Are electric toothbrushes better than manual ones?

One type is: the kind with a rotation-oscillation action, such as the Braun Oral B plaque remover. That's the take-home message from an analysis of 42 studies involving 3,855 patients, published in April by the Cochrane Collaboration, a nonprofit international organization that evaluates medical research.

These rotation-oscillation devices get rid of plaque -- the sticky stuff that collects on teeth near the gums and contains bacteria that cause cavities and gum disease -- 11 percent more effectively than manual toothbrushes, and reduce gum inflammation 6 percent more effectively over a three-month period, according to the study.

The other six types of electric toothbrushes studied ''offered no consistent advantage," the lead author, Dr. Peter Robinson of Sheffield University in England, wrote in an e-mail interview.

Cliff Whall, a medical physiologist who heads the ''Seal of Acceptance" program for the American Dental Association, insisted that ''There is nothing magical about a power toothbrush." If a person does things right -- brushing with bristles angled toward the gumline twice a day, flossing once a day and visiting a dentist regularly -- a manual toothbrush can be just as good. ''There's no need for anyone to feel they are doing themselves harm by not using an electric toothbrush."

But Dr. Richard Niederman, director of the DSM-Forsyth Center for Evidence-Based Dentistry in Boston, said few people use manual brushes optimally, and he said the study suggests the Braun Oral B is superior to manual brushing.

JUDY FOREMAN

E-mail health questions to foreman@globe.com.