Curaprox

Because of what the filaments are made of. Curaprox use Curen rather than nylon, and Curen stays stiff when it is wet where nylon goes floppy. That lets them pack far more, far finer filaments onto one head: 5,460 on a CS 5460 against a few hundred on a supermarket brush.

The effect is that the brush cleans by contact rather than by pressure. It feels like it is doing nothing for the first week. Your gums will tell you otherwise.

If you are coming off a medium or hard brush, start with the CS 1560 soft, then the CS 3960 super soft, then the CS 5460 ultra soft. The numbers are the filament count, so they go up as the brush gets gentler.

The CS 5460 is the one most people settle on and the one dental professionals recommend most. The CS 12460 velvet is the gentlest, and worth the jump if you have thin enamel or receding gums. The CS smart has a smaller head, made for children from five up and useful for adults who want to get properly behind the back molars.

Most mouths need more than one. The prime start mixed set holds all five prime sizes, from CPS 06 at 0.6mm of wire up to CPS 011 at 1.1mm, which is the straightforward way to find out without buying five packs.

The fit test is simple: the brush should go in and out with light contact and no force. If you have to push, go down a size. If it slides through touching nothing, go up. Your dentist or hygienist can size them for you in a minute, and it is worth asking.

Prime is for normal interdental spaces and goes from 0.6mm to 1.1mm of wire. Perio is for larger and exposed spaces, from 1.3mm up to 2.8mm, with longer and softer filaments.

The softer filaments matter more than the size does. An exposed space is tender, and an interdental brush that hurts is one that stops getting used.

Enzycal 1450 carries 1450ppm of sodium fluoride and is for ages 12 and up. Enzycal 950 carries 950ppm and is suitable from six, which makes it the one tube a household can share, and it is the least abrasive at RDA 30. Enzycal zero has no fluoride and no mint oils.

All three use the same three enzymes and all three leave out SLS. If you want fluoride and a gentle clean, 950. If you want more fluoride, 1450. If fluoride is off the table in your house, zero, and it is worth asking your dentist whether you need it from elsewhere.

It works on surface staining, which is the kind tea, coffee, red wine and smoking leave behind. The activated carbon absorbs discoloured particles and the nano hydroxyapatite works on the enamel surface. There is no bleach in it and no extra abrasion.

It will not change the natural colour of your teeth, and nothing you buy over a counter will. It has fluoride in it, so it can replace your usual toothpaste rather than sitting beside it.

No, the Perio plus range is available over the counter here. It is still worth a conversation before you start, because chlorhexidine is normally used as a short course rather than indefinitely, and the strengths are meant for different jobs: 0.2% forte for short use, 0.09% support for longer, and the 0.5% focus gel for one small area.

One practical point people miss: SLS, the foaming agent in most toothpaste, cancels chlorhexidine out. That is why Curaprox make an SLS-free Perio plus support toothpaste, and why you should leave about 30 minutes between brushing and rinsing. Ask our pharmacist team if you are unsure.

A manual toothbrush every three months, and sooner if the filaments start to splay. Sonic brush heads every three months at the latest, or every six to eight weeks if you wear braces, because brackets chew through filaments.

Interdental brushes go far quicker, usually a week or two. Replace one as soon as the filaments splay or the wire bends. Refill packs are cheaper than the starter sets because the holders click on and off, so you buy the handle once.

The toothbrushes, interdental brushes, toothpastes and sonic brush heads are, yes. Curaprox is the consumer brand of Curaden, a Swiss company that has been in dental prophylaxis since 1972 and develops its products with university dental clinics.