Features of Electric Toothbrushes
While both manual and electric toothbrushes can do a great job cleaning your teeth, an electric brush often comes with added features like pressure sensors, timers, and brushes that are designed to reach hard-to-reach areas of the mouth. Depending on your brushing goals and routine, these extras may make all the difference in how well you clean. And since it’s not uncommon to forget how long you’ve been brushing your teeth, a timer is an excellent feature to have in your back pocket.
The top rated electric toothbrush models feature an ADA-accepted brush head, rechargeable battery and charger, a charging stand that doubles as a timer and an array of different brushing modes. These include daily clean, sensitive, gum care, intense+, tongue clean and whiten.
These brush heads have a similar shape to a professional toothbrush and vibrate or rotate, allowing them to brush your teeth in a manner that’s more like a dentist-recommended cleaning method. The best electric toothbrushes are also comfortable to use, with bristles that feel soft against your gums.
Top Features of Electric Toothbrushes
Another important consideration when buying an electric toothbrush is its ability to remove plaque from your teeth effectively. When tested, the top-rated toothbrushes in our rankings left our test subjects with minimal plaque buildup and were able to scrub even the toughest spots in their mouths. Some also have additional cleaning functions, such as a water flosser or tongue scraper.
Besides the standard features of an electric toothbrush, many smart models come with apps that let you monitor and improve your oral health habits. Some have built-in timers that will notify you (often through lights or vibrations) when two minutes of brushing is up, while others track your brushing progress over a period of weeks and months.
Some models also have a pressure sensor that can detect whether you’re brushing too hard, alerting you by flashing red when the pressure is too high, white when you’re brushing too softly and green when it’s just right. Having a pressure sensor can help you get the most out of your brushing sessions and prevent over-brushing, which can damage your enamel and gums over time.
For a more budget-friendly model, Strategist associate editor Jenna Milliner-Waddell recommends the Philips Sonicare 4100, an entry-level electric toothbrush that still packs in useful features, including a two-minute timer and a pressure sensor. The 4100 has a slim, attractive base and a USB charging travel case for easy on-the-go battery power.
If you want a more sophisticated model, the Oral-B iO Series 10 is one of our top picks for its intuitive smart app that indicates which quadrants of your mouth to cover and how long to brush each area. It also has a battery that lasts up to 14 days and a built-in pressure sensor, as well as seven different brushing modes. The iO Series 10 is a bit more expensive than our top-rated model, but it’s worth the investment for the convenience of an advanced brushing analysis.
