Soft vs Medium Toothbrush: Does It Actually Matter?

Walk down any oral care aisle and you'll see it: soft, medium and hard toothbrushes. Most people assume harder bristles mean a deeper clean. It makes intuitive sense. But the research says otherwise.

A study from the University of Zurich tested soft and medium toothbrushes under identical conditions. The result? Both cleaned equally well. In fact, at lighter brushing pressure, soft bristles actually outperformed medium ones.

The difference comes down to what happens to your gums and enamel over time. Harder bristles don't clean better, they just wear down more of what you're trying to protect.