What’s more, for those of us who want to improve our oral hygiene, new smart toothbrushes can help you brush more thoroughly for the right amount of time using guidance from a smartphone application that is tied to your brush.
The brush delivers no glitzy features but does offer all of the features we’re looking forReceived The New York Times’ Wirecutter Best Electric Toothbrush designationSimple interface has a timer but no other bells and whistlesSmall, convenient recharging station means no battery replacing and easy travel
While we’ll definitely mention some smart brushes and cool designs, our top winner wins because, well, it’s a toothbrush. We wanted to pick the most affordable option that has everything you need to get a clean, healthy smile according to the American Dental Association. The ADA’s main recommendations for an electric toothbrush is that it may be more comfortable or easier to use. The Pro 1000 scores there. With its mountains of reviews, it’s seen as an easy to use brush that only has one button, which turns on and off. However, the ADA also recommends brushing for two full minutes twice daily, so the Oral-B Pro 1000 takes out the guesswork and cuts off after its simple timer reaches two minutes. One underrated issue with some sleek and trendy brushes is that because they are newer there are fewer off-brand options for replacement brush heads. The Pro 1000 isn’t a new model, and many grocery stores will have a cheaper brush head available, helping you to change the brush head the recommended once every three months. For sheer practicality, price, and consistency, the Pro 1000 takes our top spot.
Sleek, appealing design and carrying caseApp-enabled helps you target every area of your teethSonic technology keeps the brush quiet and effective
Colgate is a respected brand name in the industry and brings a lot to the table with its smart toothbrush. The Hum is small and beautiful, which should appeal to a wide variety of brushers. In contrast to the slower oscillating technology used in older toothbrushes, this sonic toothbrush uses a higher-frequency pulse that is purported to get toothpaste and water deeper into the areas around the teeth, making for a better clean without the loud buzzing that came with rotating-oscillating toothbrushes. What’s more is that the toothbrush transmits to a readout on your phone, documenting the areas where you brushed well and where you should spend more time and attention. It can be effective for those who are a little helter-skelter with their teeth, and it makes brushing a pleasure rather than a chore.
Tidy design makes it the slimmest, easiest to transportSimple, widely available AAA battery-powered and 3-month battery lifeLarge, manual-brush-style toothbrush head, with replacements mailed on a schedule
While you can now buy Quip brushes in stores, the original direct-to-consumer concept was a smart one. Most of us don’t intend to let our brush heads get old but we forget to buy a new one every three months. Quip’s simple brush design combined with its system of sending a brush head to your doorstep right on schedule made it a game changer in the battery-powered toothbrush market. It includes 30-second pulses that remind you to move your brush around your mouth at those intervals, and it comes at a price point lower than many of the rechargeable types. The travel cover is slim but secretly lets you mount the brush to your mirror, giving it a place to stay and making it easy to remember to brush.
Tech features like a pressure sensor to keep you from pressing too hardHandle light reminds you to change brush headBrings Sonicare’s high-end design to an affordable price point
Sonicare’s ProtectiveClean brush has a price to rival the mid-range brushes we’ve considered today while bringing the name and background of the high-end Sonicare systems. We chose this brush because it has many of the best teeth-cleaning-related features that Sonicare often boasts – from the timer to the pressure sensor – without some of the newer features like the proprietary IntelliClean liquid toothpaste dispensing brushes. Think of it as providing the core features without any of the fluff.
Sonic toothbrush that uses very high-frequency vibrationsMultiple modes lets you find your ideal cleaning styleContoured bristles in a typical manual-brush oval shape
While not as well known as the other brands we looked at, Brightline’s Sonic Toothbrush stands out for its model that has five different modes. The modes are called clean, white, polish, massage, and sensitive, making this brush both helpful for those who want a higher-intensity pulse when brushing and those whose sensitive teeth or gums might benefit from a more gentle pulsation. The design is simple and the contoured bristles are effective, all for a low price point. That being said, the best electric toothbrush may vary based on your personal preference. Be aware that while both Sonicare’s and Oral-B’s brush heads have widespread availability, both also have some brush heads that aren’t cross-compatible. So make sure your specific brush is listed as compatible on the brush head packaging. Whether a brush came with multiple types of brush heads or was cross-compatible with widely available brush heads was also a factor in affordability. We worked to find the best options that were in the most common price range, $25-$75, rather than focusing on brushes that had mountains of features but also cost hundreds of dollars. We used product reviews from customers to identify products that had a strong reputation for helping people feel they were getting their teeth very clean, were comfortable to use, didn’t have annoying lights or excessively loud buzzing sounds, and held a charge as expected.
