What is the best electric toothbrush today?

February 2, 2013 10:08 PM

What is currently the best electric toothbrush? Why is it the best?

I don't want to just buy the most expensive one, but I do want to get the best since it seems like even the most expensive ones are under $200, and I can afford that. Well, which brand and model is it?

posted by jsturgill to health & fitness (16 answers total)

I'm a new electric toothbrush user, but I've been a huge fan of my Philips Sonicare HX6511/50 Easy Clean so far. Everything you'd want in a good brush (30 second timing for each section of your mouth is the BEST!) without tons of annoying crap going on. I couldn't imagine wanting anything more from a toothbrush. Plus, it's actually fairly reasonably priced, too. Clean mouth, ftw!
posted by two lights above the sea at 10:14 PM on February 2

I had an expensive Oral-B, which eventually broke, and tried to replace it with a cheap one, a near-duplicate but one which didn't have a sensitive-teeth-low-vibration-setting, so I had to return the blasted thing.

Make sure the one you get meets your needs.
posted by sebastienbailard at 10:22 PM on February 2

The Wirecutter recommends the Oral-B ProfessionalCare 1000, particularly with the floss action brush heads.

I have an Oral-B Professional 5000, and while I'm not sure how it differs from the model the Wirecutter recommended, I can definitely vouch for the floss action brush heads. My teeth feel so clean after brushing with them.

I've also had a Sonicare, but it always seemed to leave plaque behind in the vertical ridges in my teeth. (I must say though, that every dentist who's asked me if I've tried one has expressed surprise when I told them about my experience with the brand.)
posted by homodachi at 10:23 PM on February 2

I should also mention that I have sensitive teeth and my toothbrush has been great for it! I feel like they are getting less sensitive, even.
posted by two lights above the sea at 10:27 PM on February 2

I spend time in two households and have both the Oral-B ProffesionalCare and a Sonicare FlexCare. I like the Sonicare way better as it feels like it gets my teeth much cleaner (it's also more comfortable in my tiny hands). I haven't had a single cavity or any other issue with my teeth since I started using a Sonicare brush more than a decade ago – and my teeth are noticeably whiter than average, but to be fair i don't know if that's due to the toothbrush (or having hit the "perfect teeth" genetic jackpot).
posted by halogen at 10:41 PM on February 2 [1 favorite]

I can't find the exact model Sonicare I have, but this is very similar. Mine has 3 modes - go clean, "normal clean" and max clean, at 1, 2 and 3 minutes each, respectively. I use the 3 minute timer every time I brush, because I like the idea of doing more than the recommendation.
posted by Solomon at 12:32 AM on February 3

Another very satisfied Sonicare FlexCare user here. We've been using it for about 4 years with no issues, and had the previous SonicCare model for about 10 years before that. The brush-heads are pricey here in Canada, about $10 each at Costco, but I know these things tend to be cheaper in the USA. It's the toothbrush recommended by the dental practice we go to.
posted by angiep at 12:35 AM on February 3 [1 favorite]

The best brush is the one that you use. That being said, sonicare has been the industry standard for a long time for good reason. it is effective, offers choices for bristle stiffness and head size and is reasonably priced.
posted by OHenryPacey at 2:16 AM on February 3

Another long-term satisfied Sonicare user here.

I recently replaced my old one after about 7 or 8 years with one that has a White Clean mode. I actually find this feature slightly annoying - previously I could just hit the button to pause and resume the cleaning, and it had a little timer to tell you when you'd spent the right amount of time on one quadrant. Now the button switches between different modes, which is really annoying. If I want to take it out of my mouth mid-brush, I have to hold down the button to pause it, and it never quite seems to resume properly. The actual brushing is still superb, and my teeth feel fantastic.

tl;dr - Sonicare, but get the simplest model possible.
posted by Magnakai at 4:11 AM on February 3

I tried both the Oral B (as per Wirecutter) and the Sonicare, and I vastly prefer the Sonicare. I find the Oral B to be a little... brutal. I just feel really abused after using the Oral B. Every once in a while I go back to it and I feel like my fillings are going to snap out of my mouth or my gums are going to be shoved around like a bumper car. (My mouth is a mess though.)

The most expensive ones have bells and whistles that I don't feel are necessary, at least for me. The fairly basic models do the trick, I think, though you should make sure you're getting something that has what you want.
posted by RJ Reynolds at 5:06 AM on February 3 [1 favorite]

I have flurosis and my teeth stain really easily/get things stuck to them very easily, but the Sonicare has been able to keep my teeth stain-free even though I drink tons of coffee/tea/things like blueberry smoothies/etc. I got it back in 2006 and change the brush head every 3-6 months.

I actually started using it after living abroad for a year, and for whatever reason I came back with really bad stains on my teeth. It was either going to be the Sonicare or dental whitening, so I tried Sonicare first.

I also like it because it beeps every 30 seconds to switch mouth quadrants, so it's very easy to brush for the recommended 2 minutes. I have the e-series and I think it is the basic model.
posted by fromageball at 5:14 AM on February 3

I'm of the opinion that they're all basically the same. I had a Sonicare that eventually died, but not before finding heads for it became difficult because they'd changed the design. I've got an Oral-B now. The deciding factors were having a timer and price (the lower end models don't all have timers). Target sells generic replacement heads, which is a plus. Basically, you want to figure out which features you care about (I had no idea they came with these different settings people are talking about--mine has on/off and maybe you could stop it beeping every 30 seconds somehow), find the toothbrushes with those features, find which of them use heads that aren't outrageously expensive and buy the cheapest one fitting the criteria that doesn't get atrocious reviews. There's likely no reason to spend more than $100. Mine was like $35 in the Thanksgiving sale at Target (my only day-after-Thanksgiving sale purchase ever, though I went on the Saturday). Full price was like $70.
posted by hoyland at 12:41 PM on February 3

My Sonicare Diamondclean is amazing. I am the last person I'd imagine passionately describing an electric toothbrush, but this thing has completely changed my life (and totally revolutionized the health of my gums.) It is also very attractive, and doesn't remind me of a creepy surgical tool like a lot of other electric toothbrushes I've seen (you probably don't care about that superficial aspect, but it made a difference for me as far as actually using the thing.) Also, it comes with a drinking glass which actually charges the toothbrush. You just keep the toothbrush in the glass, and it automagically charges. Enough gushing, I just sincerely love it, my teeth have never felt cleaner.
posted by thegreatfleecircus at 5:47 PM on February 3

I use my Sonicare Healthy White with the DiamondClean heads the above poster mentions. The regular Sonicare heads are great, but the DiamondClean heads are even better. They are grotesquely spendy though.
posted by Deodand at 7:29 PM on February 3

Did you guys buy all the Oral-B 1000s? Because they're out of stock at Amazon now.
posted by jsturgill at 3:54 PM on February 4

FWIW, I borrowed a family member's Oral B (no idea which one) over Christmas, and it didn't leave me with that super-clean feeling that my Sonicare gives me.
posted by Magnakai at 3:35 AM on February 6