Oral-B iO8 Review

How the iO8 looks, feels and works 

Before going into detail on the brush itself, I wish to give a quick mention of the retail packaging for the iO8.

Compared to some of the Oral-B unboxing experiences I have had, this is much better.

The outer box is cardboard and the inner tray is made of card rather than polystyrene which was extensively used in the past.

The artwork on the box has a very typical Oral-B design to it. It is fairly consistent with other models. However, there has been a real improvement in the amount of information printed on it.

In the past, it would state 6 cleaning modes, but never say what they were. Now, these are clearly identified. Other features are highlighted and explained too.

Somewhat disappointing is the fact that the travel case and brush head holder are wrapped with a plastic sleeve. This isn’t necessary. But, I presume this is there to protect them from getting scratched.

A color display is built into the stylish brush handle

It will catch your eye and is one of the main differentiators of the iO Series compared to other models.

Built into the front of the handle is a color screen.

It isn’t a touchscreen, but that is a good thing as it is more reliable and easier to interact with this way.

Having a display is, without doubt, a luxury and it is not something that you need. But, it certainly fits with the heir of premium and quality that the iO8 exudes.

What I particularly like about the screen is that you can easily move between and select the different cleaning modes on the brush. But, unlike most Oral-B brushes where you get just an icon, you actually get a name/label for the mode. This makes it really clear what you are selecting.

I have gotten to learn the icons, but I can assure you that someone like my mum would find this frustrating and unnecessary. The icons can be hard to decipher.

As an added bonus there are small customizations that can be made via the display, that would usually be reserved for the app, if there was no screen. You can change the color of the smart pressure sensor come light ring around the neck of the brush handle for example. You have 12 different colors to choose from.

Flanking the display are 2 buttons. The top one if the power button to turn the brush on and off, whilst the lower is the cleaning mode button.

You can change the mode prior to turning the brush on. This is something not possible on all Oral-B brushes.

Just like other iO brush handles, the 8 looks and feels great.

There is a rounded shape to the handle with no harsh edges.

It is just an inch thick and wide.

Unlike cheaper Oral-B brushes and even premium models from years gone by, there is a distinct lack of textured surfaces on the iO’s handle.

Instead, there is a smooth, but resistive coating to the plastic. That might sound odd, but basically, it isn’t as slippery to the touch as you expect.

The benefit of less grip is that the handle is easier to keep clean. It can easily be rinsed and wiped. You don’t get a buildup of toothpaste residue and grime within the textured surfaces of the rubber, as is the case with other models.

The iO8 feels solid and well built when in the hand

With few exceptions, electric toothbrushes are of plastic construction.

This is because plastic is easily molded, is very resistant to moisture, and is durable and lightweight.

The iO8 like the other iO Series handle does feel robust and well built when in the hand.

In the past, Oral-B brushes haven’t felt poor quality as such, but they just didn’t give the same sense of premium as Philips Sonicare.

With the iO8 gloss white plastics have been dropped for a cleaner and more desirable matt finish to the handle.

Having been making toothbrushes for many years, Oral-B knows what works. Whilst the iO8 is a newer design, I have little in the way of concerns for long term durability.

My iO9 has been in use for a couple of years at the time of writing and still operates as if it were new.

Aside from the aforementioned screen and buttons, on the front of the handle you will also find a printed Bluetooth icon along with the Oral-B iO logos.

The back and sides of the handle are free from any notable ports or controls.

There is no raised plastic nodule on the back of the handle to stop it from rolling about. But when laid flat it tends only to wobble a bit, rather than roll, due to the weight and shape of the handle.

Unlike the iO 4, 5 and 6, the base of the iO8 is pretty much flat. It does concave very slightly, but there is no recess in it for the charging pin of the charging stand.

The Series 8 will happily stand upright on a countertop.

It’s water resistant, but not submergible

Most toothbrushes, including the Series 8 are designed to withstand the rigors of twice daily use.

Water, wet hands, toothpaste and saliva are all in store for your handle. 

Whilst I don’t suggest trying to submerge the iO8 unnecessarily, the handle is water resistant so a good rinse under the faucet and even use in the shower are perfectly acceptable things to do.

It has 6 different brushing modes 

If you like choice, the iO8 gives you just this.

Choose between the following 6 brushing modes:

• Daily Clean
• Sensitive
• Super Sensitive
• Whitening
• Intense
• Gum Care

Simply press the mode button repeatedly to cycle through the modes and then the power button to select the one you want.

The brush will remain set to the chosen cleaning mode during your brushing session and it will default to that the next time you turn the brush on.

You can actually change the order and even enable and disable modes from the smartphone application that this brush can pair with, if you so desire.

6 modes are more than you or I need.

For the vast majority of users, and I include myself in this, the Daily Clean and Sensitive modes are more than sufficient. Modes like whitening and intense don’t provide any significant benefit to you and there is little to no evidence to really confirm the need for them.

But, nonetheless, you have the choice.

If you want to learn more about the different brushing modes on Oral-B handles, do check out our guide to Oral-B cleaning modes.

The timer and pacer help you to brush for the right amount of time

An essential feature of any good toothbrush is a 2 minute timer and pacer. It is something our in-house dentists recommend.

You will be pleased to know that these are built into the iO8 as standard.

As the brush is turned on the pacer and timer are activated.

At 30 second intervals the pacer kicks in. You will note a pause in the bristle motion, a change in sound and brushing sensation and a vibration in the handle. This is your cue to move from one section of the mouth to another.

This then repeats every 30 seconds, until the brush gets to 120 seconds (2 minutes).

The idea is that you break the mouth up into 4 sections: 

• upper right
• upper left
• lower right 
• lower left

You spend 30 seconds cleaning each section. As you do, you try to give equal attention to the front, back and biting surfaces of the teeth. 

If you do, come the 120 seconds of brushing time, you should have achieved an even clean to the teeth and gums.

You will need to press the power button to turn the toothbrush off, as it does not power off automatically as some other brushes do. Well, it would if you left the brush running for 5 minutes, but I don’t recommend doing so.

As you power the brush off, no matter how long you have been brushing for, you will get an emoji style face appear on the screen. What face it is depends on your brushing time.

Brush for an insufficient amount of time and you will get a sad face. Brush for 2 minutes and you get a smiley face. If you brush for much longer than required you will see a starry eyed smile.

Around the world, dental professionals are in almost unanimous agreement that you should be brushing your teeth twice a day 2 minutes at a time. And cleaning in between the teeth at least once a day.

The reality is far too few do, with the average brushing time being just 45-70 seconds in total per day.

If you are guilty of this, you are putting your oral health at risk.

It is worth knowing that during any brushing session you do get a timer on the screen too. It isn’t necessarily the easiest to see based on the way you hold the brush, but it is there should you need to refer to it.

The smart pressure sensor alerts you when you brush with the correct or incorrect amount of pressure

This is probably one of the best pressure sensor implementations in any electric toothbrush on the market today. 

Around the neck of the brush handle is a light ring that changes color depending on the pressure applied.

This is another dentist recommended feature.

The colors and what they mean are as follows:

• White – Low pressure – not enough force is being applied. This is the default setting.
• Green – The right amount of pressure is being used.
• Red – High or excessive pressure is being applied and the force should be reduced.

As best as possible you want the light ring to be lit green for the entirety of the brushing session.

It is worth noting that the white light can be customized to an alternative color via the smartphone app.

Too much pressure can damage the teeth and gums. As such when the red light is active, in the daily clean, intense and sensitive modes the number of brush head movements will be reduced until the pressure is relieved.

If using the smartphone application when brushing you will be alerted via the on-screen graphics only when too much force is being applied.

The sound of the brush handle does differ very slightly when excessive force is being used. It does not alter the vibration pattern felt via the handle, like Sonicare brushes do.

This smart sensor isn’t exclusive to the iO8. It is available on all Oral-B iO series handles.

The iO’s motor is quieter

A common complaint of many Oral-B brushes is that they are loud.

I concur with this. Compared to a Philips Sonicare or other sonic toothbrush they are very noisy.

To put it into perspective, if someone was talking to you when using a sonic toothbrush, you would hear them clearly. With an Oral-B brush running it would be a bit more of a challenge.

However, there is good news with the iO8, because it uses a newer and different motor.

Sealed inside the handle is a brushless magnetic drive system used exclusively in the iO Series.

It does mean the brushing experience is actually different. Existing Oral-B users will likely notice the difference. It is a bit softer and less aggressive.

But, the good news is that it is quieter too.

The iO8 produces up to about 72 decibels of sound or less. That is in the region of 5 decibels less than other Oral-B brushes.

The iO4, 5 and 6 are quieter still.

You will be hard pushed to find a brush that cleans better

Even though I have tested hundreds of different toothbrushes, I tend to always come back to Oral-B.

This is because the cleaning results are just so good from the oscillating and rotating brush head.

It sounds clichéd, but I get that dentist clean feeling after each brushing session.

My at home plaque disclosing tests have shown how well the brush removes the bacteria. And I do like how the cleaning action is a little more intense and invigorating. This might not be to everyone’s liking, but it works for me.

Oral-B has posted impressive clinical results with their iO brushes and clinical research has shown how the evidence tends to stack up in favor of Oral-B.

But, full disclosure it isn’t an open and shut case. Sonic brushes are still very good. 

When it comes to dental advice and information on how to take care of your teeth, the American Dental Association (ADA) is one of the leading bodies.

Therefore you gain extra peace of mind and reassurance in knowing that the iO8 has achieved the ADA’s Seal of Acceptance.

The association awards products this seal when they are proven to be safe and when they have shown efficacy in removing plaque and helping prevent and reduce gingivitis. 

The different cleaning modes have some bearing on the intensity of the clean, so if you prefer something a little more gentle, the sensitive mode might be for you.

Irrespective of the mode, use the correct techniques and you will get a good clean of the teeth and gums.

Replacement brush heads are ridiculously expensive for the iO Series

With the introduction of the iO came a new range of iO exclusive brush heads.

These heads fit only iO brush handles and are not compatible with other Oral-B brushes such as the Vitality, Pro, Smart and Genius Series.

And the heads that fit those models don’t fit the iO Series.

They don’t fit because the attachment is different. They still push on and pull off of the handle, but the iO brush head shaft is a bit wider and angled differently.

This re-design may well have been necessary, but I am not sure that the additional cost is.

A typical set of bristles for most Oral-B brushes costs around $5 per head.

The new iO refills are over double this cost at about $12 per head.

Not only is the lack of compatibility frustrating, but if you are upgrading, the price premium is very off-putting. Particularly when you need to replace the heads every 3 months.

The iO8 comes supplied with 3 Ultimate Clean brush heads, which provides a very satisfying clean.

It has slightly firmer bristles that are angled at 16 degrees to effectively remove plaque from the teeth and along the gumline.

It is not the only style of head available though.

You can choose between:

• Ultimate Clean
• Gentle Care
• Radiant White
• Specialized Clean

The ultimate clean and gentle care are our top choices. 

You can choose the one you prefer, you don’t have to stick with the style that comes included in the box.

You can learn more about the specific differences between each head and why we select each by reading our Oral-B brush heads article.

Be reminded when it is time to replace your brush head

3 months is the recommended time to replace them because, assuming you brush for the recommended time, the bristles will wear and become less effective.

The rounded tips can become uneven and potentially damage the gums and abrade the tooth surface.

Whilst it is unlikely that you are going to do any significant damage if you were to use the head for 4 months, it is best to avoid using it for this long if you can.

The iO8 will actually remind you when it is time to replace the head via the app and on-screen. This only works if you log within the app when you last replaced it.

These reminders are really helpful as the brush heads themselves don’t always have fading indicator bristles to remind you.

If your brush head shows obvious signs of wear sooner than this, you want to replace the brush head sooner too. It might also be a sign you are brushing incorrectly, perhaps with too much force.

Once you have replaced the head, you should reset the reminder within the app.

The reminder system works on a number of assumptions and isn’t tracking the head via a unique tracking chip like Sonicare does with their BrushSync enabled heads.

So the iO8 wouldn’t know if you replaced the head after 1 month unless you specifically told it.

You can access the app at any time to see how long you have been using the head. It logs when it was replaced and counts the number of days used as well as the number of brushing minutes that have elapsed.

Track your brushing habits via your smartphone using Bluetooth

All of the iO Series brush handles offer Bluetooth connectivity. 

This means you can connect the iO8 to your smartphone, using the free Oral-B app for Android and iOS, and get insights into your oral care routine.

It is what some might call a ‘smart toothbrush’.

As a general rule, we don’t recommend smart brushes. This is because you don’t need them to achieve a good clean. 

Not to mention they use more resources and can be more expensive.

But, some people, maybe yourself, might like the idea of getting more information on how you are brushing and being alerted to insights and patterns within your routine.

The principle of the app is to educate and encourage people like you and me to take more control and ownership of our oral health.

If we can learn what we are doing well and where there are areas for improvement, we can make the appropriate corrections before problems arise.

Changes and improvements to the app are being made all of the time, this is the beauty of such a toothbrush. But as it stands you can customize the order of the cleaning modes, set specific oral care journeys, see the battery status, change the color of the light ring and track how long you have been using a particular brush head, amongst other things.

As you brush you are able to see which cleaning mode you have selected. The screen will change when you are applying too much pressure and more.

Track your brushing in real-time and improve your brushing immediately

One of the more unique features of this premium toothbrush is the ability to track its position in the mouth. 

Sensors in the handle relay the orientation of the brush back to the app in real-time, which turns the data into on-screen visuals.

The idea being it helps you to learn what areas of the mouth you are and are not brushing well, so that you can take corrective action, either immediately or the next time you brush.

Based on how well you brush, you are given a score.

This score, along with other bits of brushing data are presented in a dashboard that you can take learnings from.

The app looks to build up an average score and understanding of your habits, but you can drill down into individual brushing sessions.

Even if you use the brush at times without the app, the handle will store some of the data and sync this with the app next time.

Without getting into too much minute detail, the whole system is very clever. Conceptually it is a very good idea and with serious commitment, some will gain a real benefit.

But a few of the sticking points are as follows:

1. You need to be committed to making improvements

To get the improvements you want or the app encourages you need to really work hard at making the necessary changes. Essentially you have to be prepared to correct your mistakes. If you do, this should benefit your oral health.

Ideally, you want to have your phone with you each time you brush, which isn’t something everyone will want to do.

2. The tracking isn’t that accurate – 6 zones rather than 16

The tracking works, but it isn’t perfect. 

Some sessions seem better than others, but I will often have the app registering a different zone to the one I am actually brushing. There can be a noticeable lag/delay in the visuals.

The app shows the on-screen visuals based on 6 zones (upper right rear, upper front, upper left rear, lower right rear, lower front and lower left rear) compared to the 16 zones (all the tooth surfaces) that are tracked on the iO9 for example.

Tracking 16 zones is more accurate and meaningful than 6. You might always be failing to brush the inside surfaces in a particular zone. But, you wouldn’t know this as the 6 zone tracking isn’t as specific.

It’s not a massive issue, but the pacer on the iO8 is set to 4 quadrants by default, yet the app is set to 6 zones. Thus a 20 second (sextant) pacer might be more useful to encourage even brushing in the ones being tracked.

Whilst I won’t claim to have the perfect brushing technique, I do think it is perhaps better than most. That said, even I struggle to get perfect scores all the time. Perhaps I have faults or it is partly down to the tech?

3. Once you have made the improvements, you probably won’t want to track

If you have a terrible routine and habits this brush can aid improvement. But what about when you have mastered it?

Let’s assume you have got a pretty accurate brushing score every time for the last 3 months. The motivation to use the app inevitably wears off.

Yes, you can periodically log a few sessions to ensure you are still doing the right thing, but have the value and benefit gone?

4. You can achieve similar results for a fraction of the price 

You don’t need a smart toothbrush to perfect your routine.

Yes, it could help, but you could save a lot of money by buying a more affordable toothbrush without the tech and instead learning the correct approaches from other sources.

Get personalized recommendations and tutorials from your dental hygienist or watch some of our oral care videos that show you how to brush correctly.

With a few minutes of your time and several brushing sessions where you really put into practice what you have learned, you can achieve the same results.

Pick the color you prefer

You have the choice between 3 colors with the iO8.

• White Alabaster
• Black Onyx
• Violet ametrine

Technically each brush handle is the same, the difference is the color of the brush handle itself.

All should come with a travel case that holds the handle and up to 2 brush heads.

The case and charging stand color is black or white subject to the variant.

Accessories and extras

Included in the box with the iO8 is a travel case. It holds the handle and up to 2 brush heads.

It is a more premium case than you get with the iO4, 5 and 6. The plastics are thicker and more durable. The inner lining is molded differently.

Fundamentally they do the same thing, but the case with the iO8 is better quality. It is a touch heavier too.

Holding the case vertically, it is hinged on the left side, opening up like a book.

The ends of the case are rounded, as is the top lid. The base is flat, so it sits on a worktop.

Debossed onto the top lid is the Oral-B iO logo with a push style clip on the right side to lock the case closed or to open it up.