The best electric toothbrushes of 2023 tried and tested, including Philips, Oral B and Spotlight
We tested this year's best electric toothbrushes for pearly whites at every price point The best electric toothbrushes of 2023 have been tested and tested, including Philips, Oral B and Spotlight. The research into brushing teeth has found that good dental health could slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s and that gum disease can increase mental decline. Dentists generally recommend brushing with an electric toothbrush over a manual model. This guide includes a comprehensive review of the latest electric toothBrushes from major brands like Oral-B, Philips and Spotlight, as well as innovative contenders. Some of these products have unique features, including a 365-day battery life, an anti-bacterial travel case and tongue cleaning settings. However, there are few ways to personalise the toothbrush with your name.
Publicados : 2 anos atrás por Abigail Buchanan, Rebecca Astill no Tech
Choosing the best electric toothbrush could make a tangible difference to your general health as well as giving you a better smile. Research into brushing teeth, published in 2016, found that good dental health could slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s and that gum disease can speed up mental decline. Dentists generally recommend brushing with an electric toothbrush over a manual model. For this guide we constantly test the latest electric toothbrushes from major names like Oral-B, Philips and Spotlight, as well as innovative contenders. We tried value options starting at £45 all the way up to £800 toothbrushes. Some have quite unique features, including a 365 day battery life, an anti-bacterial travel case and tongue cleaning settings. You can find our full reviews further down, followed by some advice on how best to use them. But if you’re in a hurry, here’s a quick look at our top five: Which are best electric toothbrushes in 2023? At a glance What are the different types of electric toothbrushes? Rotating and oscillating are the two main types of toothbrush, according to cosmetic dentist Dr. Tara Francis. “An oscillating toothbrush has bristles which oscillate or work by moving back and forth, similar to a pendulum, to help clean teeth and gums. A rotary toothbrush rotates and spins the bristles round and round. “Some toothbrushes combine the two actions and are known as rotating-oscillating. This is my personal recommendation to patients and what I use. Other mechanisms of action include pulsing and sonic. Pulsing and sonic are additional features to a rotating, oscillating or rotating-oscillating brush.” When it comes to sonic toothbrushes, you’re looking for any toothbrush that delivers more than 30,000 sonic vibrations per minute to encourage ‘fluid dynamic activity’: this is where the sonic waves massage the salivary glands, stimulating more saliva. The saliva binds with the water and toothpaste to act as a stronger cleaning agent. Combined with the sonic vibrations from the toothbrush, this helps to better remove plaque and clean harder-to-reach areas of the mouth. How we tested the best electric toothbrushes
• Head replacement price is £20 for three I expected a lot from this brand, which was founded by two cosmetic dentists, and the Spotlight Oral Care Sonic Toothbrush more than delivered. I had never imagined that an electric toothbrush could be a stylish accessory, but this one has a smooth, ergonomic design that’s a minimalist’s dream. One brushed silver button switches it off and on, and toggles between three brushing modes: ‘Sensitive,’ ‘Clean,’ and ‘White.’ Other toothbrushes offer more speed settings, but I found this to be more than enough (and less confusing). It uses Sonic technology that moves bristles side-to-side at a rate of up to 48,000 reps per minute. The reason I love this toothbrush so much is the intuitive design coupled with the fact that I can feel the deep-cleaning effects (the closest I’ve got to a hygienist-standard clean at home). Even though it cleans powerfully, it doesn’t feel too harsh on my gums. It also has a remarkably long-lasting battery – I started by testing it daily for four weeks and only had to charge it once in that time. It’s definitely won a permanent place in my bathroom cabinet. Maybe it’s because it’s a bright white toothbrush (although it does come in black, or the prerequisite rose gold) or because the founders have such very white teeth, but the whole brand’s emphasis does seem to be on whitening. This toothbrush excels there, too, gently but efficiently removing surface stains. The brush heads come in three sizes, and the toothbrush also comes with a premium-looking travel case. As a fun extra, you can personalise it with your name. There are very few cons – if I were to find one, and this really is nit-picking, it would be that the button is very sensitive and can inadvertently turn on, especially when travelling. However, that’s not enough to detract from its all-round performance. As close to a perfect ten as you can get.
• Head replacement price is £14.40 for three Slim, sonic and sustainable, that’s the Suri toothbrush in a nutshell. It was born out of frustration at the four million electric toothbrushes which end up in landfill per year thanks to unrecyclable plastic parts. Suri’s answer? A sturdy aluminium frame, plant-based cornstarch heads, and castor oil bristles. Suri also recycles the heads, free of charge, if they’re sent back in the pre-paid biodegradable bag which comes with every toothbrush. They do ask that you fill it with at least four heads, to reduce unnecessary carbon output. It’s all excellent in theory, and sustainability has lacked in the industry for a long time, but how does the brush perform? It cleans at 33,000 sonic vibrations per minute, which is less than the bigger names of Oral-B and Philips, but still above the 30,000 threshold demanded to instigate fluid dynamics. That’s the reaction in your mouth caused by the vibrations, which encourages your saliva to become an additional cleaning agent to lift plaque off your teeth. More on that in the FAQ section below. This is the slimmest, most ergonomic toothbrush I have ever used. I found it easy to move around my mouth, and it’s quieter than other brands I’ve tried at 54db. Though the bristles resemble a manual toothbrush, the sonic vibrations are quick enough that my mouth felt thoroughly cleaned afterwards. The rechargeable battery lasts for 40 days per charge, and it comes with a UV-C LED clean and charge travel case which cleverly self-cleans the bacteria from the bristles. There are a few nitpicks, though nothing huge. There’s no pressure sensor to tell you if you’re pressing to lightly or too hard, there are only two cleaning modes, everyday clean and polish, and the warranty is only one year, compared to two years guaranteed by most toothbrushes. You’d hope a sustainable product could be guaranteed to last longer - but that’s not to say it won’t. None of this is enough to put me off the Suri, and I’ve been completely won over by this innovative, sustainable toothbrush.
• Head replacement price is £15 for two If you thought the Philips Sonicare was expensive, hold onto your hat. At full price, Oral-B’s range-topping iO10 costs £800. That is such an insane amount of money to spend on a toothbrush that it’s hard to imagine who the target market is. However, having used it for a month, I think I can see why it exists. It’s the toothbrush your dentist would want you to use. All those things she tells you to do, and you fib that you will, from flossing and mouthwashing to gum and tongue care, are much more likely to happen when you use the iO10 and its all-encompassing app. The brush itself is high quality, as you’d hope. It has a smooth magnetic stand that holds a charge for around two weeks. The head is slimmer than other brushes and more easily reaches the hard-to-brush back teeth and inner surfaces. It vibrates at a much higher frequency than the Oral-B Pro I’ve been using for years. The feel is reminiscent of going to the dental hygienist for a deep clean. However, you’d get all this from the iO9, iO8 and iO7 – the latter often being discounted to £150. What you’re really paying for here is the app. If you’re willing to look at your phone while brushing your teeth, it gives you live feedback using a map of your mouth, divided into 16 zones. As you move the brush around your teeth, the app tracks its position and pressure. If you’re brushing correctly, you can watch as each zone goes from blue to light blue, to white and finally sparkling white. It’s quite fun and you get a report at the end, used to set cleaning challenges and win medals. It’s the same ‘game-ification’ that the language-learning app Duolingo uses to make you stick to your goals. You can choose a ‘journey’ – fresh breath, plaque fighter, whitening, gum health or ortho care – each with different advice and different cleaning modes to use. The trouble is, who has their phone with them when they’re brushing their teeth? Under-25s, possibly. But are they the demographic with £800 to spend on a brush? It’s true you can still get the progress reports and ‘journeys’ if you leave your phone in the bedroom – the toothbrush talks to the app via Bluetooth – but in practice I found that I stopped bothering after a few days. On the plus side, those few days’ guidance were enough to change how I brush my teeth. I spend much longer on each zone now, trying to get the little smiley face on the toothbrush’s built-in screen that says I’ve done well. If we only went by quality, the iO10 would be on the top of our list. But we have to take price into consideration and we’re not going to pretend that £800 - or even the £500 it’s usually sold for - is anywhere near reasonable. It’s possible that the iO10’s true purpose at the top of the Oral-B range is to make the others (like the iO3, below) look like a bargain by comparison. In which case, fine. We’ll call this the theoretical number one toothbrush.
• Head replacement price is £19.99 for four For a more affordable Philips Sonicare toothbrush, consider the 7900. It’s designed to be especially gentle on gums and is just as nice to hold as the top-of-the-range Philips 9900 model, but costs less than half as much. However, I found it slightly rattly – it almost sounds as though it’s going to take off in your mouth. Plus, this sounds pernickety, but the small gap between the brush head and the handle is a poor design choice: it makes you think you haven’t attached the head properly. That being said, it certainly delivers on cleaning performance, with a pared-back selection of premium features: four brushing modes and three intensities, including a specialist gum care setting. I really like that these are displayed on the handle - no need to download a silly app (although there is a Sonicare app if you really want it). The oval brushhead is small and nimble and the handle is light. It almost feels as though it’s designed with a daintier customer in mind than Oral-B’s chunkier models. There’s a pressure sensor and quadrant timer, both indicated by a rise in pitch, and the battery reliably lasts for two weeks. Mine came with four W2 Optimial White brushheads in the box, but you can swap these out for C3 Plaque Defence heads which are a bit more bristly. For an electric toothbrush around the £100 mark, this is a worthy contender - especially if you like pink. (It also comes in black or white.)
• Head replacement price is £25 for one This unique electric toothbrush is from FOREO, a brand that usually makes high-tech face brushes. It has a similar ‘beauty tech’ vibe, with a smooth silicone handle and curvy design (two times stronger silicone than the previous version). It’s very simple to set up and use, and has an unbelievably long battery life of 365 days per charge (no, I don’t quite know how that works, either – but it’s true. I’ve never had to charge it). That makes it a great toothbrush for travel. The brush is powered by sonic pulse technology that cleans at a maximum of 11,000 pulsations per minute. The head is made of silicone and PBT polymer bristles, which are now super flexible, which gives it a very different feel to other toothbrushes. Unlike the others, you’re supposed to use it like a regular toothbrush, scrubbing up and down and in circles rather than holding it against the teeth. I want to love it, but I’m not sure I do, as the head is quite wide which makes it hard to reach all the nooks and crannies - although it has been streamlined from the ISSA 2. It has a huge range of 16 different speed settings, although they’re not separated into dedicated ‘modes’ as such, and I actually found that 16 is too many. It has an interval timer, which prompts you to move to a different area of your mouth every 30 seconds for a thorough clean, but again no pressure sensor. That being said, I do think it’s a good options for anyone with gum sensitivities. The silicone bristles are so soft and flexible, they gently sweep across your teeth and gums, and though it all feels a little weird, my mouth does feel clean after use.
Why are electric toothbrushes better than manual? Dr Richard Marques, a private dentist based on London’s Harley Street, says: “By now, so much research has gone into them that any electric toothbrush you can buy is better than a manual toothbrush. They either use rotation and oscillation or vibration, and you’re able to clean your teeth without scrubbing too hard.” Dentist Dr Toby Edwards-Lunn points out that electric toothbrushes help children, the elderly or anyone with a weaker grip to make sure their teeth are getting the proper cleaning they need. “In this day and age the technology is so good, you don’t need to put any elbow grease into it. The brush does it for you,” he says. Simply switching to an electric toothbrush cannot guarantee healthy teeth, of course. A good toothpaste, brushing technique, brushing at the right time and flossing are all crucial too. But an electric toothbrush is certainly a good start. Many of the premium models on the market offer extra features such as different cleaning modes, pressure sensors and timers to upgrade your oral wellness. The only off-putting factor can be the price tag – while the price varies hugely by model and brand, for obvious reasons, electric toothbrushes cost a hundred times more than a manual brush you could pick up at the supermarket. But Marques says you don’t have to splash the cash to get good results. He would recommend brushes from dentist-approved brands Oral-B, Phillips and Colgate, but there are some interesting new challenger brands on the market, as you will have seen above. It’s worth noting that many electric toothbrushes are sold with two-pronged power plugs. With shaving sockets something of an ancient relic in the UK, it’s worth checking if you need an adaptor before buying. How do I use an electric toothbrush? “Do not move your toothbrush side to side,” says Dr. Tara Francis. “Hold the toothbrush on each surface of each tooth and in between each tooth for 3-5 seconds, working your way around the mouth. By surface I mean the outside surface, the top, and the inside. Angle the bristles of the brush between the tooth and the gum line to help clean the necks of the teeth where they meet the gums.” Will electric toothbrushes help with gum disease? “Patients who use electric toothbrushes are a lot less likely to suffer from gum disease”, says Dr Edwards-Lunn. “Unfortunately, gum disease is a multifactoral disease. Just having an electric toothbrush doesn’t mean you won’t get it. But it will mean the risk is much reduced. The most important thing is removing the plaque.” Will electric toothbrushes help with receding gums? “Gums recede for lots of reasons,” Dr Edwards-Lunn says. “Patients can be susceptible to it, or they can sometimes brush too hard. They can have past problems with gum disease, which could have caused it. And they can have a thin biotype of gum, where it’s a genetic thing. “Because an electric toothbrush does the work for you, and because most will now tell you when you’re pushing too hard, it can help protect against further recession.” “There’s a common misconception with whitening teeth,” Dr Edwards-Lunn says. “All the on-shelf products won’t whiten your teeth, they will reduce the amount of stain on your teeth: these are ‘extrinsic stains’, on the outside of the teeth, from food, drinks and cigarettes. “Intrinsic stains within the teeth, by contrast, are down to age or genetics. Dentists can perform tooth-whitening procedures on intrinsic stains. Using an electric toothbrush will not remove intrinsic stains, but will reduce the likelihood of adding extrinsic stains.”