An oral cleaning appliance, such as a toothbrush (10) or a mouthpiece (20), includes a bristle arrangement which comprises a base member and a field of bristles for contacting and cleaning teeth, wherein the bristle field (17, 26) has bristles with a density of between 2-7%, and wherein the individual bristle filaments have a stiffness characterized by a deflection of no greater than 50% of their length for a bristle tip pressure of 6 Newtons/cm2 and a deflection reaching 50% for a bristle tip pressure of 85 Newtons/cm2.
