Best electric toothbrush in 2020 (2024)

If you would like to know more about electric toothbrushes, read on and I will explain the different features and what you should be looking for when buying an electric toothbrush.

Electric toothbrush buyer’s guide

Rotating head or sonic toothbrush?

This is the first choice that you will have to make when picking an electric toothbrush. There are two different types of electric toothbrush. The head of the toothbrush will either rotate or vibrate (often called sonic or ultrasonic). The evidence shows that there is not much between them. I used a sonic toothbrush for a couple of years but went back to a rotating head because my teeth felt cleaner. This isn’t very scientific but I much prefer the rotating head made by companies such as Oral-B.

Batteries or rechargeable?

Rechargeable, rechargeable, rechargeable. If you are buying an electric toothbrush, it has to be rechargeable. Never buy an electric toothbrush that takes single-use batteries. They lose power quickly and you might spend weeks with a toothbrush which is not working to remove plaque.

Toothbrushes with a rechargeable battery tend to last one or two weeks before you need to plug them back in. If you’re going on a long holiday, make sure it’s fully charged or you have a back up manual toothbrush.

What cleaning modes should it have?

Most people will only need one cleaning mode. When you look at the top of the range electric toothbrushes from Oral-B or Sonicare, they have at least 5 different modes of cleaning and most of them are really not necessary. You just need a solid, reliable, electric toothbrush that does what it says on the tin.

Having said that, the Oral-B Genius 9000 has something they call the ‘PRO Clean’ mode which I really like. It is just a little bit quicker and more vigorous than the standard mode. I like having the option of supercharging my brushing so this is one of the great features of the Genius 9000.

The Oral-B Pro 2 2500N has two cleaning modes; standard and sensitive (which is just a bit slower and more gentle than the standard mode). The standard mode is extremely effective at removing plaque and improving your dental health. It is tried and tested by endless research which means that it is just a brilliant toothbrush.

Here, we’ve found a bundle on Amazon which is fantastic value. It’s the Oral-B Pro 2 2500N and four of the best toothbrush heads that you can buy for an Oral-B toothbrush; the Cross Action head.

Pressure control

This is a must. It is vital that your new electric toothbrush warns you if you are pushing too hard. Pretty much every electric toothbrush these days has a sensor. The warning comes in the form of either a flashing light or a noise. If you are brushing too hard, whether it’s with a normal toothbrush or electric, you can do damage to your gums by scrubbing too hard. This can cause your gums to recede, exposing the soft, sensitive roots of your teeth. The great thing about most electric brushes is that they do the work for you and tell you when you are pressing too hard. This is a great way to protect your teeth and gums from damage.

Built-in timer

This is really important. Your electric toothbrush must have a built-in timer to tell you how long you have been brushing for. As dentists, we recommend that you brush your teeth for at least two minutes, twice a day, spending at least 30 seconds on each quarter of your mouth. Most Oral-B and Philips Sonicare electric toothbrushes contain a timer to help you. They buzz every 30 seconds to tell you to move onto the next quarter of your mouth. Annoyingly, the Philips Sonicare toothbrush actually turns off after 2 minutes. You can obviously turn it back on again but remember who’s the boss. You’re in charge, not your toothbrush.

Smart apps and gadgets

I’ve actually changed my mind on this recently. I used to really dislike all of the gadgets and apps, I thought they were gimmicks to get you to spend extra money where you didn’t need to. However, I gave them another chance recently when I tried the latest smart toothbrushes and I’m happy to say that I was actually quite impressed. The apps have become much more sophisticated at helping you brush by guiding you around your mouth, letting you know where you’re missing.

I certainly don’t think that these smart features are essential. Most people won’t need or want them. However, they can be really useful for people who need that extra bit of motivation. If you have the spare money, a smart brush like the Oral-B Genius 9000 is an excellent bit of kit. But the toothbrush itself is not very different from the others in the range such as my personal favourite the Oral-B Pro 2 2500N.

Where to buy your electric toothbrush?

Buy it on the internet. There is absolutely no point in going into a shop or pharmacy to buy an electric toothbrush. Even if they are on offer on the high street, it is unlikely that they won’t be cheaper on somewhere like Amazon.

The investment in an electric toothbrush today will save you time and money at the dentist tomorrow. And remember, you don’t need the most expensive brush. You need a great brush like the Oral-B Pro 2 2500N that is reliable, affordable and keeps your teeth healthy.

Why do we brush our teeth?

We recommend that you brush your teeth at least twice a day but do you know why? The two main diseases that damage your teeth and gums are both caused by bacteria. Tooth decay is when bacteria use sugar from your diet to make a hole in your tooth or teeth. Gum disease is when bacteria get underneath your gums and cause inflammation which leads to the loss of the bone support around your teeth.

Both of these diseases can lead to tooth loss. So the reason that we brush our teeth is to remove bacteria and debris that cause these diseases. Rather than spending time and money with your dentist to cure disease, it’s much better to spend time with your toothbrush to prevent disease.

About electric toothbrushes

In the last section, we explained why we brush our teeth. The main question we want to answer here is ‘should you be using an electric toothbrush?’

Electric toothbrushes in one form or another have existed for years and years. They have been around since the 1950’s but an electric toothbrush in 2019 is almost unrecognisable from the early devices that needed to be plugged into the mains.

The only thing that hasn’t changed is its function. An electric toothbrush is designed to do the job of automatically brushing your teeth. They work to remove bacteria and prevent disease, doing the hard work for you.

Scientific research has proven that an electric toothbrush is more effective than a manual brush at removing plaque (a soft build up of bacteria around teeth and gums). The research is pretty conclusive. The Cochrane Group (a very clever bunch of science boffins) brought all of the evidence together and showed that people using an electric toothbrush had less bacteria in their mouths and less gingivitis (bleeding gums).

In answer to our question, ‘should you be using an electric toothbrush?’ the answer is a definite ‘YES’.