Oral B Electric toothbrushes

At our Salisbury dental practice I get asked all the time which electric toothbrush to buy. Below is information on Oral B , Phillips Sonicare, Suri, Ordo as well as other ranges of electric toothbrushes. 

Electric Toothbrushes

I'm going to start by issuing an apology – I mention the ‘C’(Christmas) word, not once, but twice below in the next few paragraphs.  Sorry!

You may or may not be aware, but one of the biggest sellers for Christmas and Black Friday (which seems to last two months!) is… an electric toothbrush.  And the deals available can be amazing.  But how do you decide which brush to get from the many on the shelf/screen. 

There are many brands of electric toothbrush available and I will mention a few briefly but my main focus is the Oral B electric toothbrush range.

Oral B Ranges

Oral B launched its new technology in 2020 with the iO range.   This works on magnets rather than a shank driven motor which means as well as rotation and pulsation of the toothbrush head, the individual bristles vibrate.  This, to my mind, gives an awesome clean (when used properly!). it is far less 'bumpy' and 'vibrational' the the old technology and therefore feels like a more gentle cleaning experience.

The table below outlines some information on various ranges including Vitality which is good for children as it is less powerful that the other ranges.  They also theme the handsets in the latest movie characters. 

Pro and Genius area good ranges with Genius offering a few more bells and whistles than Pro. 

However, the iO range is fabulous so if you can stretch to it financially, it is worth considering getting one from this range instead of the others. 

Warning - the iO2 is a great price but it is the old technology and will perform differently than the rest of the iO range.  If the price attracts you, look at the Pro3500 instead.   

Phillips Sonicare electric toothbrushes are also great and is ideally suited to people who like a very gentle clean.  They feels less vibrational and aggressive in your hand than the Oral B range - although the new technology in the iO is almost comparable to Sonicare for gentleness.   I find it difficult to discern the difference in the various ranges other than the number of modes, and the colour!  Their website gives very little information on speed, battery life etc.  

Warning - if your personality type is one which is..... 'get it done, tick the list, move on'....., Sonicare is definitely NOT the toothbrush for you.  It just won't feel like it is doing the job at all. 

Through the media especially social media, several 'new to the market' brushes have become popular -  the main ones being Suri, Ordo and Foreo Issa. These are marketed on their sustainability and the length of time they last between charges (up to 30 days), which is considerably longer than the Oral B or Phillips brushes. Something to keep in mind is they are far less powerful, which is why the charge lasts so long, and they are more comparable to a manual toothbrush when it comes to their working action.   Unlike the Oral B and Phillips where you place the brush head and hold the brush still for a count of 3, you actually have to work/jiggle the Suri, Ordo or Foreo Issa to get the results.  

Hopefully the above information and the tables below will help with your decision making.    If you need more information or have queries simply email them in and I'll endeavour to clarify thing for you.  You may note that I have not mentioned how many modes are on the brushes.  In my experience, most people use only one mode so the extra 4-5 are a bit of a waste of space.  The only time I see people move between modes is when they fancy a sensitive mode.  Other than the basic vitality brush, all the ranges (incl. Vitality pro)  have a slower/sensitive mode. 

Also the bigger brands will often package two handles together which can be a really good way to get handsets for all the family.  Be warned there is only one charger so this as an optin for somone away at Uni, for instance, is not viable. 

Happy Shopping!

Oral B  Electric toothbrush ranges comparison 

* micropulses means the bristles move independantly rather than just the brush head. 

** Not RRP but the offer/price you can find them for

Oral B iO electric toothbrush comparison table.