10 Best Electric Toothbrushes

Buying guide

Do you need help deciding which electric toothbrush to choose? Our buying guide below will make your decision-making process easier.

Toothbrush brushing techniques

Rotating 2D: Rotating 2D is used with round toothbrushes. The brush uses a rotary brushing action, where the bristles move back and forth. This is an indication that the brush only does a spinning movement.

Rotating 3D: Just like Rotating 2D, Rotating 3D is also used with round toothbrushes. However, it pulsates and rotates at the same time. Its pulsating action causes the disruption of dental plaques beyond the reach of the bristles through a non-contact brushing effect.

Sonic: The Sonic brushing technique uses oblong toothbrushes. When in use, the long brush attachment gives back-and-forth and vibrating movements at the same time. This brushing technique produces sonic waves which massage the salivary glands. This causes increased production of saliva that helps in cleaning the teeth. Switching from manual to sonic brushing is easy since the brush attachment is an oval shape.

The following diagram shows the distribution in brushing technique among the electric toothbrushes in our comparison.

Types of brushing heads

Round: This brushing head makes it easier to reach the inner parts of the mouth when brushing. This results in lesser plaque build-up in parts of the teeth that are hard to reach when brushing. In addition, because of its small size, it focuses on removing plaque on each tooth.

Oblong: This type of brushing head is used for sonic and manual brushing techniques. It can reach more than one tooth in one brushing motion, which makes brushing faster and easier.

The following chart shows the distribution of types of brushing heads in our comparison.

Battery

Lithium-ion (Li-ion) and nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries are the most common types of batteries used in electric toothbrushes.

Lithium-ion batteries are generally lighter and compact and provide a longer battery life than NiMH batteries. However, Lithium-ion batteries are also more expensive. Typically, NiMH batteries are only found in budget electric toothbrushes.

This diagram shows the distribution in the type of battery across electric toothbrushes:

The battery life of an electric toothbrush can vary widely, from several days to several weeks, depending on the model and usage. Consider how often you’ll need to recharge the toothbrush and choose a model with a battery life that meets your needs.

The battery runtime can vary from 20 minutes to 64 minutes. The Oral-B Genius X is the model with the longest runtime.

This chart shows how the runtime is distributed across electric toothbrushes:

Features

• Built-in brushing timer – it lets you know exactly when the 2-minute brushing requirement is done
• Pressure Sensors – an indicator light alerts you when the brush is pressed too hard and the brushing slows down because it can eventually cause damage to the gums and tooth enamel
• Interval timer – signals every 30 seconds to ensure that each quadrant of your mouth has an equal brushing time allotment
• Position detection technology – sensors analyze and let you know the parts of your mouth that were cleaned and those that you missed
• Smartphone connectivity via Bluetooth – provides you with real-time information regarding the progress of your brushing process, recognizes where you fall short and advises on how to do better
• Variable brush head movements – the brush head can vibrate side to side (oscillate), rotate very fast (spin), and bristles may pulsate in and out for deep and thorough cleaning
• Chargeable carry case or base – this comes in handy to keep the toothbrush charged in case you bring it in when you travel
• Brush alerts – lets you know when the brush head is due for replacement
• Charge level display – indicates when it needs to be charged
• Toothbrush modes:
• Daily cleaning mode: For everyday cleaning
• Polish mode: For teeth whitening (uses polishing cups)
• Sensitive mode: For sensitive teeth and gums
• Massage mode: Provides a gentle massage to the gum line
• Deep clean mode: Allows for extended brushing time beyond the recommended duration to ensure thorough cleaning of hard-to-reach areas in the mouth

Size

Pick the right size of an electric toothbrush for your needs. If the toothbrush is for a kid, pick a model for kids.

Speed

A toothbrush with a faster speed is more effective for intensive cleaning.

Cost

The price is always a factor in deciding what electric toothbrush to buy. A higher price tag comes with more settings and features. However, the best-performing items are not necessarily the most expensive. Furthermore, the wide range of prices in the market makes it difficult to choose. Select a toothbrush with just the right features you need. In that way, you can maximize its usability without spending so much.

The cheapest electric toothbrush is the Oral-B Kids Frozen 2, which costs £16. These are the five cheapest electric toothbrushes represented in our comparison.

You can find the best cheap electric toothbrushes here.

The distribution in price among the electric toothbrushes is shown in the chart below.