An electric toothbrush with combined transverse and translational brush head movement

An electric toothbrush comprises an electric motor 11 and an elongate handle 10 includes drive means having an arm 14 connected to the motor 11 and rotatable about a first longitudinal axis A of the handle, a push rod 16 having one end remote from an elongate shank 12, loosely restrained to be pivotable and movable side to side and along a second longitudinal axis of the handle B, and an elongate drive link 20 extending along the longitudinal axes and connected between the arm and the remote end to impart pivotable and longitudinal movement to the shank when the arm rotates. Preferably the shank 12 is releasably attached by opposing clips (24, Fig 4) or integral hook (26, Fig 5) to the pushrod 16. The components making up the drive means may be formed of moulded plastics materials easily joined together thus providing low cost manufacture.