The 2 Best Electric Toothbrushes of 2023

Aug 12, 2023

The Quip Rechargeable solves for one of the main drawbacks associated with the original Quip, but its vibrations are still weak when compared with our picks.

If you find an automated two-minute timer helpful or you need or prefer to brush with a powered assist, it may be worthwhile to upgrade from a manual to an electric toothbrush. After more than 100 total hours of research, interviewing dental experts, considering nearly every model available, and testing 36 toothbrushes ourselves in hundreds of trials at the bathroom sink, we’ve found that the Oral-B Pro 1000 is the best electric toothbrush. Although it has among the fewest fancy features of the rechargeable brushes we’ve tested, it does have the most important things experts recommend—a built-in two-minute timer and access to one of the most extensive lines of replacement brush heads available—at an affordable price.

A quality electric toothbrush does most of the "brushing" for you. All you need to do is glide the brush head gently across teeth.

Dentists recommend brushing for two minutes twice a day. An onboard automated timer helps you brush for the full two minutes.

We prefer toothbrushes that are compatible with a wide range of affordable replacement brush heads.

The rechargeable Oral-B Pro 1000 has the most important features for a reasonable price: a two-minute timer with handy quadrant pacing and compatibility with the largest range of widely available replacement brush heads. It has a pressure sensor and a long-lasting battery.

The Oral-B Pro 1000 toothbrush, which is compatible with nearly all the brand's replacement brush heads, has an onboard two-minute timer with helpful quadrant pacing, keeping you on task (moving the brush around your mouth, cleaning all your teeth) for the recommended amount of brushing time. It also has a pressure sensor to let you know when you’re brushing too hard. Our testers have found its oscillating brushing motion especially effective: It feels plenty powerful to deliver a reliable cleaning. The Pro 1000 comes with a minimalist 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.

Sample replacement brush head costs:

Approximate cost of ownership ($45 brush handle1 + four Oral-B replacement heads) after:

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The Philips Sonicare 4100 also has a two-minute timer with quadrant pacing but is less noisy compared with the Oral-B Pro 1000. It's compatible with a smaller range of (more-expensive) brush heads. It charges via USB and has a pressure sensor.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $50.

If you can't find the Oral-B Pro 1000, or if you prefer a quieter brush with a head that vibrates back and forth instead of oscillates, we recommend the Philips Sonicare 4100. Like the Pro 1000, the 4100 has a two-minute timer with quadrant pacing plus a pressure sensor and is not trumped up with unproven features. The 4100 runs much more quietly than the Pro 1000, 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 head shapes and bristle textures. However, the 4100 has two intensity settings (meaning you can brush with strong or stronger vibrations), and its battery lasts longer on a full charge than that of the Pro 1000. Since October 2021, the charging pedestal that accompanies any new 4100 has only a USB plug. Customers can request a free two-prong plug adapter from Philips Sonicare.

Sample replacement brush head costs:

Approximate cost of ownership ($50 brush handle + four Philips Sonicare replacement heads) after:

Water flossers are pricier, bulkier, and fussier than string floss. If you need or want to floss with a steady stream of water, we recommend the Waterpik Ion.

The rechargeable Oral-B Pro 1000 has the most important features for a reasonable price: a two-minute timer with handy quadrant pacing and compatibility with the largest range of widely available replacement brush heads. It has a pressure sensor and a long-lasting battery.

The Philips Sonicare 4100 also has a two-minute timer with quadrant pacing but is less noisy compared with the Oral-B Pro 1000. It's compatible with a smaller range of (more-expensive) brush heads. It charges via USB and has a pressure sensor.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $50.

We spoke with several experts on the subject of oral health, including dentists, dental hygienists, faculty at leading dental schools and research universities, as well as consumer advisers appointed by the American Dental Association (ADA), which confers a Seal of Acceptance on dental care products that seek the certification and meet a set of agreed-upon criteria. We also consulted experts and caregivers who help others with oral hygiene.

Altogether, over the past eight years, we’ve invested 100-plus hours in researching, evaluating, and testing more than three dozen powered toothbrushes.

Per American Dental Association recommendations, the only thing you need to brush your teeth effectively is a toothbrush—manual or electric—that you use properly and the fluoride-containing toothpaste of your choice.

Powered toothbrushes have been shown to remove more plaque and do more to reduce gingivitis than manual toothbrushes, though that reduction may come only from having a brush that encourages the habit of brushing for two full minutes per session.2 If you find yourself struggling to brush for a full two minutes, if you tend to brush unevenly, or if manual brushing feels like too much labor3, upgrading from a manual toothbrush to an electric one that automates these elements may make sense.

Powered brushes typically cost about 10 times as much as manual toothbrushes, and you have to replace the brush heads at the same frequency (every three months), each for about the same cost as a manual brush.

If you already have an electric toothbrush you’re happy with, there's no need to consider upgrading. If you use a manual brush and don't struggle to maintain good brushing habits, there's little reason to consider upgrading in that case, either.

Electric toothbrushes are more expensive than manual ones, and not just at the outset. Powered brushes typically cost more than 10 times as much as manual toothbrushes, and you have to replace the brush heads at the same frequency (every three months), each for about the same cost as a manual brush. What you get for the higher cost is less friction in achieving good brushing habits.

On average, without a countdown clock, "folks brush 46 seconds," said Joan Gluch, PhD, RDH, PHDHP, the division chief of community oral health at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Dental Medicine. "With timers, people will go to at least the two minutes. Clinically, we see patients do better with powered toothbrushes."

Dr. Mark Wolff, dean of University of Pennsylvania's School of Dental Medicine, agreed. Powered toothbrushing "helps people that don't brush well," he said. "If you need the guidance, invest in the guidance."

After talking with experts and sorting through the dental care research, which is littered with clinical studies sponsored by the companies that make the toothbrushes and other products being tested, we’ve learned that all you really need out of an electric toothbrush is a powerful motor and a two-minute timer to make sure you brush your teeth for the right amount of time. Nice-to-haves include quadrant pacing (when a brush either produces an additional buzz or stops buzzing every 30 seconds, letting you know it's time to move on to brush another quarter of your teeth) or a pressure sensor (when a brush either produces an additional buzz, stops buzzing, or flashes a light letting you know you’re applying too much pressure when brushing).

For this guide, we focused on electric toothbrushes with rechargeable batteries. Those with replaceable batteries tend to have less-powerful motors and produce more battery waste over their usable lives.

In deciding which rechargeable electric toothbrushes to recommend we prioritized:

We also considered:

The most expensive electric toothbrushes can cost 20 times as much as inexpensive ones. Over years of testing we’ve concluded that the most expensive models offer no meaningful health benefits over much more moderately priced ones. Manufacturers have blown up the high end with scientific-sounding "features" like cleaning modes and UV lights; nothing proves these extras work, let alone that they are necessary. All an electric toothbrush can really offer is automation of the brushing process by adding a timer and easing some of the physical labor, according to the researchers and dentists we spoke to.

All you really need out of an electric toothbrush is a powerful motor and a two-minute timer to make sure you brush your teeth for the right amount of time.

Over the past eight years we’ve tested, and in many cases retested, more than three dozen different electric toothbrushes. We assessed what it's like to use each brush twice daily over several months and—for our picks—years. This involved timing brushing sessions and battery lives, replacing brush heads (every three months, or more frequently as needed), and cleaning the handles and charging stands. To stress-test each brush shortly after unboxing, we dropped it onto a tile floor from chest height and submerged it in water while running for a full two-minute brushing cycle.

Although we were quite certain based on our background research alone that many deluxe-sounding features are not worth paying more for, we did test higher-end brushes from Oral-B, Philips Sonicare, and other companies to compare their usability against that of the simplest models and assess if their overall cleaning experiences were better. They were not.

As part of the American Dental Association's Seal of Acceptance program, the makers of oral care products, such as manual toothbrushes, toothpaste, mouthwash, floss, electric toothbrushes, and water flossers, can choose to submit data for an ADA-associated panel to review according to a set of criteria. Not all companies seek this certification for their products.

In September 2017, Oral-B became the first brand of electric toothbrush to receive the ADA seal, with five series of the Oscillating-Rotating-Pulsating Power Toothbrush earning this distinction. Our pick was included in the first group of electric toothbrushes to receive the ADA Seal of Acceptance, in September 2017 (two years after we first recommended the model). The ADA has since given the seal to other manufacturers, including Philips Sonicare.

Because the only factors that the ADA has found critical to maintaining oral health are brushing for two minutes with a reasonably soft brush and using proper technique, we consider an ADA Seal nice but not necessary.

The rechargeable Oral-B Pro 1000 has the most important features for a reasonable price: a two-minute timer with handy quadrant pacing and compatibility with the largest range of widely available replacement brush heads. It has a pressure sensor and a long-lasting battery.

The Pro 1000 model from Oral-B comes with all the features most of our experts recommend, for one of the lowest prices. It has a two-minute timer (with a nice-to-have quadrant alert at 30-second intervals) and is compatible with a wide selection of affordable brush heads. We’ve recommended this brush since 2015, and it continues to perform well in long-term testing. In September 2017, the Pro 1000 was among the first five electric toothbrushes to receive the ADA Seal of Acceptance. The Pro 1000 has comfortable-feeling oscillating bristles, a simple one-button interface, and a battery that in our tests lasted on average 11.5 days with twice-daily use. The body survived drop tests on the floor and into water. Best of all, you’re not getting overcharged for features like digital monitors, travel cases, or inductive chargers—none of which will actually get your teeth any cleaner than the Pro 1000 can.

The one-button simplicity is a great feature. There are no useless cleaning modes. The Pro 1000's quadrant-pacing timer goes off every 30 seconds, alerting the user of the time—to move the brush to another section of their mouths—by briefly pausing. After two minutes, the brush pulses three times to signal that a full cycle is up, but it will remain powered on if you want to keep brushing; it must always be manually turned off. This is nice for touching up on areas of your mouth you may not have given enough attention to. (On many more expensive brushes, pushing the button more than once activates different cleaning modes, forcing you to cycle through every option to get back to the simple default cleaning mode.) A marginally effective pressure sensor stops the brush's buzzing when you bear down too hard. (We’ve found you need to bear down harder than expected to activate this sensor.)

Oral-B's brush head refills are, on average, less expensive than brand-name replacement heads for other brushes.

Using the right brush head for your teeth and gums matters, and we like that the Pro 1000 is compatible with nearly every model in Oral-B's robust brush head line. The range is the widest of all toothbrush lines, making it easier to customize the brush for one user's preferences and recommendations from their dentist.

Oral-B's brush head refills are, on average, less expensive than brand-name replacement heads for other brushes. Dentists recommend getting a new toothbrush every three months, so these cost savings can add up over time. Philips Sonicare brush heads tend to be more expensive, but the Waterpik and Dazzlepro brands have heads that are roughly the same price as those of the Oral-B's.

Higher-priced Oral-B models don't have much more to offer than our pick when it comes to overall brushing experience. Investing $50 into the Pro 1000 gets you access to the same range of brush heads as buying the $240 Oral-B Genius 8000, a "smart" brush, for example.

The Pro 1000 is rated to last for seven days of brushing sessions on one charge; in our real-world testing, it lasted for 11.5 days on average, which is typical for a brush in this price range. Like the more expensive models we tested, this brush survived its drop and dunk tests, drops easily onto its charging cradle, and is designed so that swapping our brush heads is quick and easy.

The Pro 1000 is also quite comfortable to use. Oral-B models use rotation ("oscillation") and pulsation, so the brushes don't buzz as intensely when the back side of the brush's head touches your other teeth. All Philips Sonicare models vibrate at the same (high) frequency and produce a more jarring sensation when the back of the brush collides with other teeth.

The Pro 1000 has a limited two-year warranty that requires the buyer to retain their receipt and ship the brush to an authorized service center if it needs fixing. This is typical.

The most significant thing about any powered toothbrush that might change over the course of its lifetime is the battery life; over the years, rechargeable batteries tend to lose capacity. In the case of a toothbrush, this might mean it becomes less powerful or doesn't hold a charge for as many days. While you can find some unofficial instructions for hacking a toothbrush to replace its battery, Oral-B and Philips Sonicare both say that the batteries inside its powered toothbrushes, which are sealed within the brush handles, are not replaceable. Breaking open the handle voids the toothbrush's warranty.

Even with frequent cleaning, we’ve found that the rubberized white surfaces on the handle of the Oral-B Pro 1000 we bought in 2017 have become discolored over time. The same is true of both our picks’ power cords (pictured above). A 2021 redesign resulted in a sleeker Pro 1000 handle, with fewer grippy surfaces to clean—and potentially become discolored.

Overall, we found oscillating Oral-B toothbrushes to be louder and more sonically grating than vibrating Philips Sonicare models. Without a point of comparison, this may go undetected. (It's also something our testers quickly got used to.)

As with most of the toothbrush models we tested, the battery life indicator on the Pro 1000 is vague: It lets you know when the battery is full (a continuous green light for five seconds after you remove it from the charging base) and when it is "low" (a red flashing light after turning the brush off). Oral-B does not specify how long it takes to get the brush to a full charge, but according to the company, you can charge it every day without significantly affecting the battery's capacity as long as you fully deplete it once every six months.

An older version of the Pro 1000 had a grippier handle with ridges, which tended to accumulate dribbles and made the brush handle a bit more difficult to keep clean. A 2021 redesign of the Pro 1000 handle made it more streamlined, with fewer grooves to wipe clean.

The Philips Sonicare 4100 also has a two-minute timer with quadrant pacing but is less noisy compared with the Oral-B Pro 1000. It's compatible with a smaller range of (more-expensive) brush heads. It charges via USB and has a pressure sensor.

*At the time of publishing, the price was $50.

The Philips Sonicare 4100 is quieter than the Oral-B Pro 1000, relying on a vibrating motion that's more subtle than the oscillating motion of our top pick Oral-B brush (though the vibrations can feel slightly more uncomfortable when the back of the brush knocks against your other teeth). The 4100, which has a two-minute timer with quadrant pacing, also has twice the battery life of the Oral-B brush, lasting two weeks on a single charge instead of one week (in our tests it lasted for an average 16 days of use), so it might be a better choice for travelers who don't want to pack yet another charger. Like the Pro 1000, the 4100 has a pressure sensor, lacks superfluous cleaning modes, and has earned the ADA Seal. Unlike the Pro 1000, with the 4100 you can choose from two vibration intensities (strong or stronger), which may be helpful when first getting used to this model's powerful motor. Our testers have found that the higher intensity setting roughly matches the feel of the Pro 1000's lone intensity setting.

Since October 2021, the charging pedestal that accompanies any new 4100 (or 1100, 2100, or 3100 series brush from Philips Sonicare) has only a USB plug and not a standard, two-prong plug. A spokesperson for Philips Sonicare said that this change stems from the company's effort to reduce waste and the amount of plastic used in its products. Customers who need a wall adapter can contact customer service to request one for free.

The brush heads compatible with all Philips Sonicare brushes, including the 4100, each come with a tiny plastic hood you can pop off and on to help guard against the coliform sprays flying around the bathroom if you store your toothbrush in open air. Our top pick brush from Oral-B does not include brush caps. (These are, of course, additional pieces of hard-to-recycle plastic.)

The replacement brush heads for the 4100 are slightly more expensive when compared with Oral-B's, making this brush costlier over the long run. 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 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.

If you prefer an oscillating brush and don't need a pressure sensor: Consider the Oral-B Pro 500, which is regularly less expensive than the Pro 1000. A spokesperson for Oral-B declined to share the number of oscillations and vibrations for any of its toothbrushes, except to say that there is a difference among its lines. In our experience, the Oral-B Pro 1000 feels more powerful than the Oral-B 500, but not tremendously so. Both have a single cleaning mode, and both have a two-minute timer, as well as a quadrant timer that buzzes every 30 seconds.

The Oral-B Pro 500 comes with a Precision Clean toothbrush head while the Pro 1000 comes with a CrossAction toothbrush head, but you can swap out one for another depending on your preference. In addition, the Pro 500 battery is expected to last for five days on one charge while the Pro 1000 is said to last seven days on one charge (although we’ve found it lasts longer); the Pro 500 also does not have a noticeable light on the handle to indicate that it's charging like the Pro 1000 (and other higher-end Oral-B electric toothbrushes).

If you prefer a "sonic" vibrating brush and don't need a pressure sensor: Consider the Philips Sonicare 1100. Like the Philips Sonicare 4100 we recommend, it has a two-week battery life on one charge, a two-minute timer, and a 30-second interval timer. Compared with the 4100, the 1100 has only one intensity level instead of two (which we don't think matters much), comes with a different brush head (the 1100 comes with the C1 SimplyClean versus the C2 Optimal Plaque Control) and lacks a light that reminds you to replace your brush head. This brush is typically $10 cheaper than our runner-up pick.

If you want a smart brush that automatically tracks your habits: The Oral-B Smart 3000 is a barebones smart brush that has earned the ADA Seal. It is similar to the Pro 1000 in form and function, except it has three cleaning modes (two more than necessary), has a pressure sensor that lights up if you brush too hard, and connects to an app via Bluetooth. It's also twice the price. Though this model does not offer brush head position detection, as some smart brushes do, it stores brushing time and pressure data from the last 30 brushing sessions, which you can sync to the app later, should you prefer not to bring your phone into the bathroom every time you brush.

The funny thing about electric toothbrushes is how similar a $70 model is to a $200 one. Beyond an automated two-minute timer, there are precious few necessary value-adds to an expensive rechargeable electric toothbrush, but a lot of unnecessary ones: a travel case, a UV sanitizer (which is of negligible use), maybe a couple of extra heads, a slightly sleeker body, a longer-lasting battery, or maybe the ability to sync to an app. As for sonic cleaning and different cleaning modes, experts tell us they are not necessary.

A two-minute timer is the main benefit of having an electric toothbrush. Spend more than $30 or so, and you typically get a quadrant-pacing timer, which both of our picks have. This element, though a nice option, isn't strictly necessary unless you prefer that style of brushing or your dentist has noticed that you struggle with brushing evenness. "The time spent in each quadrant is just an aid to help ensure that you brush long enough to remove plaque on every tooth at the gum line and chewing surfaces, assuming you’re brushing properly," said dentist Matthew Messina, who at the time of our interview was a spokesperson for the ADA. "Plus, we are not aware of studies that show brushing longer in smaller areas has an added beneficial effect in removing plaque."

Cleaning modes generally don't matter, according to experts we spoke to and research we’ve seen.

Spend around $70, about 40% more than the cost of our top pick and your brush likely comes with a travel case and a few extra cleaning modes, which vibrate the brush at different patterns or frequencies. These brushes also tend to move at a higher frequency, to the tune of 30,000 to 40,000 movements per minute, as opposed to a lower-end brush's 8,000 to 20,000 movements per minute. There isn't a proven difference in effectiveness between faster and slower brush movements in existing independent research. We found only one small, old, imperfect study—funded in part by a grant from Rowenta, a German company that made electric toothbrushes at the time—that compared brushes with 2,100, 2,500, and 3,500 brushstrokes per minute and found that the middle frequency was the most effective at removing plaque ("at most 1.5 times better" than the other frequencies and yielded "about 50% more plaque free sites" than the highest frequency). Study participants also said it was tied—with low and middle—for the most comfortable frequency. However, there were only 10 participants, they brushed under supervision only some of the time, and they used each test toothbrush for only five days.

Cleaning modes generally don't matter, according to experts we spoke with and research we’ve seen. A "sensitive" mode may help people who find a brush's normal oscillations or vibrations too jarring. "People with sensitive teeth may find that their teeth are less sensitive when the brush head moves slower or less pressure is applied," said Messina. Most folks won't need this, though. Nor "whitening" modes. "As far as whitening goes, all toothbrushes help remove surface stains when used with a toothpaste because toothpastes contain mild abrasives and detergents for this purpose," said Messina.

Spending over $100 will get you a couple more modes on your brush, a travel case that can charge the brush on the go, and perhaps a pressure sensor that lights up once activated.

The pressure sensor is meant to alert you when you’re brushing too hard, which experts agree is a bad thing. Our testers’ opinions on the utility of these sensors were mixed. Some people find sensors that buzz or light up when they apply too much pressure helpful. You’ll know if you tend to brush too hard if your toothbrush bristles flare out in less than three months.

Around $150 puts you in the realm of Bluetooth brushes (and, generally, a dip in battery life). Also known as smart or connected toothbrushes, these brushes pair to companion apps and typically come with several brush heads, in addition to a charging travel case, and even more cleaning modes.

Per advertising from Philips Sonicare that is now more than two decades old, some people have come to assume that so-called sonic toothbrushes remove more plaque—with sound waves. This is not an effect proven in any research.

There are no independent studies comparing sonic toothbrush models or brands to non-sonic brushes (and most industry-supported research includes the brands’ own products).

We’ve tested every Quip toothbrush: those with replaceable and rechargeable batteries, and with and without Bluetooth. Unlike our picks, which have powerful motors and vibrating or oscillating brush heads that do most of the brushing for you as you glide them across your teeth, the Quip is in effect a manual toothbrush that vibrates—weakly. With a Quip, you still need to perform brush strokes over the surface of every tooth in order to get a complete clean. In fact, manual "strokes per minute" is one of the Quip app's performance readouts when paired with a Quip Smart brush. "Sonic bristles help clean," Quip says, "but you need to put them in the right places by stroking them back and forth in short, tooth-sized strokes on all surfaces of every tooth, one by one."

Because of this, it's difficult to compare the Quip to our high-powered picks. It makes more sense to compare it to AA- or AAA-powered brushes available in most drugstores. (In 2019, we did that.) A reusable brush handle and an optional subscription service—in which you can opt to have brush head refills and replacement batteries shipped to your home every three months—set the Quip apart from, say, an Arm & Hammer Spinbrush Pro.

We like the Quip's slim, lightweight reusable handle and have found the automated refills handy. We also appreciate the Quip's two-minute timer with helpful quadrant pacing. While there's only one brush head style, the back of the brush head is covered in a rubberized plastic, which feels less jarring than the hard plastic on the back of both our picks’ brush heads—especially when it makes contact with teeth opposite the ones you’re brushing. The rechargeable version of this model, introduced in 2022, solves for one of the main drawbacks associated with the original Quip: additional battery waste.

If you want a vibrating manual brush, or have found the brushing motions of higher-powered brushes from the likes of Oral-B and Philips Sonicare too intense, you will likely be happy with a Quip. Over years of testing this brush, some of our adult and kid testers have found that while it requires manual brushing, the gentler, quieter Quip provides a preferable experience. (In fact, we like the Quip Kids model as an electric toothbrush for children because of its gentler vibrations.)

"I’m trying to be less hard on myself in general," one tester said after using the Quip Rechargeable for a month, finding herself reaching for it more frequently than the Oral-B brush she regularly used. "The Quip offers a lovely way to stick to my goals of being more gentle with myself in all possible ways."

Like our picks, the Quip has earned the ADA Seal of Acceptance. All Quip brushes bought directly through the company's website are warrantied against manufacturing defects for a year (or longer if you maintain a subscription for any refills).

It's been nearly a decade since the first app-connected, or "smart," electric toothbrushes became available, but most are still at least double the price of a standard electric toothbrush. We don't think they’re for everyone, but people who can benefit from added guidance and feedback through the brushing process may find a smart toothbrush to be a crucial tool in maintaining oral health.

Smart-toothbrush capabilities vary widely, but mainly these devices automate the process of tracking your brushing habits, typically by connecting to an app via Bluetooth. Some smart models, like the Quip Smart and Oral-B iO, attempt to track where the brush head is in your mouth, with varying specificity and results.

"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," said Dr. María López Howell, a dentist and, at the time of our interview, an ADA spokesperson.

For people with physical or neurological issues that can complicate oral hygiene, the habit-tracking and coaching support that smart toothbrushes provide can be priceless. "If you brush really well with an [unconnected] toothbrush, you don't need any of these devices," said Wolff, who has provided dental care for people with various disabilities for longer than 40 years. However, he added, "the feedback offered by connected toothbrushes is a game-changer" for some people and/or caregivers, especially in cases where, for whatever reason, a person has difficulty brushing all of their teeth well enough, for long enough, and often enough.

There are plenty of free apps that can be used with non-smart brushes, powered or manual, to help you time and track your tooth brushing.

People with ADHD, for example, might benefit from the app focusing their attention on the task at hand for the amount of time it takes to properly brush each mouth quadrant. People with Parkinson's or other conditions that may cause dexterity issues can find support with connected toothbrushes that have the ability to adjust the intensity of the vibrations, and possibly track missed areas. People with autism can often benefit from the gamification of brushing teeth. "I have a nonverbal 14-year-old autistic son who loves his connected toothbrush because the app makes brushing enticing and visually stimulating," said Barbara Vartanian, the director of Oral Health Advocacy and Policy Initiatives at New York University's College of Dentistry. "It gives push reminders and has a timer, and also the app puts a funny hat on his face and prompts him to attack the bugs, which he loves."

Caregivers of people who are unable to brush their own teeth can find support with connected toothbrushes as well. "It is very difficult to clean someone else's teeth," said Ann Spolarich, professor and assistant dean at A.T. Still University's School of Dentistry & Oral Health. When it comes to models able to track the brush head's location in a mouth, "the beauty of an app connected to a toothbrush is that you can use it as a guide to make sure you’re reaching all the areas of the mouth."

Nearly all electric toothbrushes that pair to apps collect varying amounts of personal information. In most cases, the only way to opt out of your data—anonymized or not—being disclosed with affiliates and third parties, for a variety of purposes, is to not download or use the app at all.

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 tooth brushing, remind you to clean your tongue and to floss, and so on. López 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 (or adults) can watch while brushing.

"You don't need all of these more costly brushes," López 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."

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. You can also reuse an old toothbrush head for this purpose.

Toothbrushes and toothbrush heads that are no longer usable for toothbrushing make excellent cleaning tools. In addition to using old toothbrush heads for cleaning the crevices of your electric toothbrush handle, you might also find them handy for scrubbing grout, shower heads, hair brushes, almost any type of shoe, the hard-to-reach components of radiators, stubborn spots on area rugs and car seats, the dishwasher filter, dusty camera lens caps, bird feeders, and many varieties of mesh baskets or metal gears.

Some speciality recycling and take back programs exist. However, most toothbrush heads are not recyclable as part of household waste, so they should be tossed in the trash when they’re no longer useful.

An electric toothbrush should last for years—at least two, in the case of our picks, each of which are warrantied for as long and which we’ve used for five or more. But once it stops working, it's important to dispose of it properly because the battery can harm people and contaminate the environment. Electronic toothbrushes should not go in your household trash, and unfortunately, programs such as Best Buy's electronic recycling program do not accept electronic toothbrushes. But you do have options, including:

You may be asked to remove the rechargeable battery before disposing of an electric toothbrush handle. Both Philips and Oral-B provide instructions in their manuals on how to remove the battery for this purpose. (First, you’ll need to run down the battery until the toothbrush no longer turns on). Once the handle is opened, the toothbrush is considered destroyed and its warranty voided.

The Vitality brush is Oral-B's least expensive electric model with a rechargeable battery. Oral-B declined to disclose the number of oscillations, vibrations, brushstrokes, or bristle movements for any of its toothbrushes, but we noticed that the Oral-B Vitality felt noticeably weaker than the Oral-B Pro 1000 and Pro 500. It has a two-minute timer but does not have an interval timer that buzzes every 30 seconds. It comes with a FlossAction brush head, which can be swapped out for other Oral-B heads. Unlike the Pro 1000, it does not have a blinking light to indicate if the toothbrush is charging.

The Philips Sonicare 2100, 5100, 5300, 6100, 6500, and 7500 all feature the same technology as the 4100 and 1100, with 31,000 bristle movements per minute. They differ in levels of intensity (for instance, the 2100 offers two levels while the 6100 offers three) and the number of cleaning modes (the 1100 and 2100 only offer one while the 6100 offers three). The pricier models also include accessories such as a travel case, which are nice but not necessary.

The Philips Sonicare 3 Series feels similar to and works much the same way as the 4100, with a glossy plastic handle and minimal gripping ridges. Now that our runner-up comes with a quadrant timer, this toothbrush has no features that we think are worth spending extra on. (It offers three total levels of intensity.) Overall, though, the brushing experience is roughly the same as with our runner-up pick.

The Philips Sonicare DiamondClean is pretty sleek with a matte plastic finish, and it has some real luxury features, like an inductive charging glass and travel case, but its price is a lot to spend for those items. The DiamondClean has five cleaning modes (four too many) that you must manually cycle through if you need to turn the brush off before reaching two minutes. It also has some of the most expensive brush heads, with each one around $11.

The AquaSonic Vibe is the closest to a Philips Sonicare electric toothbrush dupe we’ve found. Although over the long term it would be much more affordable when compared with our picks (and their lesser versions), we’re not prepared to recommend it as a budget pick without continuing to test it. It has so far survived our dunk, drop, and battery tests, plus more than nine months of twice-daily use. The Vibe, which like our picks has earned the ADA Seal of Acceptance, has three superfluous cleaning modes and comes in a starter kit with a travel case and eight brush heads. Usually these features make for a more-expensive brush, but not in this case: At this writing, the Vibe starter kit comes with eight brush heads and costs $37. Assuming you change the brush head every three months, and the brush handle lasts at least two years, the annual cost would be $18.50 for the first two years. (That's more than 3.5 times less than our Oral-B and Philips Sonicare picks cost for the first year.) You need to register the brush to receive one year of warranty coverage. One tester, a self-described aggressive brusher, found that she had to replace the Vibe's original brush head in just two months (whereas a Philips Sonicare head would last a full three). Even if you find yourself burning through Vibe brush heads more quickly than you would Oral-B or Philips Sonicare heads, the potential savings add up—again, assuming the brush handle lasts long enough to prove its value. AquaSonic currently sells Vibe-compatible replacement heads in an eight-pack that costs $35 ($4.38 per head) and a two-pack that costs $11 ($5.50 apiece), both more expensive than Oral-B and Philips Sonicare heads bought in more-economical packs. These multipacks are only available in black or a mix of black and white, so if you only want white brush heads, you’re out of luck.

The Burst is a sleek sonic toothbrush with quadrant pacing that you may have seen advertised on Instagram. It has three cleaning modes and a USB-only charging cord. In our testing, the battery lasted more than four weeks on a single charge with twice-daily brushing. Unfortunately, the "charcoal-infused" bristles didn't last as long—on each of the two heads we tested, the bristles became bent out of shape in as few as three weeks. A company spokesperson said that our tester may have been applying too much pressure while using these brush heads. Burst offers an optional subscription program for replacement brush heads (which at this writing cost the same as subscription-only replacement heads for similar brushes from Goby).

Brüush, too, has an optional subscription program for its replacement brush heads ($6 each, shipped in packs of three). The brush itself offers six cleaning modes—five more than needed—and quadrant pacing, plus optional USB charging. Compared with other sonic brushes we’ve tested (including the Burst and Shyn), on the default setting the Brüush was a touch quieter, and its vibrations felt more gentle. We found that its battery lasted more than 3½ weeks on a single charge. The topmost and bottommost bristles on the Brüush head are longer than those in the center, creating a sort of flared shape; depending on your preferences, this head design may feel like a feature or a bug.

We decided not to test the Cybersonic 3 Complete Sonic and Cybersonic Classic because they have a very limited selection of brush head options (with an optional and dubious-looking "free" replacement program that winds up costing $10-plus in shipping per brush head).

The Fairywill 507 and the Fairywill 508 were around the same price as the AquaSonic Vibe, but they don't feel as sturdy or look as nice as the Vibe. Like the Vibe, the 507 and 508 are each covered by a one-year warranty, and their starter kits come with eight brush heads. Like our picks and the Vibe, these Fairywill brushes have earned the ADA Seal. In 2021, Fairywill pulled its products from Amazon and, on Facebook, announced a coming "rebranding."

We once recommended Goby for people who prefer an electric toothbrush with replacement brush heads available through a subscription. When it works, it's an elegant brush that feels as powerful as the Oral-B Pro 1000, plus has a USB charging option. However, we’ve heard an increasing number of complaints from readers and long-term testers regarding this brush's durability, with multiple people reporting that their brushes conked out within a year of use. It also otherwise did not outshine our existing picks in terms of user experience. In 2021 we tested a revamped version of the Goby, finding that it became especially hot during charging. Although Goby is quick to replace malfunctioning brushes under its lifetime warranty (one of our long-term testers made use of this warranty twice in a single year, going through three brushes in as many months), we think that, compared with our other picks, the brush's higher price point isn't justifiable. "The most common issue we hear from customers usually has something to do with their battery after many years of use," Goby CEO Benjamin Goldberg wrote in an email. "Relative to the hundreds of the thousands of brushes we have sold over the years, I would not say it's a common issue though." If you have trouble with your Goby brush, email [email protected]: "99.9% of customers get a response within 24 hours during the week," Goldberg wrote, "and if a replacement is required, the replacement is delivered within 2-5 business days." Like our top pick and runner-up, the Goby toothbrush has earned the ADA Seal.

We did not test the Foreo Issa 3, a silicone brush with a sleek and unusual look.. Customer reviews suggest that the all-silicone brush tips lack the ability to clean as thoroughly as plastic bristles, and that this brush has a tendency to stop working not long after purchase.

Greater Goods's Sonic Electric Toothbrush is inexpensive compared to the Philips Sonicare 4100. However, the replacement heads come in only one style. And though heads are about half the price of those that accompany the Oral-B Pro 1000, we found ourselves needing to replace them in about half the time, virtually negating the long-term savings potential for this brush.

Hamilton Beach's Brightline electric toothbrushes come in two versions: the perfectly functional 86700 base model, which has three brushing modes (two more than needed), and the 86710, which has two additional superfluous modes (for a total of four more than needed) as well as a control panel. For people who like to toggle between modes, having to press the 86700's power button for a few seconds is slightly more inconvenient than using the 86710's mode-selection button. Both models remember the last selected mode for future brushing sessions, and come equipped with two-minute quadrant timers. Brightline's replacement heads are not interchangeable between models, though, and they typically cost more per head than the replacements for our top pick (they cost about the same as those for our runner-up). Both brushes have earned the ADA's Seal of Acceptance.

We haven't tested the Mode brush, which—for roughly three times the cost of our picks—offers wireless charging and an optional nightlight. Like our picks, it has only one brushing mode. But compared with our picks’ two years of coverage, the Mode is warrantied for a year.

Shyn offers an optional subscription program for replacement brush heads made for its four-brushing-mode, quadrant-pacing toothbrush. Purchased individually, the least expensive replacement heads cost $7, which is generally more than what most Oral-B heads cost but less than the price of many Philips Sonicare heads. Although you can adjust the intensity of the brush's vibrations in each of the modes, in practice we found no appreciable differences between the intensity levels; they felt the same. When activated, the ultrasensitive pressure sensor alerts you with a beep that we found overly loud compared with alerts from the competition (fortunately, you can turn the pressure-sensing beeps off). In our twice-daily brushing test, the Shyn's battery lasted 3.5 weeks.

If you typically use an electric toothbrush and a water flosser, replacing two separate tools with a combination electric toothbrush–water flosser like the Waterpik Sonic Fusion 2.0 or the currently unavailable Waterpik Sonic Fusion SF-01, which we tested, might seem appealing. But in practice, we prefer using our electric toothbrush and water flosser picks separately. The Sonic Fusion SF-01's water-flosser nozzle is built into the toothbrush head. In brush-only mode, the Sonic Fusion SF-01, which is warrantied for three years, has quadrant pacing. Replacement heads cost $12.50 each, making them some of the most expensive we’ve considered. Both of Waterpik's Sonic Fusion models have earned the ADA Seal.

The Oral-B iO series starts at about $100 for the Series 4 and goes up to about $300 for the Series 9. Like other electric toothbrushes in Oral-B's line, this model has earned the ADA Seal. Unlike other electric toothbrushes in Oral-B's line, the iO is compatible only with iO-specific replacement brush heads (the most economical offer at the time of publication was about $8.50 each in a package of four, but they generally cost as much as $14 each). It has an onboard two-minute timer with quadrant pacing and a varying number of brushing modes (the Series 4 offers four while the Series 9 offers seven). All iO models connect wirelessly to an app that tracks your brushing duration; depending on the iO model, the app may also track where you’re brushing on an interactive color display of the mouth. The idea behind this and several other smart toothbrushes is to provide you with an overview of which teeth you’re cleaning well and which teeth you may want to pay more attention to. We briefly tested the iO Series 9 at the January 2020 Consumer Electronics Show. It runs much more quietly than nearly every other electric toothbrush we’ve tested. Predictably, brushing with it feels high tech: The onboard digital display smiles at you. And the brush head location tracking was, in our limited experience with the device, accurate. Still, we would not recommend that most people pay considerably more than the cost of our picks for this (or for any other) smart toothbrush.

Oral-B's Genius series includes the 7000, which has six cleaning modes programmed to a separate power button. The base is very heavy, with large rubber panels in black and silver plastic, and weighted toward the bottom, with the same light-up pressure sensor as the 4000 model. The 7000 comes with a travel case and a charging stand that can hold four extra brush heads encased in a little plastic dome.

The Genius 8000 can track the brush's position in your mouth, thanks to on-board location sensors and access to your phone's front-facing camera. Smart capabilities aside, the brush itself, like our pick, is a reliable tool. Like other models in the Oral-B line, it has superfluous cleaning modes and is compatible with any of the company's replacement heads. The Genius has an on-board pressure sensor that flashes red when you brush too hard (no app needed). If you travel with an electric toothbrush, you’ll appreciate the included case, which can charge the brush handle and a phone.

The Genius X, like the 8000, has extraneous cleaning modes and can connect to your phone. Rather than using your phone's front-facing camera, however, the Genius X uses on-board sensors and "artificial intelligence" to track the brush head's location as you move it around your mouth. We found the tracking spotty; the app counted some unbrushed teeth as "clean."

The Oral-B Smart series includes the Smart 3000, which connects wirelessly to Oral-B's app to track how often and how long you brush (and whether you tend to press too hard). The less expensive Smart 1500 offers similar features, such as a lighted pressure sensor, but it does not connect to an app. The Smart 5000 offers additional (unnecessary) cleaning modes.

Philips Sonicare's 9900 Prestige is the brand's top-of-the-line smart toothbrush. It connects to your phone—to track your brushing habits—and has extraneous cleaning modes. We chose not to test this ultra-expensive (close to $400) brush.

Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Smart series includes several toothbrushes that connect via Bluetooth to an app, including the 9500. It is sleek, with a matte plastic finish, and it has some real luxury features, like an inductive charging glass and travel case, but its price is a lot to spend for those items. The DiamondClean Smart 9500 has five cleaning modes (four too many) that you must manually cycle through if you need to turn the brush off before reaching two minutes. It also has some of the most expensive brush heads, at around $11 apiece.

Philips Sonicare ExpertClean is another series of toothbrushes that connect to an app via Bluetooth, including the ExpertClean 7500, which we’ve tested. Similarly, we found the price a lot to spend on multiple, unnecessary cleaning modes (four for the 7500), intensities (three), and travel accessories.

The Philips Sonicare FlexCare Platinum Connected has far more cleaning settings than needed (three total, each with multiple speeds), and in our experience, didn't deliver on its promise to track whether you’re adequately brushing teeth in every part of your mouth. We found that the brush head location tracking wasn't accurate enough to give us much useful information. The app, which divides the mouth into six areas, could reliably tell if a tester was neglecting either the front or back of her teeth, but not if she was missing one specific tooth. The app also expects you to brush the parts of your mouth in a specific order, and if a tester moved the brush to an area of her mouth where the app didn't expect it to be, it didn't pick up on that.

The Colgate Smart Electronic Toothbrush E1 (currently unavailable) also uses onboard sensors to track the brush head's location as you move it around your mouth. The E1 vibrates but does not oscillate, and does so more quietly than most electric toothbrushes we’ve tested. Although it does have an on-board two-minute timer with quadrant pacing, this device lacks a pressure sensor (a possible dealbreaker for some), and it is compatible with only a single style of replacement brush head, which can be purchased only from the Colgate website. Factoring in shipping costs, these replacement heads are among the most expensive we’ve considered, by far (a definite dealbreaker, in our opinion). The handle itself is among the lightest and most streamlined we’ve tested, featuring a single on-off button (no superfluous cleaning modes). Overall, we found its brush head position detection capabilities on par with similarly priced competitors.

Colgate's Hum is a lower-cost smart toothbrush with uniquely designed brush heads and the option of a rechargeable or replaceable battery-operated handle. It is streamlined and beautiful, with a slimmer handle than both our picks and most other smart brushes (the Quip Smart excluded). Like our top pick, the Hum has quadrant pacing and does not automatically shut off at the two-minute mark. Because the back of this sonic toothbrush's head is a soft material, it doesn't produce the same rattling effect as the hard plastic backs of other brush heads when it comes in contact with your teeth. That alone may be worth the increased price for some people (replacement brush heads, specific to this device, cost roughly $5 apiece in the most economical pack). In our experience, the Hum's vibrations aren't as strong as the Philips Sonicare 4100's and not as weak as the Quip's. You can use this toothbrush without ever connecting to the app, which, like others, tracks brushing data.

Although you could technically use the now-discontinued Oclean One without any of its smart functions (the associated Oclean Pro app for iOS and Android offers brushing analyses), this sonic toothbrush does not have an onboard timer. As a result, if you don't connect the brush to your mobile device, it's up to you to time your brushing and determine pacing. In its promotional materials, Oclean promises that people who "use the app to maintain good brushing habits" are eligible to receive "free replacement brush heads in the mail every three months for the life of the brush," which is covered by a two-year warranty. A company spokesperson confirmed that the earned heads are indeed free; no shipping or handling costs are associated with this offer. We can see why this program might be tempting: For one year of ownership, replacing the brush head ($9 each) every three months, the One costs $102. At three years, the cost is $174 (a touch more than the three-year ownership cost of our runner-up pick). If the company's "free" head-replacement offer holds true, and the brush lasts long enough, the one- and three-year ownership costs are both $75—a bargain. But to earn the brush heads, you need to check in to the app every day and achieve a "brushing score" of 50 or above each time you use it. Are the inconvenience and privacy considerations associated with such check-ins worth the potential cost savings? Probably not. On top of all that, the One can charge only via USB.

We have not tested the Oclean X Pro.

We don't recommend U-shaped (or mouthguard-style) brushes for kids or adults. They are much more costly and simply less effective than our picks.

Rather than a standard brush head on a handle, these devices include trays that look like mouthguards lined with bristles. In promotional materials (such as the Amabrush video that accompanied the company's 2017 crowdfunding campaign), the companies claim their devices can simultaneously clean all of a person's teeth in mere seconds. (Amabrush filed for bankruptcy in 2019.) Questions of efficacy aside, a single user could expect to pay hundreds of dollars for the starter kit for one of these devices. And all of the replacement mouthguards cost more than $10 apiece, making these types of toothbrushes far more expensive than any of our other picks.

We haven't tested mouthguard-style automatic toothbrushes made specifically for adults, such as the Y-Brush and the AutoBrush Pro. But for our guide to the best electric toothbrush for kids, we tested the AutoBrush Kids, which was unimpressive. Not only did it leave behind specks of food, it also required using a special kind of toothpaste made by AutoBrush. On top of that, the brush itself is difficult to keep clean.

After seeing it splashed around on social media—and even on Time's 2020 best invention list—we also tested the Willo. Marketed at the time as a $250 family-friendly toothbrush for use by up to five people, it has since pivoted to be a $150 kid-centric toothbrush (it still comes with multiple mouthguard-like brush heads for family use, however). Like the AutoBrush Kids, we found the Willo disappointing. It is an expensive, inconvenient, and ineffective toothbrush that our kid testers found uncomfortable to use. The silicone mouthguard on our test unit had a strange aftertaste, even after multiple washings, and did not adequately remove food specks from teeth. It's also heavy and difficult to keep clean.

Casey Johnston contributed reporting from 2014 to 2016, Kit Dillion contributed reporting in 2016, Shannon Palus contributed reporting in 2017, Tracy Vence contributed reporting from 2017 to 2018, and Ellen Lee contributed reporting in 2022.

The most recent version of this article was edited by Tracy Vence and Kalee Thompson.

Nancy Redd

Nancy Redd is a senior staff writer at Wirecutter covering everything from Santa hats to bath bombs. She is also a GLAAD Award–nominated on-air host and a New York Times best-selling author. Her latest picture book, The Real Santa, follows a determined little Black boy's journey to discover what the jolly icon truly looks like.

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