The Best Electric Toothbrush
Oral-B Pro 1000
The Oral-B Pro 1000 brush comes with a minimal charging pedestal that simply requires dropping the brush onto a peg. Fully charged, it lasts for at least a week of twice-daily two-minute brushing sessions before needing a recharge, which is on a par with the other toothbrushes we tested in this price range and plenty for most people. The biggest drawback: It’s louder than other brushes we’ve tested.If you can’t find the Oral-B Pro 1000, or if you prefer a quieter brush, we recommend the Philips Sonicare ProtectiveClean 4100. Like the Pro 1000, the ProtectiveClean 4100 is not trumped up with unproven features, and it includes everything you need in an electric toothbrush. The ProtectiveClean 4100 runs much more quietly, but unlike the Pro 1000, it comes to a full stop after two minutes of brushing (rather than restarting the cycle as the Pro 1000 does) and has a less diverse, more expensive range of brush heads, giving you fewer options for texture and shape. We’ve also found that, compared with the Pro 1000, the ProtectiveClean 4100 is a bit easier to wipe clean: Fewer ridges on the uniform plastic handle mean there are fewer spaces to accumulate gunk.
Goby Toothbrush
If a subscription service will help you replace your brush heads regularly, Goby has all the features we look for in a brush: a 30-second quadrant timer that stops after two minutes and a rechargeable battery, which can be juiced via USB. The Goby has only one type of brush head available (rotating), so if you like to customize your brush, this service may not be for you.
Philips Sonicare ProtectiveClean 4100
The Philips Sonicare ProtectiveClean 4100 is one of the least expensive brushes in Sonicare’s line, but it still has a two-minute timer and rechargeable battery, and it makes less noise than the Oral-B Pro 1000. This pick has a smaller range of brush textures and shapes, but they are all soft and serviceable.The Goby has everything we look for (two-minute timer, rechargeable battery) and the company can deliver new brush heads every few months with a subscription. However, it offers only one brush head type.The Oral-B Pro 1000 has the most important features for the lowest price: a two-minute timer, an easy brushing process, and compatibility with the largest range of brush heads.
Best online subscription toothbrush: Goby
The Goby Electric Toothbrush is only a few dollars more than our other picks and comes with the same no-frills features: a two-minute timer that shuts the brush off at the end, plus a quadrant timer to prompt you to switch areas every 30 seconds. Goby offers an “optional” brush head subscription service—however, keep in mind that you can’t get new brush heads anywhere else and there is only one kind available.
The Goby uses a rotating brush head similar to the Oral-B’s rather than an oscillating head like you’d find on the Philips Sonicare, and it feels like our top pick’s. Though a rotating brush head can produce some vibrations, we’ve found that the Goby is not uncomfortable to use. Goby says its rechargeable, induction-based battery will last two weeks, or 28 cycles, on a single charge. In our testing, a new unit lasted a little longer than that, running for 33 cycles. However, an earlier production model we tested, which may have been defective, lasted only 14 cycles. We prefer the Goby over the weaker Quip subscription brushes, which only vibrate softly like inexpensive Oral-B Pulsar disposables (see The competition for more).
You can set up the Goby’s subscription to send new brush heads every one to three months. (Dentists recommend that you replace your brush every three months, so the more frequent options are not necessary for most single users.) Amazon does offer subscription deliveries for its products, too, but only for Prime members. The replacement brush heads for the Goby cost $6 with $3 shipping, about the same as Philips Sonicare replacements and a little more expensive than Oral-B heads.
Care and maintenance
Because brush heads must be replaced roughly every three months, the total cost of owning an electric toothbrush adds up. Some retailers sell replacement brush heads in bulk, and some manufacturers regularly issue coupons, which can both help keep costs down. (See our blog post on the cost of replacement brush heads, including some generics we tried but ultimately didn’t like.)
Nearly every electric toothbrush we’ve tested requires rinsing and/or wiping down between each use. Otherwise, you may end up with dried toothbrush-spit residue gunking up any crevices—particularly where the brush head meets the handle. In addition to a quick rinse and wipe between uses, you may find it worthwhile to periodically remove the brush head to clean this junction. In our experience, a cotton swab is well-suited for getting gunk out of any small divots in the brush handle.
What about “smart” toothbrushes?
It’s been a couple years since the first app-connected, or “smart,” electric toothbrushes became available, but they still don’t offer enough capabilities for their added cost for us to recommend them for most people. (They’re at least double the price of a standard electric toothbrush.) “Smart” brush capabilities vary widely, but mainly these devices automate the process of tracking your brushing habits, typically by connecting to your phone or tablet via Bluetooth. The most expensive “smart” models, like the Oral-B Genius and Philips Sonicare FlexCare Platinum Connected can track where the brush is in your mouth.
“I think that one of the things that people look for with Bluetooth connection—or anything that connects to their phone—is confirmation that what they’re doing is enough, or good, or better than what they were doing before,” Dr. Maria Lopez-Howell, a dentist and ADA spokesperson told us. “And I think that, if this gives the patient information that they’re brushing enough time, [and] if this is encouraging a patient to brush—this is something that the American Dental Association is wanting.”
There are plenty of free apps—including Oral-B’s for Android and iOS—that can be used with non-“smart” brushes, powered or manual, to help you time and track your toothbrushing, remind you to clean your tongue and floss, and so on. Dr. Lopez-Howell pointed to The Children’s Oral Health campaign’s 2min2x website, produced in collaboration with the Ad Council, which offers a series of two-minute videos kids can watch while brushing.
“Truthfully, at the end of the day, for pennies and minutes—you don’t need all of these more costly brushes—you can choose oral health,” Dr. Lopez-Howell said. No matter the toothbrush (manual or powered, “smart” or not), “brush twice a day for two minutes with a fluoride toothpaste, floss once daily, and visit your dentist to make sure that you’re doing the right thing.”
Runner-up: Philips Sonicare ProtectiveClean 4100
The Philips Sonicare ProtectiveClean 4100 is one of the least expensive Sonicare brushes, at around $50. This brush is quieter than our recommended Oral-B model, with a more subtle motion (though the vibrations can feel slightly more uncomfortable when the back of the brush knocks against your other teeth). The ProtectiveClean 4100, which has a two-minute timer with quadrant pacing, also has twice the battery life of the Oral-B, lasting two weeks on a single charge instead of one week (in our tests it lasted for 16 days of use), so it might be a better choice for travelers who don’t want to pack another charger.
A nice perk of all Philips Sonicare brushes, including the ProtectiveClean 4100, is that the brush heads come with a tiny plastic hood you can snap off and on to guard against the coliform sprays flying around the bathroom if you store your toothbrush in open air. The cap is easy to lose, but it’s a nice touch.The replacement brush heads for the ProtectiveClean 4100 are slightly more expensive at $27 for three ($9 each); the Oral-B’s replacement heads can be as cheap as $5 to $6 each, making the Oral-B’s expenses a little lower in the long run. Per our testing, Philips Sonicare brush heads are interchangeable, and all the Sonicare brushes we tested were able to accommodate each other’s heads. Philips Sonicare does not make this explicit anywhere in its product materials. Most of Philips Sonicare’s brush heads are oblong with soft bristles and lack options for additional structural elements, like rubber flaps or “polishing cups,” so you get fewer options than you do with Oral-B.Like the Oral-B model, the ProtectiveClean 4100 comes with a limited two-year warranty (PDF) that requires you to retain the receipt and ship the brush out if it needs service.
The ProtectiveClean 4100 is about the same price as the Oral-B Pro 1000, but online prices can fluctuate.
Like the Oral-B Pro 1000, the ProtectiveClean 4100 has earned the ADA Seal.