Guys, we hate to break it to you, but all the designer shirts, on-trends tees, and bespoke suits in the world won’t matter one bit if what’s in your mouth resembles a vandalised graveyard.
Like your hair, if you’re neglecting your teeth, you’re overlooking an important a part of your day-to-day appearance (not to mention putting your health at risk). Whether dressing with a streetwear lean or black tie levels of smart – you’d better brush-up, which starts with getting a quality electric toothbrush.
But buying a piece of kit isn’t as straightforward as you’d think. The market is bristling with models that oscillate, rotate, pulsate, err, ultrasonic-ate, which can make it hard to know where to start.
Helpfully, we’ve done the hard work by rounding up the top budget and baller electric toothbrushes from the best oral health brands in the world. Brace yourself.
What To Look For In An Electric Toothbrush
Brush Timer
The crown kings at the American Dental Association recommend two minutes of brushing for the most effective clean. Anything less than less than that can leave plaque from last night’s lasagne behind, while over-brushing can damage gums and teeth. A built-in timer will ensure your gnashers get the right amount of time under the bristles.
Quad-Pacer
A quad-pacer splits a toothbrush timer into 30-second intervals. This allows you to focus on brushing the four main areas of your mouth for an even amount of time. Most quad-pacers will either use short pauses in vibration or produce a short series of pulses to signal when it’s time to move on.
Pressure Sensor
Usually found on higher-end models, a pressure sensor will let you know if you’re brushing too hard, which is important because it can lead to gum recession (never a good look). A pressure sensor will buzz, flash a light, or even pause brushing to let you know you need to ease up a little.
Vibration Speed
On a standard electric toothbrush, the brush head rotates back and forth or up and down. Sonic brushes typically vibrate at about 260Hz (260 times per second), which translates into 31,000 brush strokes per minute — about 10 times faster than ordinary electric toothbrushes. An ultrasonic toothbrush vibrates about 100–1000 times faster than conventional rotating or sonic toothbrushes.
Lasting Rechargeable Battery
A rechargeable battery saves the cost of regularly replacing traditional batteries during an electric toothbrush’s lifespan, which is around three to five years. It also decreases the risk of your toothbrush dying on you unexpectedly, losing the benefits of owning an electric toothbrush altogether. Most models offer a rechargeable battery that can be juiced-up via a stand or travel case while on the go that lasts on average two weeks per charge.
Best Electric Toothbrush Brands
Philips
Budget: Philips EasyClean HX6511/43
Living up to its name, the Philips EasyClean is a no-nonsense, affordable electric toothbrush that gets to work polishing your pegs with the brand’s trademark sonic cleaning action.
The model has a standard two-minute timer and easy start function, which gradually increases the brushing intensity. Yes, the EasyClean is basic, but the big sell is the Philips stamp of quality and the superior battery life – two weeks from a single charge. You can’t put a price on not having to go searching for that missing cable.
Baller: Philips Sonicare ProtectiveClean 6100
Arguably the hands-down, teeth-out best (non-app assisted) electric toothbrush on the market. The slick-looking Philips Sonicare is gentle on teeth but tough on plaque, using a pressure sensor to protect gums, a quad-pacer that tells you when to move onto the next area, and alerts that remind you when it’s time to change the brush head.
What’s more, the brush heads are fitted with ‘Brushsync’ technology – an embedded microchip that allows the handle to automatically switch to the most appropriate brushing mode (clean, white, or gum care). We’re shocked it doesn’t brush your teeth for you.
Panasonic
Budget: Panasonic Sonic Vibration EW-DL82-W
One of the best electric toothbrushes available for its relatively low price, Panasonic’s entry-level model is compact and speedy – delivering 31,000 vibrations per minute compared to the typical 300 strokes when brushing manually.
Its ultrasonic waves (vibrations that loosen and remove plaque) aren’t as powerful as those found in pricier models, but the standard triple-headed brush still does a good job of attacking stains with its two brushing modes (white and soft). It also comes with a textured silicone head for scrubbing your tongue, and a timer that pauses the action every 30 seconds for recommended brush times. So you can head to the barbecue knowing your grill is on-point.
Baller: Panasonic Sonic Vibration EW-DL92
You may just be trying to dislodge a bit of steak from your incisors, but that doesn’t mean brushing your teeth can’t be sciency. Panasonic’s top-end model has all the basic cleaning features – 31,000 vibrations per minute, a triple-headed brush, tongue cleaner, timer, and soft start function – but it also uses ionic technology.
The science behind the scrubber is that it creates an ionic current in your mouth, which loosens plaque and shifts stains. This one also has four brush modes – white, soft, sensitive, and gum care – and two additional brush heads: an ionic two-way silicone brush and a point brush for targeted cleaning.
Oral B
Budget: Oral-B Pro 2 2500N CrossAction
Oral-B (powered by bathroom electronics giant Braun) remains one of the best-known brands for electrically-assisted teeth scrubbing. At the affordable end of the range is this reliable model.
The Pro 2 2500N includes all the usual Oral-B features – a timer that vibrates every 30 seconds, pressure alerts, travel case – but has the added benefit of round CrossAction brush heads with 16-degree bristle angle, which do the hard brushing work and promise to remove up to 100 per cent more plaque than a manual toothbrush. That means your teeth will start getting whiter from day one (Crest strips begone).
Baller: Oral-B Genius 9000 CrossAction
The earliest toothbrush was a thin twig with a frayed end, oh how far we’ve come. This award-winning model is Bluetooth-enabled and connects with the Oral-B app to provide live coaching on brushing techniques, plus it has position detection sensors to keep tabs on which areas need the most attention.
Going big on personalisation, a light-up ‘smart ring’ alerts you if you’re brushing too hard while using any of the six brushing modes. And, as with the entry-level model, it comes with the round CrossAction brush heads that oscillate, rotate, and pulsate to break down stains from stubborn foods and one too many red wines.
Colgate
Budget: Colgate 250+
One of the most inexpensive bicuspid brooms out there, Colgate’s 250+ model is an ideal first time leccy brush for anyone looking to make the jump from a manual. And this brush makes it worth taking the leap, promising to remove five times more plaque at the gum line than its battery-free brethren.
As well as being designed with soft bristles for a gentler brushing experience, the slim, lightweight handle means it still feels like a regular, easy-to-use toothbrush and will slot seamlessly into a wash bag when heading for a weekend away.
Baller: Colgate E1
Never judge a brush by its bristles. Though the Colgate E1 may look like just like any old manual toothbrush, it’s much smarter than that. There’s artificial intelligence built into the handle that connects to an app via Bluetooth, allowing sensors to detect position and movements across 16 specific zones then use a learning algorithm to recommend brushing patterns and technique improvements.
The app is also stacked with other features designed to help change bad brushing habits and even a mouth map that highlights where you’ve brushed and where needs more work. Adding brawn to the brains – a sonic vibrating action makes it highly effective at the actual cleaning business, too.
Foreo
Budget: Foreo Issa Play
It may not be from one of the big name electronics brands, but that hasn’t stopped this model from Swedish innovators Foreo becoming a cult favourite. The Issa Play does away with the usual rotating or vibrating actions that are standard with other brands of toothbrush. Instead, it produces 9,000 high-intensity pulsations per minute for a revolutionary approach to removing plaque and stains.
As part of the sleek colour-block design, it features an innovative brush head built with polymer bristles in the centre for tough action on the teeth, but extra-soft silicone bristles surrounding them for going gentler on the gums. As well as being fully waterproof, the entire model is covered with antibacterial silicone to make it ultra-hygienic. Until you drop it in the toilet, that is.
Baller: Foreo Issa 2
Building on the success of the Issa Play, the Issa 2 is the latest model from Foreo and features all the trademark features of the Swedish brand’s original design with a few added extras.
This new and improved model is capable of delivering 11,000 high-intensity pulsations per minute to create micro-sweeps that effectively and gently clean the teeth and gums. There’s also has a detachable head, which you can swap out for a tongue scrubber to tackle food residue and bacteria and help banish bad breath.
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