The Oral-B app can help brush your teeth more effectively by informing you about what areas you might have missed. The app can also time your brushing session and alert you if you are brushing your teeth too hard or too soft. “Rotating toothbrushes have a circle-shaped toothbrush head and vibrate as well as rotate back and forth at the same time,” says Dr. Frank.
Nearly every electric toothbrush we’ve tested requires rinsing and/or wiping down between each use. Otherwise, you may end up with dried toothbrush-spit residue gunking up any crevices—particularly oral b genius toothbrush where the brush head meets the handle. In addition to a quick rinse and wipe between uses, you may find it worthwhile to periodically remove the brush head to clean this junction.
Oral-B electric toothbrushes deliver up to 48,800 B.P.M, according to their website. Shyn offers an optional subscription program for replacement brush heads made for its four-brushing-mode, quadrant-pacing toothbrush. Purchased individually, the least expensive replacement heads cost $7, which is generally more than what most Oral-B heads cost but less than the price of many Philips Sonicare heads. Although you can adjust the intensity of the brush’s vibrations in each of the modes, in practice we found no appreciable differences between the intensity levels; they felt the same. When activated, the ultrasensitive pressure sensor alerts you with a beep that we found overly loud compared with alerts from the competition (fortunately, you can turn the pressure-sensing beeps off). Over the past eight years we’ve tested, and in many cases retested, more than three dozen different electric toothbrushes.
Like other models in the Oral-B line, it has superfluous cleaning modes and is compatible with any of the company’s replacement heads. The Genius has an on-board pressure sensor that flashes red when you brush too hard (no app needed). If you travel with an electric toothbrush, you’ll appreciate the included case, which can charge the brush handle and a phone. If you can’t find the Oral-B Pro 1000, or if you prefer a quieter brush with a head that vibrates back and forth instead of oscillates, we recommend the Philips Sonicare 4100. Like the Pro 1000, the 4100 has a two-minute timer with quadrant pacing plus a pressure sensor and is not trumped up with unproven features. However, the has two intensity settings (meaning you can brush with strong or stronger vibrations), and its battery lasts longer on a full charge than that of the Pro 1000.
This brush also scored well in aesthetics; both color options (black and white) are glossy, clean, and unobtrusive, and sit nicely on a bathroom shelf or counter. (You can also find the brush in pastel green or pink at some third-party retailers). While these toothbrushes didn’t top any of our categories, they may still be of interest to you. An older version of the Pro 1000 had a grippier handle with ridges, which tended to accumulate dribbles and made the brush handle a bit more difficult to keep clean.
There’s a timer so you move it around your mouth every 30 seconds and brush for a full two-minutes and a brush head that oscillates and rotates. Battery life is excellent, according to shoppers, who say it only needs charging once a week. Another hi-tech entry, this sonic toothbrush has a UV LED light that reacts with a titanium dioxide bar in its handle, creating ions that suppress the plaque-causing bacteria. It’s all very scientific, but essentially, it works with your body’s natural electrical charge to inhibit bacterial growth and pull bacteria off your teeth and onto the brush.
While two other Oral-B brushes we tested–the Genius 8000 and the Genius 9600–have a gummy, rubberized back on the handle to increase graspability, I found that this feature actually made it more difficult to reposition the brush. In contrast, the Oral-B Pro 1000 was equally graspable but easy to move around. The Oral-B Pro 1000 Rechargeable Electric Toothbrush does all the most important things the best electric toothbrush needs to do, and does them extremely well.
Nearly all electric toothbrushes that pair to apps collect varying amounts of personal information. In most cases, the only way to opt out of your data—anonymized or not—being disclosed with affiliates and third parties, for a variety of purposes, is to not download or use the app at all. Per advertising from Philips Sonicare that is now more than two decades old, some people have come to assume that so-called sonic toothbrushes remove more plaque—with sound waves. If you already have an electric toothbrush you’re happy with, there’s no need to consider upgrading. If you use a manual brush and don’t struggle to maintain good brushing habits, there’s little reason to consider upgrading in that case, either.