Sonicare vs Oral-B: Which Makes the Better Electric Toothbrush?

If you want a brush with an automatic shut-off timer and a quadrant timer, go with the Philips Sonicare 4100 Rechargeable Electric Toothbrush. As someone who has historically struggled to brush for the full recommended two minutes, knowing that I didn’t have to keep track of that time myself with this brush made a surprisingly large difference in my routine. To find the best electric toothbrushes, I spoke with Dr. Ada Cooper, a National Spokesperson for the American Dental Association, and Dr. Sonya Krasilnikov of Dental House in New York. I read copious articles on retail and review sites, as well as in journals such as the Journal of Dental Research and International Journal of Dental Hygiene.

The Sonicare 9900 Prestige has a luxurious look and feel, with a sleek design with elegant color finishes — pink, champagne, or midnight blue — and metallic detailing. It has a simple on and off switch, and an illuminated battery icon indicator, a brush head replacement reminder and smooth touch control. Oral-B heads are typically round, creating a cup covering each tooth during brushing. Depending on the head, the bristles might oral b genius toothbrush come out perpendicularly or at an angle — especially beneficial for getting plaque out of small spaces. Brush heads are interchangeable for all Oral-B brushes except the iO series, which you must purchase special heads for. Battery life isn’t up there with some Sonicare models – you’re looking at a recharge roughly every three weeks – but if you want the latest and greatest toothbrush tech for less, this is a great buy.

The Nimbus Extra Soft Toothbrush features microfine, tapered bristles that are gentle on sensitive teeth and gums. The long outer bristles clean the gum line, while the shorter inner bristles support plaque removal from the tooth surface. Our tester found the brush exceptionally oral b toothbrush heads soft, yet its cleaning power and precision was excellent—especially in cases of damaged enamel and sensitivities that create hot spots. Our tester found the bristles soft and gentle on her teeth and gums but still effective at sweeping away plaque and debris.

A great electric toothbrush for not a lot of money, even without the subscription plans. The two models offer similar cleaning capabilities, with the Sonicare toothbrush costing a whole $20 more. Each brand also offers an unwieldy number of brush head options whether you want to target specific issues like troublesome gums or plaque buildup. Oral-B brush heads range anywhere oral b braun toothbrush between $6 and $20 each (though the more expensive heads are meant to be used with the most premium Oral-B toothbrush); Sonicare brush heads range anywhere between $10 to $15 a pop. “I like that this electric toothbrush has a circular spinning brush head so I can just hold it over my teeth instead of moving it side to side,” said Select reporter Harry Rabinowitz.

A quality, budget electric toothbrush can cost you anywhere from $25 to $40. However, if you are looking for a high-end electric toothbrush with all of the recent technology, you can expect to pay anywhere from $150 to $300. The electric toothbrushes in this section weren’t my favorites, but they do have some great qualities worth mentioning.