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You’ve probably heard the saying, “You only need to brush and floss the teeth you want to keep.” While the words are undeniably tongue-in-cheek, there’s considerable truth to them. Proper oral care, which includes twice-daily brushing and once-daily flossing, is critical if you want to hang onto your choppers well into old age.
Do you really need an electric toothbrush?
Most dentists agree that a properly wielded manual toothbrush can do nearly as good a job as an electric toothbrush. The problem, however, comes with the “properly wielded” part. Most people fail to brush the full recommended two minutes, don’t carefully work the brush around the entire set of teeth and the gum line, and don’t brush gently and yet with speed. By contrast, a good electric toothbrush:
- Oscillates or strokes thousands — even tens of thousands — of times per minute, as compared to the typical 300 strokes per minute when brushing manually
- Removes more plaque than a manual toothbrush
- Has a signal or timer of some type to motivate longer brushing
- Is easier for people with arthritis or other hand weaknesses to use
- Is likelier to reduce gum disease than a manual toothbrush
We want you to keep your teeth healthy and strong for a lifetime. That’s why we’ve done the research to bring you five electric toothbrushes that we feel are the best choices for the most people. We visited the top consumer websites, listened to actual product owners, and considered advice from dentists and dental hygienists when making our decisions. So go ahead and break out your favorite toothpaste. Healthy, clean white teeth are on their way.
Here are our top picks for the best electric toothbrushes:
Updated on 12/17/2018 by Malarie Gokey: Updated the formatting and prices.
Read on in the slides below to check out our top picks.
SEE ALSO: The best teeth whitening kits you can buy
The best electric toothbrush overall
Why you'll love it: The Oral-B Pro 1000 is the best electric toothbrush because it's budget-friendly, highly effective, and compatible with a wide range of replacement brush heads.
The Oral-B Pro 1000 is a no-frills electric toothbrush, but it gets the job done, and it gets it done well. It comes with a CrossAction brush head that reaches into every nook and cranny between and within your teeth to scour away up to 300% more plaque than a manual toothbrush would remove.
If you prefer another type of brush head, however, there are plenty to choose from; the Oral-B Pro 1000 is compatible with nine different Oral-B heads, including whitening, sensitive, extra gum line cleaning, deep clean, orthodontic care, and floss action. Just twist and pull to switch out the brush head.
The toothbrush handle has an easily accessed on/off button, and the brush vibrates gently every 30 seconds to let you know it’s time to move on to the next quadrant of your mouth. The sections include the inside of upper teeth, outside of upper teeth, inside of lower teeth, and outside of lower teeth. Press too hard, and the toothbrush will stop rotating — overly vigorous tooth brushing is a major cause of gum irritation. When you let up the pressure, the brush will automatically begin to spin once again.
The Wirecutter chose the Oral-B Pro 1000 as their top-pick electric toothbrush, and Health also selected this electric toothbrush as its number-one choice.
On Amazon, the Oral-B Pro 1000 is one of the best-selling electric toothbrushes, with nearly 5,500 reviews and an average of 4.4 stars. Buyers like the brush’s simplicity, its effectiveness, and its reasonable price. Many also appreciate being able to swap out the brush head for one that better suits their needs.
Expect to recharge the Oral-B Pro 1000 about once per week. You’ll see a flashing red light when the battery is getting low. The recharging base is very small, so there's no need to clear much counter space.
Pros: Great price, effective at removing plaque, many types of compatible brush heads
Cons: Not as fast or as powerful as some newer electric toothbrushes
The best electric toothbrush that does it all
Regular flossing with string is effective, but water flossing gets the job done even more effectively — blasting between teeth, beneath the gum line, and into all the nooks and crannies of your back molars to remove sticky plaque, food bits, and bacteria. Waterpik has always been the top name in water flossers, but now the company has ingeniously combined a water flosser and an electric toothbrush in one convenient package. Just one cord to plug in and your toothbrush charges right on the water flosser’s stand.
You’ll get a Waterpik Sensonic Professional Toothbrush, which uses sonic technology to remove plaque from your gums and teeth. The brush has two speeds, a two-minute timer, and soft bristles that clean your teeth very effectively without irritating your gums. The kit includes a standard brush head and a compact brush head for precision cleaning.
The water flosser’s reservoir holds 90+ seconds-worth of water, and you can add a bit of mouthwash if you’d like for extra breath freshening. The flosser’s tip delivers a thin, powerful stream of water that painlessly and effectively blasts away plaque and debris not just from between your teeth, but also from beneath your gum line where string floss won’t reach. You can set the water pressure to your liking, and choose between five different types of tip.
Amazon buyers are very enthusiastic about the Waterpik Complete Care. It has more than 5,200 reviews and an average of 4.4 stars. While many users comment that it takes a bit of practice to learn how to use a water flosser without drenching your entire bathroom, most feel the device leaves their teeth and gums very healthy and clean.
A typical comment, “Best dental hygiene purchase I have ever made. My teeth look and feel better than ever. Cannot recommend this enough.”
On the downside, quite a few buyers say the water flosser is loud.
Pros: Doesn’t take up much counter space, superior to string floss, toothbrush is always charged and ready to go, reasonable price
Cons: Water flosser is loud, potential for getting your bathroom wet
The best electric toothbrush for kids
Why you'll love it: Getting your children to brush properly twice per day can be a struggle, but with the fun Philips Sonicare for Kids, they might actually beg to brush their teeth.
Kids and good oral hygiene is typically not a natural combo. Most kids are either reluctant to brush or do a poor job at cleaning their teeth. The Philips Sonicare for Kids makes brushing fun, however, turning a routine task almost into a video game, thanks to the free Bluetooth-compatible app that encourages and rewards good brushing techniques.
Like all Sonicare toothbrushes, the kids’ brush uses patented sonic technology for up to 75% more effective removal of plaque and debris than a manual toothbrush. It has a built-in two-minute timer and alerts the child to switch quadrants every 30 seconds while brushing. There are two speed settings, and the brush comes with eight stickers to customize the handle.
But where the fun really starts is with the free app that not only teaches kids about the whys and hows of good oral hygiene, it also turns brushing into a game. Your child will get to adopt a “Sparkly,” a cute little creature that gives brushing tips while your child “brushes” the Sparkly’s teeth. The app also tracks performance, making it easy to reward good hygiene. Just set your smartphone or tablet where your child can watch while brushing.
With nearly 1,000 reviews on Amazon and an average of 4.6 stars, there are definitely a lot of happy parents and kids out there brushing with the Philips Sonicare for Kids. Over and over, buyers comment that their kids went from brushing-resistant to actually wanting to brush their teeth. Many state that their child’s dental appointments are much, much better since switching to the kid’s Sonicare.
Says one pleased parent, “My 2.5-year-old began brushing happily and thoroughly every night just so he can see his "Sparkly" monster get a present. He is so excited and he used to dread brushing.”
The Philips Sonicare for Kids is recommended for ages three and up if the child is using the brush on their own. Younger children should have assistance from mom or dad, however.
Pros: App makes brushing fun, brush head is sized for children’s mouths, very effective at removing plaque and debris from teeth and gum line
Cons: None to speak of, although your child will eventually outgrow the cutesy app
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