Sonicare toothbrush

If you are a lackluster brusher, a high-powered electric toothbrush will make a huge difference in the state of your mouth.

MONEY WELL SPENT | If you think listening to someone talk about watching paint dry is snooze, try concentrating while a pal waxes on about brushing his or her teeth.

So you know I would never bring up ongoing tooth care unless I had something interesting to report. Last week, during a routine appointment with my dental hygienist, she confessed to having trouble cleaning my teeth. “I’ve looked for plaque everywhere, and I can find just the tiniest speck on a single tooth,” she said. “Mouths like yours could put me out of business.”

I seriously doubt that, though this was not the first time I had received an A+ report from an hygienist. Since I began using a high-powered electric toothbrush two years ago, I have enjoyed a virtually plaque-free mouth and, as a result, logged near zero time in my dentist’s chair.

My plaque weapon of choice is a Philips Sonicare toothbrush I picked up at Costco. It was not cheap, though at $179 for two brush handles and heads it was far less expensive than purchasing a single unit at my local drugstore (refill brush heads are expensive too, which is why I buy them in bulk at Costco).

A Sonicare system is pricey for sure, but when you consider the cost of a single visit to the dentist for a filling, it feels like investment spending to me: paying more for something up front to avoid paying huge amounts more down the line.—C. Rule