When people think of EMF radiation the first thing that comes to mind our things like cell phones, laptops, microwaves and Wi-Fi routers. Although this is true, these things do emit EMF radiation, did you know common objects such as your electric toothbrush could also be exposing you to EMF radiation?
Do Electric Toothbrushes Emit EMF Radiation?
Simply put, YES, electric toothbrushes do emit EMF radiation. In fact, they can emit EMF radiation in extremely high amounts that may have you reconsider even using one.
When I first purchased my EMF meter I, like I am sure many of you have done, went around measuring a ton of different items in my house to see how much EMF radiation these items produced.
I did this out of curiosity and to see what items I needed to be more cautious about. One of the items that to me was most shocking was my electric toothbrush.
When I measured my electric toothbrush I was astounded to see that my electric toothbrush produced over 100mG of EMF radiation when turned on! I could not believe it! Even when the electric toothbrush was turned off, it still produced about 2 mG – 3 mG around the power button.
I did notice that the amount of EMF radiation emitted from the electric toothbrush was much higher near the power button than it was in other areas of the toothbrush.
When the electric toothbrush was turned off, the bottom of the toothbrush measured at around 1 mG and rose quickly as you approached the power button. However, when the toothbrush was turned on, the bottom of the toothbrush measured at about 30 mG and rose very quickly as you approached the power button.
Then once you measured right over the power button the electric toothbrush measured at over 100 mG of EMF radiation.
100 mG of EMF radiation is a very high amount of EMF radiation. What makes this even more alarming is that you are using the toothbrush so close to your body, in particular your head and brain and that you are holding it there for several minutes 2-3 times a day.
Now with this new information am I asking you to stop brushing your teeth? Of course not! However, I would like to highlight why such high amounts of EMF radiation may be concerning and what you can do to help reduce EMF exposure from your electric toothbrush.
Why Should You be Concerned About EMF Radiation?
So if you have done any research on EMF radiation, you know that exposure to EMF radiation can cause health issues such as:
- Headaches
- Nausea
- Chronic Fatigue
- Sleeping Disorders
- Eye Problems
- Trouble Concentrating
- Weakened Immune Systems
Now this is not a complete list of all the health issues related to EMF radiation exposure, for a more in depth look at various health concerns and studies that have been done regarding EMF radiation click here, but with my short list alone you can see that the side effects of EMF radiation can be quite harsh.
One symptom on the list that can be concerning is sleeping disorders, especially since brushing your teeth takes places before you go to bed, at least it should!
In 2007, the World Health Organization published Environmental Health Criteria Monograph 238, which is the the same link I posted above. The purpose of this document was to summarize research that had been done on EMF radiation and its effect on human health.
In chapter 5 (5.2.5 specifically), they summarize previous research regarding sleep. The following is an excerpt taken from the article:
“Sleep is a complex biological process controlled by the central nervous system and is necessary for general health and well-being. The possibility that EMFs may exert a detrimental effect on sleep has been examined in two studies. Using the EEG to assess sleep parameters, Åkerstedt et al. (1999) reported that continuous exposure of healthy volunteers to 50 Hz at 1 µT at night caused disturbances in sleep.
In this study, total sleep time, sleep efficiency, slow-wave sleep (stage III and IV), and slow-wave activity were significantly reduced by exposure, as was subjective depth of sleep. Graham & Cook (1999) reported that intermittent, but not continuous, exposure to 60 Hz, 28 µT magnetic fields at night resulted in less total sleep time, reduced sleep efficiency, increased time in stage II sleep, decreased time in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and increased latency to first REM period.
Consistent with a pattern of poor and broken sleep, volunteers exposed to the intermittent field also reported sleeping less well and feeling less rested in the morning.”
So if we focus on the end of this excerpt that states, “exposure to 60 Hz, 28 µT magnetic fields at night resulted in less total sleep time, reduced sleep efficiency, increased time in stage II sleep, decreased time in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and increased latency to first REM period.
Consistent with a pattern of poor and broken sleep, volunteers exposed to the intermittent field also reported sleeping less well and feeling less rested in the morning.”, we can see that exposing yourself to EMF radiation at night can have a major impact on your sleep.
Electric toothbrushes are not the only thing exposing you to EMF radiation at night; for a more complete list of how to reduce EMF radiation in your bedroom check out my recent article here, but exposing yourself to over 100 mG of radiation before you go to bed can really disrupt your sleeping patterns as the research has shown.
In doing research for this article I also came across other bloggers who mentioned that they experienced headaches after using their electric toothbrushes and that these headaches went away once they stopped using them.
So if your electric toothbrush can potentially disrupt your sleep, cause you headaches and also cause some of the other health issues related to EMF exposure, then what can be done to help reduce your exposure to EMF radiation while still maintaining good oral health?
How to Avoid EMF Radiation from an Electric Toothbrush?
Given that electric toothbrushes emit such high amounts of EMF radiation, your best bet to avoid EMF radiation from your electric toothbrush is to stop using it entirely. Yes, get rid of it. If you are trying to reduce EMF radiation in your life then you need to get rid of your electric toothbrush.
Now just because you are getting rid of your electric toothbrush does not mean that you are going to compromise your oral health.
It is true that research has been done which shows that electric toothbrushes are more effective at removing plaque from your teeth.
According to an article on healthline which compared electric vs manual toothbrushes, “A review of studies showed that, in general, electric toothbrushes do decrease more plaque and gingivitis than manual toothbrushes.
After three months of use, plaque was reduced by 21 percent and gingivitis by 11 percent. Oscillating (rotating) toothbrushes seem to work better than just vibrating toothbrushes”.
However, electric does not necessarily mean using a toothbrush with a builtin rechargeable battery that emits EMF radiation.
Luckily, there are battery powered toothbrushes that do not emit EMF radiation. So simply put, toothbrushes that use batteries such as Energizer or Duracel do not emit EMF radiation.
This is because batteries such as AA and AAA use chemical reactions on the electrode of the battery to create electricity and this does not produce EMF radiation.
This means that you can still reap all the benefits of an electric toothbrush, without having to expose yourself to harmful EMF radiation by simply using a battery powered toothbrush.
If you want to continue to use an electric toothbrush, and avoid EMF radiation, then choose from one of the toothbrushes above. However, the simplest and cheapest way to reduce your EMF exposure from your electric toothbrush is to simply switch to an ol’ fashioned manual toothbrush.
It may not be as effective as an electric toothbrush, but it will get the job done.
Unfortunately in this case creating distance between yourself and your electric toothbrush is not an option, obviously. Therefore, if you are trying to reduce EMF in your life I would strongly recommend getting rid of your electric toothbrush.
Recommended Products and Conclusion
If you are concerned about your exposure to EMF radiation, then you have to check out these products below:
- Best EMF Meter: CLICK HERE
- EMF Protective Blanket for Babies and Adults: CLICK HERE
- EMF Protective Belly Band for Pregnant Women: CLICK HERE
- EMF Protected Cell Phone Pouches: CLICK HERE
- EMF Protected Laptop Case and Sleeve: CLICK HERE
- EMF Protective Clothing: CLICK HERE
In conclusion, your electric toothbrush DOES in fact expose you to high amounts of EMF radiation. This is obviously a concern since exposure to EMF radiation may cause several health issues, especially if you are a person who is sensitive to EMF radiation.
There are however alternative toothbrushes that you can use that are just as effective at promoting your oral health. As always be careful and do your best to be aware of objects around you that emit EMF radiation and do your best to reduce your exposure to them as you go through your day to day living.