Laurence is a copywriter and trained journalist. His passion is creating insightful and educational content for dental professionals of every level. Outside of work, he enjoys watching sport, quizzing and spending time with his family.
Interdental Brushes
For so long stuck the shadow of dental floss, interdental brushes are now widely considered the most effective form of interdental cleaning. Many dentists now recommend patients use interdental brushes as part of their everyday oral hygiene routine to remove plaque and prevent gum disease.
What Are Interdental Brushes?
Alternatively, some brush heads are wire free and are instead made of a soft rubber for a more gentle clean, such as Wisdom clean between interdentals. The plastic handle of the brush can be either very small, like on TePe regular interdental brushes, or long handled for better access to the back of the mouth, as on Acclean brushes.
Interdental Brush Sizes
Interdental brushes come in a variety of different sizes to fit different sizes of gaps between teeth.
The smallest brush diameter is 0.32mm and is designed to clean extremely fine-tooth gaps and inside gum pockets.
The biggest diameter is 1.5mm and is intended for large tooth gaps and cleaning orthodontic appliances.
The size of the brush is identified by the colour of the handle, however there is not much commonality between the different diameters and colour codes on the market.
To make things easier, the table opposite shows the different sizes and colours of Acclean brushes and the nearest TePe equivalents.
TePe vs Acclean Interdental Brushes
TePe is the UK’s most famous interdental brush brand, known for their distinctive small and colourful handles.
| Acclean Interdental Brush | Nearest TePe Equivalent | Intended Use |
| Size 00 (0.32mm diameter - pink) | Pink (0.4mm) | For extremely fine tooth gaps and inside gum pockets |
| Size 0 (0.36mm diameter - grey) | Orange (0.45mm) | For very fine tooth gaps and inside gum pockets |
| Size 1 (0.45mm diameter - purple) | Orange (0.45mm) | For small tooth gaps and general oral hygiene |
| Size 2 (0.52mm diameter - white) | Red (0.5mm) | For small to medium tooth gaps |
| Size 3 (0.52mm diameter - yellow) | Red (0.5mm) | For medium tooth gaps and general oral hygiene |
| Size 4 (0.52mm diameter - red) | Red (0.5mm) | For medium to larger tooth gaps |
| Size 5 (0.56mm diameter - blue) | Blue (0.6mm) | For larger tooth gaps, bridges, implants, orthodontics, etc |
| Size 6 (0.63mm diameter - green) | Yellow (0.8mm) | For larger tooth gaps, orthodontics, perio, etc |
