Best electric toothbrush Australia

You can get a good brush for less than $90

There are a number of types of electric toothbrush, including side to side movements, sonic, and rotation oscillation.

Oral-B brushes use rotation oscillation technology, whereas Sonicare brushes use sonic technology.

There is a small amount of evidence showing that rotation oscillation brushes are better than other types. They reduce levels of plaque and gum disease.

But one review rightly points out that the difference is small. It is unknown whether these clinical trials actually translate into day to day use.

The good news is that rotation oscillation toothbrushes tend to be cheaper.

Apart from this, there is almost no evidence supporting one type of brush over the others. 

However, key characteristics which may benefit you in an electric toothbrush are:

• a pressure sensor to prevent scrub brushing.
• a timer to help ensure you are brushing for the full two minutes.
• a good quality toothbrush head which is changed every three months or when you can see them fraying.

Our number 1 pick in the list above, the Oral-B Pro 2 2000, includes all of these. Many of the best electric toothbrushes come in at under $90.

Spending more money on a toothbrush may provide things like travel cases and better battery life, but these aren't going to actually help brush your teeth better!

We don't recommend smart toothbrushes

No, not in my opinion.

A smart toothbrush is one with Bluetooth technology, which is developing all the time. In the last few years it has evolved from just connecting to a timer to being able to connect to an app on your phone.

Some smart toothbrushes also send reminders when you should change your toothbrush head.

There is no evidence currently available to support the use of a smart toothbrush over a normal electric toothbrush.

As a dentist, I would point out that many of the benefits advertised by a smart toothbrush can be gained more affordably elsewhere, such as by setting a calendar reminder on your phone, or by learning proper techniques from our videos and your own dental professional.

Sonicare vs Oral-B

According to lab testing (1,2,3) the oscillating-rotating technology (used by Oral-B) is better at removing plaque than the sonic technology used by Sonicare.

Whilst the science says the Oral-B is only slightly better than Sonicare, whether this will make much difference in the mouth is unclear. There are other factors at play in the real world, such as comfort during use, noise levels and personal preference, which all influence how well a person brushes with a certain type of brush.

Because of this, you might not want to discount Sonicare and should look into these brushes if you do not like using electric toothbrushes that use oscillating-rotating technology, like Oral-B.

In reality, more research is needed. Our Sonicare vs Oral-B article explores this in more detail.

Is it better to choose an electric toothbrush instead of a manual toothbrush?

Some people will see benefits when using an electric toothbrush instead of a manual toothbrush.

The purpose to toothbrushing is to:

• remove plaque, which contributes to dental decay and gum disease.
• remove food debris from the teeth to reduce the risk of dental decay.
• introduce a fluoride containing toothpaste to reduce the risk of decay.

When asking whether an electric toothbrush or a manual toothbrush is better, the question is really "which one removes more plaque and food debris, without harming the teeth and gums".

Studies (reviewed by Niederman and Yaacob et al ) show that electric toothbrushes are better at removing plaque. They also show that electric toothbrushes help with gum disease.

Despite the clear evidence in reducing plaque, there is no evidence to support the use of electric toothbrushes when it comes to reducing decay.

For people wearing braces, a review of the evidence concluded that there is no reason to support the use of electric toothbrushes for reducing plaque on teeth and avoiding gum disease (although this evidence only covered a period of 8 weeks).

When thinking about the safety of your brush, know that both manual and electric toothbrushes have the potential to cause harm when used incorrectly. An example is causing wear on the outside of the tooth by scrubbing too hard. Evidence has shown that electric toothbrushes are of no greater concern to teeth and gums than a manual toothbrush, and some studies even support the use of electric toothbrushes to prevent worsening tooth wear caused by over brushing.

One other consideration is which one are you more likely to use? A toothbrush that encourages you to brush twice a day for two minutes each time, is always going to be better than one you can't use.

Finally, when thinking about whether an electric toothbrush is better than a manual toothbrush, you will also want to think about the environment. This recent study discussed the greater impact of electric toothbrushes on the environment.

The take home message?

It is a personal choice.

If you are good at cleaning with a manual toothbrush and have no gum disease or tooth wear, then a manual toothbrush is satisfactory. It also has less impact on the environment.

If you struggle getting your teeth clean enough with a manual toothbrush, or if you suffer from gum disease, then an electric toothbrush is a better option for you.

An explanation of the different toothbrush features

There are lots of features that can be built into electric toothbrushes today.

Not all of them are necessary.

We have grouped the most common features by their importance.

For the high and medium importance features, we have included a brief description. We explain what they do and why they might be helpful.

High importance — essential in any electric toothbrush

2 minute timer

We cannot stress the importance of a timer enough.

Dentists, hygienists and governing dental bodies around the world are in unison that brushing your teeth twice a day for 2 minutes is important.

When brushing your teeth, it is all too easy to get distracted and misjudge time. You can think you have been brushing for longer than you have.

A timer keeps track of how long the toothbrush has been switched on for.

At the end of 2 minutes (120) seconds, the toothbrush will power off or briefly pause the brush motor.

If the timer hasn't gone off, you haven't brushed for long enough.

Quadpacer

2 minutes spent cleaning your front or back teeth is no good.  To maintain good oral hygiene you need to clean all the teeth.

A pacer is linked to the 2 minute timer.  

It is designed to encourage you to brush the teeth in the mouth evenly during the 2 minute brushing cycle.

Most pacers work by pausing the brush motor at 30 second intervals.  The pause in the sound and motion of the toothbrush is your cue to move from 1 section of the mouth to another.

Imagine your mouth split up into 4 sections:

1. Upper right
2. Upper left
3. Lower right
4. Lower left

Spend 30 seconds cleaning the surfaces of the teeth in each quadrant. By the end of the 2 minute cleaning cycle all teeth will have had equal attention.

Some brushes (notably Sonicare) have a pacer set to 20 second intervals.  This results in 6 sections of the mouth. They are as follows: 

1. Upper right back teeth
2. Upper front teeth
3. Upper left back teeth
4. Lower left back teeth
5. Lower front teeth
6. Lower right back teeth

Pressure sensor

We believe a pressure sensor is an underrated feature, particularly for a first time user.

Brushing too hard can damage the gums. Bristles of the brush need only skim the surface of the teeth and gums.

Brushing too hard will also wear away the outermost surface of the tooth. This is what dentists call abrasion. Abrasion itself can cause sensitivity to hot and cold.

Scrubbing harder is not an effective way to remove plaque and debris from the teeth. You and many others may not have known this, because you have never been told or shown how to brush correctly.

A pressure sensor alerts you when you are applying too much force as you brush.

It is a gentle reminder to use a little less force and help you maintain a healthy smile.

Sensors are implemented differently.  

In many instances when pressure is detected, the motor will slow down. This limits the bristle movement and potential damage.

A visible pressure sensor will illuminate to act as a visual alert.  This is common in Oral-B brushes.  Usually, a red light is emitted around the neck of the toothbrush.

Some models, notably Sonicare, will vibrate the brush handle to alert you.

Avoid activating the pressure sensor if you can.

Once the pressure is relieved, the sensor is deactivated and normal brushing resumes.

Medium importance — worth considering, but not critical 

Good battery life

Most electric brushes have built-in rechargeable batteries.  

Over recent years performance and usage time of batteries have gotten better. Most brushes are on par with each other, with an average of around 2-3 weeks use between charges.

The vast majority of batteries in toothbrushes use Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion). Some are Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH).  

Some brushes will have removable AA or AAA. They can last months. They are not that common and tend to be the cheaper models at less than $25. 

Rechargeable toothbrushes typically perform better and are more cost effective.

Travel case

Even if you are not a regular traveller, a case makes it much easier to transport the toothbrush and brush heads.

When in the case, the likelihood of damage, particularly to the bristles on the brush head is reduced. There is also less chance of the brush accidentally being switched on. Any excess moisture and toothpaste remains in the case and not on anything else that might be in your bag. Nobody likes toothpaste stains on their clothes!

There are certain models that come with travel cases that allow charging whilst in the case. They do not need to be placed on a separate charging stand.

Price

Only ever spend what you are comfortable with.

For some spending $30 will be a lot whilst to others $200 will be cheap.

You do not have to spend a fortune.

A more expensive brush does not mean it is any better at cleaning your teeth.

For less than $90 you can buy an excellent electric toothbrush.

The act of regular brushing, with the correct technique, is more important than what you pay.

Additional cleaning modes

There is little need for extra cleaning modes. The default cleaning mode on a toothbrush is suitable for most users.

If we were to pick an additional mode it would be sensitive.

A sensitive cleaning mode uses less power from the brush motor.  It is more gentle on the teeth and gums.

Model dependent, there can be up to 6 or 7 different brushing modes.

What differs is the power/intensity of the mode and the brushing time.  Very often the likes of a 'deep clean' mode will last for 3 minutes.

For more information, read our Sonicare brushing modes or Oral-B cleaning modes article.

Brushing intensity

Being able to control the amount of power the motor delivers can be useful.

Some models offer the choice of low, medium and high power settings.

If the brush has 1 cleaning mode, it may default to the high setting.

You could change it to the low setting for a less intense clean.

Although the brush motion does not change, the speed of the motion does.

These act as alternatives to cleaning modes.

A brush with 1 mode but 3 intensity settings is in many respects equivalent to a brush with 3 modes.

Cost of replacement brush heads

The cost of replacement heads affects the long term ownership cost. It is worth factoring into your decision. Oral-B brush heads are cheaper than Sonicare.

It's recommended that you replace your brush head every 3 months. If you follow that advice you'll need 4 brush heads a year.

Official brush heads cost anywhere from about $7-12+ per brush head. This can be a lot of money when they will only be thrown away 3 months later. 

You can save money by buying when there's a deal on or by buying in bulk.

In most instances, you have the choice of opting for a third party brush heads. There may not be the same range and the quality may be different. But there are some great options at very good prices.

Do be aware of fakes/counterfeit brush heads which pose as genuine but are often not the real deal. If the price is too good to be true, it probably is.

Low importance — not a big consideration

• Brush handle shape, size and colour
• Brush head shape and size
• Cleaning mode notification lights
• Battery charging/status icon
• Smart features
• Bluetooth
• Motion tracking
• Smart guides
• UV sanitisers
• Automatic power off
• Charging stands/USB charging
• Water resistance
• Noise
• LEDs/cleaning mode display
• Storage compartments
• Dual handles

An explanation of the different brush heads

The brush heads available vary depending on the brand of toothbrush and the model that you choose.

Oral-B, Sonicare and Colgate all offer a range of different types of brush heads.

Each head is, in theory, designed to do a different job.

Sonic brush heads tend to be larger than the small round brush heads found on oscillating-rotating toothbrushes. Sonic heads have an oval shape to them.

The ranges are unnecessarily complicated. There is no definitive evidence to say one head is better than another.

It is best to pick and stick to one style of brush head and use it, rather than to worry about the particular type.

We have dedicated guides for brush heads:

• Oral-B brush head guide
• Sonicare brush head guide
• Colgate brush head guide

How dental association approval works

There are many dental bodies and organisations around the globe.

In fact, each country will usually have a  panel of leading experts. They usually guide oral health within that country. 

These organisations have similar goals and approaches. For example, producing advice for the general public on how to look after their teeth and gums. Or the recommended fluoride doses.

People look to these for advice on what products they should and should not be using.

The American Dental Association (USA) and the Oral Health Foundation (UK) are 2 examples.

Each has programmes that verify the safety and effectiveness of consumer products.

Consumer oral health care products are independently evaluated. This is to ensure they are safe and that the claims made are proven and not exaggerated.  Reliable scientific evidence is usually required. 

The programmes are designed to give consumers peace of mind and reassurance.

Each programme is run independently.  A manufacturer must apply and submit the relevant data to each organisation. Only once this process has been completed will a product be awarded the 'approved' status of the relevant body.

The ADA issues a 'Seal of Acceptance'. The Oral Health Foundation labels products as 'Approved'.

Although they are separate programmes, they operate with similar policies.  A product awarded the ADA seal would likely be approved by the Oral Health Foundation.