Electric Toothbrush Caused Excessive Enamel Wear After Just One Use?

[sandyclaus]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

This question is for a friend of mine. They bought a popular electric toothbrush recently (she won't tell me the brand name). They used the toothbrush just once, brushing for approx 2 minutes (not too hard - there's a sensor that tells you when you are brushing too hard). After brushing, they discovered that 4 lower teeth on the left side are "filed away", shortened and you can clearly see the dentin. On the right side, the side of the molar has been "filed" and you can see the dentin. She says she uses a toothpaste which strengthens dental enamel and avoids acidic foods.

And... you guessed it. She wants to sue the manufacturer for the damage to her teeth allegedly caused by just ONE 2 minute session with this brand-new toothbrush.

I tried to explain to her that use of an electric toothbrush, with the proper brush attachment, used in a manner consistent with the manufacturer's instructions, could never cause the damage she is describing. Toothbrushes simply don't have bristles that hard anymore, or the brush would have to be made of sandpaper or some other significantly abrasive material for that to happen, or her tooth enamel was severely softened or damaged before she used the new toothbrush that one time. She insists that it was a normal soft bristle and that, indeed, the incident had to be caused by the toothbrush and nothing else.

I, personally, am not buying it, but I told her that I would ask here to see if anyone else knows of such an issue, or whether such an issue is even possible with today's electric toothbrush technology. I'm hoping that someone else can chime in here and help me out here? Maybe even our resident dentist can tell if he's ever heard of such a thing happening.

Thanks, guys.

 

[justalayman]

There was one toothbrush out there that was causing some injuries but I believe it was due to it coming apart or breaking. Unless the brush broke, I doubt she has had the damage she is claiming. It is simply unrealistic, especially if you realize how a dentist polishes your teeth. They use a rubber cup and an abrasive and while the cup is spinning, rub it on your teeth fairly firmly. I cannot see how any toothbrush could even compare to that let alone be so aggressive to cause the damage your friend is suggesting.


Have you inspected her teeth?

 

[swalsh411]

Her first step should be to get her teeth inspected by a dentist and get their opinion on what caused the damage. There is no point in any further discussion of potential actions until she does this.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Please tell us what brand this is. I could use a small orbital sander.

 

[sandyclaus]

She claims to have been to two dentists who have confirmed the excessive wear, but she didn't mention whether or not they had had an opportunity to see the toothbrush or examine it. So basically, the dentists can see that her teeth are damaged, but can't specifically link that damage to the use of the toothbrush.

She won't let me see the toothbrush, either (something about preserving it in case she sues).

I think she's full of it, quite honestly. I have personally never heard of something like this, no defective toothbrushes to cause something like this, not unless there was a pre-existing issue with her teeth, or she was misusing it - using the toothbrush incorrectly, or using some kind of other unapproved substance to brush with that could account for the damage. That's one reason I'm hoping Barry might chime in here, in case he may be aware of something we aren't.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Hopefully, she did not use rubbing compound, instead of toothpaste.

 

[justalayman]

Hopefully, she did not use rubbing compound, instead of toothpaste.

she still would have had to work really really hard to cause what sandy is describing though. Rubbing compound would use something like silica while toothpaste uses calcium carbonate (softer than silica) but they are both relatively fine. Most paints are softer than the enamel on your tooth and it takes some effort to buff through the very thin layer of paint on a car. She would have had to do some serious time brushing to do the damage described. Auto paint is somewhere around 6-12 mils (or thousandths of an inch for those not familiar with the term). Enamel on a tooth varies with around 80-100 mil on the cusp (per wikipedia) and thinner on the sides.



but the up side;

I bet she has minty fresh breath, at least until things start decaying.

sandy, I think your friend is full of stuffing.

the thing about this; if she has that much damage and didn't realize it while she was doing it, I think there is something else to be concerned about other than her teeth.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

The friend's damages appear to be five teeth. Since only the surface realistically could have been damaged the brush, her damages will be limited to restoring the teeth (caps?). I suspect that will be about $1000 per tooth (that's what I was told I would pay for a cap recently).

Your friend will certainly need an expert to testify that the toothbrush is defective and caused the damage. I doubt it would make sense to hire an expert to recover $5,000 in damages. Even if they award another $15,000 for pain and suffering incurred while having the teeth repaired, she's only looking at $20,000. Assuming 1/3 for the lawyer ($7,000) and $10,000 for an expert, she's only left with $3,000.

She will probably need to show records of her healthy teeth immediately prior to the 'accident' or as close as possible. If she doesn't have those records, a jury may conclude that she doesn't properly care for her teeth because she doesn't get annual x-rays.

BTW, I don't buy her story and I think she'll have a tough time convincing anyone that a toothbrush caused this amount of damage in two minutes. Instead of going for the $1000 cap, I chose the three unit bridge. (the tooth next to the broken one was missing). This involved grinding down two teeth. It was painful and took a lot more than two minutes. If I was causing that much pain with a toothbrush, I certainly would have stopped.

The "toothbrush" wasn't made by Dremel by any chance, was it? That would explain why she won't tell you the manufacturer or show it to you.