”

The new battery-operated toothbrushes promise to vibrate, spin and gently scour away the fuzzy little mittens covering your teeth, putting the pearly back in pearly whites and giving halitosis hell.  They run the gamut from being disposable to having replaceable brushes and batteries.  And you don’t necessarily have to put a lot of money where your mouth is.  There are dozens of models on the market, whether it’s the Colgate Sonic 360 ($5.99) that vibrates, a Crest SpinBrush ($8.99) that, well, spins; the rechargeable Oral-B Vitality ($16.95) or the higher-end devices like the Philips Sonicare or WaterPik systems ($60-up).  We even found the four-headed HydraBrush ($99.95 from Hammacher Schlemmer) on YouTube, which is almost as good as our favorite brand of everything: “As Seen on TV.”

Of course, there’s no singular answer as to whether or not a power toothbrush works better than the plain old manual models. It’s a good question for your dentist. I, for one, happen to be very enameled of my battery-operated brush.