Nonelectric Toothbrushes
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Personal Care & Safety Products · CPSC Code 1629
No trend data
The verdict
Nonelectric Toothbrushes carry a danger score of 35/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 3,715 ER-treated injuries a year that are stable over the most recent five-year window.
- 35/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 3,715
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 8.2%
- end in hospital admission
- 0-4
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1629 - last data year 2010.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 35/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for nonelectric toothbrushes - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume3,715 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)8.2%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trendN/A
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Nonelectric Toothbrushes (CPSC product code 1629, in the Personal Care & Safety Products category) generate an estimated 3,715 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 22,292 ER-treated injuries across the 6-year span from 2005 to 2010. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 35/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are stable over the most recent five-year window, with the busiest year on record being 2010 (5,298 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2005 (2,950 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for nonelectric toothbrushes is laceration to the mouth, accounting for approximately 2,348 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by dental injury to the mouth (2,007 cases). The 0-4 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 5,068 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 8.2% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 0 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how nonelectric toothbrushes fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2010-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2010)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 2,920 | 2,148 | |
| 5-14 | 1,141 | 1,516 | |
| 15-24 | 890 | 1,217 | |
| 25-34 | 1,531 | 2,195 | |
| 35-44 | 825 | 942 | |
| 45-54 | 987 | 1,181 | |
| 55-64 | 562 | 886 | |
| 65-74 | 411 | 629 | |
| 75+ | 924 | 1,345 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Mouth | Laceration | |
| Mouth | Dental Injury | |
| Mouth | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Eyeball | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Mouth | Other | |
| All Parts Body | Poisoning | |
| Internal | Ingestion | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Upper Trunk | Other | |
| Neck | Strain, Sprain | |
| Lower Trunk | Other | |
| Mouth | Puncture | |
| All Parts Body | Other |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
3YOM WAS RUNNING IN HOUSE AND FELL WHILE HAVING TOOTHBRUSH IN MOUTH,ABRASIONS TO BACK OF MOUTH
63YOF PASSED OUT AT HOME AND FELL TO FLOOR WHILE BRUSHING TEETHSYNCOPE
3YOM CUT BACK OF MOUTH WHILE BRUSHING TEETHLACERATION MOUTH
25YOF HAS PAIN IN MOUTH AFTER BRUSHING TEETH REALLY HARDDENTAL INJURY / GINGIVITIS
33YOM STATES WAS EATING POPCORN & WENT IN TO BRUSH HIS TEETH.HAD GAG REFLEX & VOMITED,NOW FEELS LIKE SOMETHING IN THROAT. DX; SORE THROAT.
54YOF WAS BRUSHING HER TEETH WHEN HER MOUTH/GUMS STARTED TO BLEED.DX: PALATAL BLEEDING
32 YO FEMALE POKED IN EYE WITH TOOTHBRUSH BRISTLES. DX. CORNERAL ABRASION.*
WHILE BRUSHING TEETH, A 46 YOM DEVELOPED LOW BACK PAIN, DX LUMBAR STRAIN
DX DENTAL DISORDER: 23YOBM W BRUSH'G TEETH SEVERAL WKS AGO TOOTHCRACKED; LS JAM THROB'; DRAINAGE REPORT. HAS NOT SEEN DENTIST
DX ORAL APHTHAE OR APTHOUS ULCERS: 19MOF BLDG W TEEH BRUSHED
66YOM BRUSING TEETH WITH A TOOTHBRUSH NOW GUMS BLEEDING HEMORRHAGE GUMS
20 MONTH OLD MALE FELL WHILE RUNNING WITH TOOTHBRUSH IN MOUTHMOUTH PAIN
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to nonelectric toothbrushes on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are nonelectric toothbrushes?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, nonelectric toothbrushes have a danger score of 35/100 (low risk). An estimated 3,715 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from nonelectric toothbrushes?
The most common injury is laceration to the mouth, accounting for approximately 2,348 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from nonelectric toothbrushes increasing or decreasing?
No trend data.
Who is most at risk for nonelectric toothbrushes injuries?
The 0-4 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 5,068 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by nonelectric toothbrushes?
Of all ER visits involving nonelectric toothbrushes, approximately 8.2% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (91.8%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with nonelectric toothbrushes?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Personal Care & Safety Products
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 35/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 0-4 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
