A dental cleaning appliance includes a handle, and a fluid delivery system for delivering a burst of working fluid to the teeth of a user. The fluid delivery system includes a nozzle from which the burst of working fluid is delivered to the teeth of the user. The appliance also includes a brush unit which extends at least partially about the nozzle. The brush unit includes a bristle carrier and a plurality of bristles mounted on the bristle carrier. A drive unit drives the movement of the bristle carrier relative to the nozzle.