This one was tough. A lot of people simply voted “Sonicare” or “Oral-B” which leaves a lot to be interpreted when it comes to recommending one, single electric tooth brush. We’ve wrangled the top comments and have taken it to a vote, with five options to choose from based on what we could get from your comments.
Here’s what you all had to say:
Philips Sonicare Kids
I’m pretty sold on Philips Sonicare. The key features for me are the quad pacer timer, the type/speed of vibration (which is where Sonicare stands apart), and that it has a lithium ion battery, which contributes both to longer charges and longer life of the handle itself (they inevitably fail when the battery won’t take a charge any longer). That combination only comes in the more expensive models, with the exception of the Sonicare for Kids. I know, the packaging makes it look embarrassing, but the reality is that you don’t need to apply the included stickers, and other than those, it is simply a high-end Sonicare, which works with any of the high-end toothbrush heads (including DiamondClean). Even the included head is adult sized. Best part: it’s much less expensive than the adult models, usually $39, sometimes on sale for $29. -MyAirheadIsDumberThanYours
Philips Sonicare 2 Series
My dentist’s recommendation was to buy the cheapest Philips Sonicare I could find, but then get the fancy DiamondClean replacement heads. I actually bought the second-cheapest because the cheapest had half the vibration speed of the rest of the line at the time.
When I looked up the cheapest Sonicare models on Amazon right now, they were the battery Powerup, which apparently requires AA batteries, and the Essence, which appears to have an annoyingly bulky handle. So I’ll recommend the third cheapest, which looks a lot like mine, though I think it’s technically a different model: the 2 Series. - Absotively
Oral-B Pro 1000
For the budget-conscious, go for the Oral-B Black Pro 1000. Got it on sale for $30. It pulses every 30 seconds to switch to the next area of teeth and will stop working if you’re pressing too hard. You can buy different replacement brush heads (I recommend the Dual Clean). Pretty easy to clean. - MikePenceNoneTheRicherNowVP
Oral-B Pro 5000 SmartSeries
The best electric brushes are the Oral B smartseries/excel series because of the oscillating, pulsating, and rotating action of the brush head. No other feature matters. Objectively they clean better than any of the vibrating brushes or manual brushes. - kgeorge