Are you struggling to tell the difference between the Colgate toothbrush heads?
Unsure which one you should use and when?
You are not alone.
This article makes things easy.
I explain each of the different heads, answer common questions and hopefully explain which is best suited to you.
If there’s anything more you need to know, please ask in the comments.
Browse the page as normal, or use this list of navigation links to jump to different sections of the article.
Navigation
- What’s the best Colgate brush head?
- Which brush head should I use?
- Colgate brush heads explained
- Colgate Connect E1 replacement brush heads
- Colgate 360 replacement brush heads
- When to replace your Colgate brush head
- How to replace your Colgate brush head
- Which brush heads are compatible with my Colgate toothbrush?
What’s the best Colgate toothbrush?
Where to start?
There is a reason that 4 different brush heads exist, they are all designed to do something slightly different, if they didn’t what would be the point?!
As a result, deciding which is ‘the best’ is not really that simple.
However, I know simple answers are best. I have therefore done my best to break things down a bit.
Have a read over the sections below to see which brush head appeals to you the most. And be sure to check out the rest of this article if you need any more information – I’ve covered as much as possible, but if you’ve got any questions, ask in the comments.
Best all-round Colgate electric toothbrush head
As we’ve said above it’s hard to say exactly which brush head is ‘the best’, but to make a bit of a sweeping generalisation, I would suggest that the ‘360 Deep Clean’ brush head is the best solution for most users to opt for. It is an ideal all rounder.
| Preview | Product | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Colgate 360 Deep Clean Brush Heads | £18.00 £14.40 | View on Amazon |
Best Colgate brush head for sensitive teeth
Whilst many of us enjoy pain free brushing, if you are one of those who find the whole experience to be uncomfortable due to the sensitivity you have in your teeth and gums, you need something that as best as possible eases that pain, but still cleans effectively.
If you suffer with sensitivity you may want to use the Colgate Sensitive brush head.
The soft bristles clean the teeth effectively but do so with a not so aggressive approach allowing you to benefit from the enhanced clean an electric toothbrush brings but hopefully without the same discomfort.
If you regularly experience sensitive teeth and gums, you should seek further advice from a dentist as you may need to consider a change in diet, specialist toothpastes or even dental work.
| Preview | Product | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Colgate Sensitive Brush Heads | View on Amazon |
Best Colgate brush head for whitening teeth
Having white teeth can often give us an extra confidence that allows us to smile and feel better within ourselves. Often when we look good, we feel good.
Whist you might have to undergo professional whitening to get that ‘Hollywood smile’, it is perfectly possible to improve the shade of your teeth from the comfort of your home and at a much lesser price.
Using the Colgate 360 Whitening brush head alongside a good quality whitening toothpaste can improve your tooth colour by 2-3 shades. Those with heavily stained teeth will see the greatest improvements.
Depending on your model of brush there may too be a more suitable cleaning mode, such as Optimum which delivers more power to help buff those teeth to give them that gleam you desire.
| Preview | Product | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Colgate 360 Whitening Brush Heads | £18.99 £16.01 | View on Amazon |
Best Colgate brush head for braces
You likely don’t need me to reiterate the importance of brushing your teeth, especially when you have braces. Nobody really wants to be left with staining on their teeth when the are removed.
By their very nature fixed braces give greater surface area for food and debris to stick to and more places for bacteria and plaque to build.
It is easy to think that you need specialist brushes and they do exist.
However with a Colgate electric toothbrush you can use any of the brush heads safely with braces, you do not need a special brush head.
Competing brand Oral-B do recommend an Ortho brush head, but this is not essential.
However to ensure you cleaning as effectively as possible, specialist interdental brushes such as those by Tepe are advised as part of a good cleaning regime.
Which brush head should I use?
Only you can really decide which is the best brush head to use.
My recommendation for all round cleaning is the 360 Deep Clean brush head.
| Preview | Product | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Colgate 360 Deep Clean Brush Heads | £18.00 £14.40 | View on Amazon |
However, if you are on a mission for whiter teeth there is potentially a benefit in opting for the whitening head. Whilst the sensitive brush head will be more suited for those who suffer pain, bleeding or experience discomfort when brushing.
All brush heads will help to remove more plaque than a manual toothbrush whilst improving gum health and your overall oral hygiene so it is not like any will clean terribly, some are just engineered differently to achieve a slightly different result.
Cleaning your teeth properly twice a day for 2 minutes each time is the most important part here.
Our full article on how to brush your teeth with an electric toothbrush explains the correct way to brush your teeth as a poor teeth cleaning approach is more damaging than the incorrect brush head. The reality is each brush head can just give that extra bit of focus in achieving and assisting oral health care goals.
Colgate Omron toothbrush heads explained
I will now go on to explain the Colgate ProClinical brush heads in detail and make it easier for you to understand which brush head to opt for.
Colgate Omron replacement heads
Colgate electric toothbrushes are are made in partnership with Omron.
This therefore means that Colgate Omron replacement heads are the same as Colgate electric toothbrush heads.
So, if you searched for Omron toothbrush heads and found this article, then these heads should fit your toothbrush.
Just 4 different brush heads – one size fits all:
At the time of writing the Colgate ProClinical line of electric toothbrushes have a one size fits all approach to their brush heads.
This means that the brush heads fit to any of the ProClinical toothbrush handles.
You may well be pleased to know that in comparison to the likes of Sonicare, your choices are far less complicated.
There are less brush heads to chose from and they come in just 1 size.
Please be aware that the Colgate 360 battery powered toothbrush and the Colgate Connect E1 smart toothbrushes are exceptions to this rule and have their own brush heads.
Interchangeable heads
Whether you expected it or not, the good news is that all 4 brush heads fit all of the Colgate ProClinical line of brush handles.
The brush heads are fully interchangeable.
This means the brush heads fit to a ProClinical 150, 250, 350, 600 or Pocket-Pro toothbrush handle.
Just push them onto and pull them off of the brush handle.
One of the biggest benefits of this design and interchangeable nature is that it allows you to take advantage of the different benefits both brush handle and head bring.
If your oral hygiene goal is whiter teeth, you can select a brush handle and appropriate brush head that help achieve this goal.
It also accommodates the needs of families where a brush handle may well be shared amongst different users.
No longer does one person in a household need to have a different brush to another. Share the same handle, just swap the brush head.
Please note: the Colgate 360 battery powered toothbrush and the Colgate Connect E1 smart toothbrushes are exceptions to this rule and have their own brush heads.
You then have different pack sizes:
Assuming you will be able to decide which brush head is for you, you will then need to consider what pack size to buy.
Typically the 4 different brush heads come in packs of 2 or 4.
In many instances what you can buy is determined by the retailer and the availability. Not all stock all the range in both pack sizes for example.
Typically purchasing the larger pack works out more cost effective.
What does each brush head do?
Now for a little more detail on each of the the different brush head types and what they are used for.
360 Deep Clean
The deep clean brush head is designed to target 4 key areas when brushing.
At the top of the head are soft tipped bristles to sweep and clean along the gumline.
Powertip bristles to clean deep in between teeth and hard to reach areas.
A soft rubber cup polishes teeth, to buff them and help make them whiter.
On the back of the brush head is a rubber tongue and cheek cleaner. The textured surface helps remove odour causing bacteria from the surface.
This brush head clips on and off your brush handle for a secure fit and easy maintenance and cleaning.
It fits all Colgate ProClinical electric toothbrush handles.
This head also has reminder or indicator bristles which fade over time as you use the brush head. These reminder bristles begin begin being Blue in colour but fade to white. This helps you monitor when it is time to replace the head. For optimal results, replace your brush head every three months.
You can buy them in the following pack sizes:
- 4 pack Black
The 360 Deep Clean brush head is compatible with:
360 Deep Clean brush head work with all Colgate ProClinical electric toothbrush handles.
It does not fit to or work with the Colgate 360 battery powered toothbrush or the Colgate Connect E1 smart toothbrush.
360 Whitening
The 360 Whitening head is one of the newer options available from Colgate specifically focused on achieving whiter teeth.
There are 4 key features to this brush head and the bristles that form a part of it.
At the top there are Blue and White spiral bristles that help remove surface stains.
A soft rubber cup in the centre of the brush polishes teeth to achieve that dentist like clean finish to the teeth.
Thin tipped and soft bristles sweep along the gumline to remove as much plaque and bacteria as possible to leave a clean and fresh feeling in the mouth.
On the back of the brush head is a rubber tongue and cheek cleaner. The textured surface helps remove odour causing bacteria from the surface.
This brush head clips on and off your brush handle for a secure fit and easy maintenance and cleaning.
It fits all Colgate ProClinical electric toothbrush handles.
This head also has reminder or indicator bristles which fade over time as you use the brush head. These reminder bristles begin begin being Blue in colour but fade to white. This helps you monitor when it is time to replace the head. For optimal results, replace your brush head every three months.
You can buy them in the following pack sizes:
- 4 pack White
The 360 Whitening brush head is compatible with:
360 Whitening brush heads work with all Colgate ProClinical electric toothbrush handles.
It does not fit to or work with the Colgate 360 battery powered toothbrush or the Colgate Connect E1 smart toothbrush.
Triple Clean
The Triple Clean head is focused on cleaning the teeth in 3 ways to leave you with a fresh and clean feeling mouth throughout the day.
At the top there are Blue and White spiral bristles that help remove surface stains whilst inner bristles remove plaque from the tooth surfaces and tapered outer bristles, clean deep along the gumline
This brush head clips on and off your brush handle for a secure fit and easy maintenance and cleaning.
It fits all Colgate ProClinical electric toothbrush handles.
Each re-fill brush within the pack has a different coloured strip for easy identification, ideal if used in a family environment, a different colour for each user.
This head also has reminder or indicator bristles which fade over time as you use the brush head. These reminder bristles begin begin being Blue in colour but fade to white. This helps you monitor when it is time to replace the head. For optimal results, replace your brush head every three months.
You can buy them in the following pack sizes:
- 2 pack White
- 4 pack White
The Triple Clean brush head is compatible with:
Triple Clean brush heads work with all Colgate ProClinical electric toothbrush handles.
It does not fit to or work with the Colgate 360 battery powered toothbrush or the Colgate Connect E1 smart toothbrush.
Sensitive
The Sensitive brush head is focused achieving deep cleaning, but in a way that is more sensitive than most other brush heads. If you suffer from sensitive teeth and gums this could be the brush head of choice.
Ultra soft tapered bristles clean gently along the gum line whilst extra fine inner bristles are focused on cleaning the tooth surfaces
This brush head clips on and off your brush handle for a secure fit and easy maintenance and cleaning.
It fits all Colgate ProClinical electric toothbrush handles.
Each re-fill brush within the pack has a different coloured strip for easy identification, ideal if used in a family environment, a different colour for each user.
This head also has reminder or indicator bristles which fade over time as you use the brush head. These reminder bristles begin begin being Blue in colour but fade to white. This helps you monitor when it is time to replace the head. For optimal results, replace your brush head every three months.
You can buy them in the following pack sizes, all available here from Amazon:
- 4 pack White
The Sensitive brush head is compatible with:
The Sensitive brush head work with all Colgate ProClinical electric toothbrush handles.
It does not fit to or work with the Colgate 360 battery powered toothbrush or the Colgate Connect E1 smart toothbrush.
Colgate Connect E1 smart electric toothbrush brush heads
If you own the Colgate Connect E1 smart toothbrush, the heads required for this toothbrush are different to the ProClinical brush heads.
These heads provide a good overall clean of the teeth and gums.
They are not designed with a specific need in mind and are engineered to be suitable for the average user.
The bristles are formed in clusters, to give the overall brush head a more rounded shape, compared to the more ovalish shape found on other Colgate brush heads.
At the top and the bottom of the brush head the clusters of bristles are slightly longer than those in the middle. These taller bristles are usually a blue colour and give a very gentle sweeping arc design to the brush head when viewed side on. This is to help cup the tooth during brushing.
The heads do not have any fading bristles.
You can buy them in the following pack sizes from Colgate:
The E1 smart refill brush head is compatible with:
Colgate Connect E1 smart toothbrush only.
Colgate 360 battery powered toothbrush brush heads
This battery powered electric toothbrush has removable brush heads.
The Colgate 360 replacement heads have a different fitting to other Colgate toothbrush heads. The heads are not interchangeable.
The optic white replacement brush heads come in a pack of 2.
The head is formed of 2 clearly defined parts. Each part of the head is made up of a cluster of bristles.
At the top of the brush head is a circular formation of bristles, with a squarer formation that sits below.
The polishing bristles help whiten the teeth by effectively cleaning away surface stains that exist on the teeth.
You can buy them in the following pack sizes:
- 2 pack
The Colgate 360 replacement heads are compatible with:
Colgate 360 battery powered toothbrush only.
When to replace your Colgate electric toothbrush head
Your dentist or hygienist may tell you to brush twice a day for 2 minutes.
They may also tell you to replace your toothbrush every 3 months too.
They are not saying this for a bit of fun, it is because this advice is based on years of testing and experience.
After 3 month’s of brushing twice a day, your head has gone through quite a lot. And more often than not the head is worn out.
Modern production standards mean that for many the brush head still looks in very good shape, but it is advisable to replace it still.
Just a few stray bristles can be doing more damage than you think. You don’t want to be undoing the benefits of regular brushing with an electric toothbrush.
What might appear to be a perfectly acceptable and usable brush head can be doing more damage than you may think.
As a head is used, the bristles become worn, they can fray and become softer and less effective. When new bristles are normally quite tightly formed in a group together but over
weeks of use will gradually start to part. It is at this stage that the brush heads lose their effectiveness.
Reminder bristles will act to encourage you to replace them when necessary if you do not mark the replacement date in your diary or subscribe to services that deliver new heads every 3 months to you.
Fading indicator & reminder bristles
It is all too easy to forget when the brush head on your handle was last changed.
Reminder or indicator bristles give you a guide to the usable life left.
Particular bristles on the head will start out Blue and will over a 3 month period fade to White.
The lighter the bristles, the older and more worn the brush head is.
At first glance it may not be obvious, but brush heads lose stiffness and gradually wear down over months of normal use.
For optimal results, replace your brush head every three months.
Bristle condition
Your teeth and gums are important and using a brush head with bristles in poor condition is almost as damaging as not cleaning your teeth at all.
It is important that the bristles on your Colgate brush remain in good condition. If they are splitting, fraying or becoming misshapen, look at replacing.
Take a look at the bristles, are they still fairly uniform in their direction and look. Does the bristle layout look similar to when the brush head was new?
Are the Blue indicator bristles now white?
All of these things are signs to potentially change your brush head.
Brushing with too much pressure is often a cause of wearing out brush heads quicker than normal.
A brush head should be replaced on average every 3 months. For some, this will be sooner, if your bristles are wearing faster.
How to replace your Colgate electric toothbrush head
Push on and pull off.
The brush heads on Colgate ProClinical brush handles push on and pull off.
Existing brush heads can be removed from the brush handle, by gently pulling the head away from the brush handle. By pulling the handle the opposite direction to the pull of the head the 2 pieces will detach. Little force is needed.
To fit a head, push the brush head onto and over the shaft that extends from the top of the brush handle. By pushing the handle and head towards each other they will come together.
Once fitted, the head should sit securely in place.
Replacing the brush head on the Colgate Connect E1
The process required to replace the brush head on the Colgate connect E1, is a little different.
It can be removed and fitted in two simple stages.
- Holding the brush in front of you, twist the brush head approximately 90 degrees to the left, to unlock the head and then pull the brush head away from the brush handle with a small amount of force to release the connection. You will reveal a plastic prong that is the shaft that connects to the motor. The head is now detached.
- Fit a brush head by pushing the plastic shaft from the top of the brush handled into the hole in the bottom of the brush head. Your brush head will need to be oriented approximately 90 degrees to the left. Push the two firmly together and twist to the right. You will feel it lock into place.
Which brush heads are compatible with my Colgate toothbrush?
The Colgate 360 Deep Clean, Whitening, Triple Clean and Sensitive work with all ProClinical brush handles. This includes:
- Proclinical 150
- Proclincal 250
- ProClinicare 250+
- ProClinical 250R
- ProClincal 350
- ProClinical 350 Whitening
- ProClinical C600
- ProClinical A1500
- ProClinical Pocket-Pro
The 4 styles of brush heads DO NOT work with and are not compatible with the Colgate 360 battery powered toothbrush or the Colgate Connect E1 smart toothbrush.
The 360 battery powered toothbrush uses Colgate 360 Optic White replacement heads.
| Preview | Product | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Colgate 360 Optic White Replacement Heads | £27.88 | View on Amazon |
The Colgate Connect E1 has its own style of heads, available here.
Hi Jon, Good article. However, you don’t mention my battery toothbrush…too old??
I have a Colgate Omron C-C-TS battery toothbrush with charger. Its working well but looking for replacement brush heads, are you aware of any compatible toothbrush heads that are available for it?
Hi Stuart.
I have to be honest and say I am not familiar with this model, unless it goes by another name?!
There is the ProClinical 150 battery toothbrush, which uses all the same heads as documented in this article.
Colgate also make a few other battery powered toothbrushes, that have their own specific styles of brush heads and are not compatible with the heads listed here.
Hi Jon,
Sorry but I am more bamboozled now than I was before.
I have a Colgate Omron rechargeable toothbrush and lots of replacement heads.
Sadly my toothbrush will no longer recharge so I am looking for a new rechargeable toothbrush.
As I stated, I have lots of replacement heads.
Please could you advise me as to whether the Omron heads will fit all colgate rechargeable toothbrushes or which ones will please.
Many thanks
Confused Pam
Hi Pamela.
Apologies if you have become more confused as a result of the article. This is not the intention.
I can’t make any 100% guarantees based on not knowing what model you have and intend to buy.
The main electric toothbrushes Colgate now sell in the UK are the ProClinical 250R and the ProClinical 150. The heads you have should fit to these toothbrushes without issue.
Thank you for your reply Jon.
The reason why I said that I was more confused is because I didn’t realise there were so many possibilities for a toothbrush.
I have had my Omron toothbrush for a few of years and when I bought the replacement toothbrush heads (at a discount in a local chemist) I didn’t think about the possibility of the toothbrush itself “giving up the ghost”. I didn’t realise that there were different Omron models either.
I will look for one of the suggestions you have given and hope that Santa is kind to me!
Many thanks for your help.
Kind regards
Pam
Hi Jon, thank you for this well written and very informative article. I was really struggling to work out which brush head I needed for my Colgate Omron electric toothbrush. I even ended up ringing my dentist whom I purchased it from to get help but they no longer sold the model! I have now worked out (from seeing the photos) that I had a ‘Whitening’ version. Thank you once again – I had been spending over an hour researching and had been bamboozled looking at Amazon but can now reorder what I need. Many thanks again! Regards. Philip.
Does the 360 brush heads fit the Colgate 250+
Yes they should do Brian.
Thanks
Hi, and thanks for all this useful info.
I have the Colgate Omron rechargeable. The brush has a high frequency vibration that I find it cleans better than a rotating brush. But the 4 replacement heads are £20 while some other makes are cheaper. But the brushes do remain good for quite a while.
I have a Colgate Omron electric toothbrush which is charged by connecting to my electricity supply. I would like to purchase (a) replacement head. I do not have any specific requirements; I just want an all-round product. What do you recommend and where do I purchase it?
I recommend the Deep Clean brush heads.
I have the latest ProClinical 250R toothbrush. I thought my heads from my old Colgate Omron sensitive toothbrush would fit but they are completely different so I think I will have to find a Colgate brush that I can use all my sensitive heads with as I find the new brush far too rough.. Can you suggest a model, I have looked at the 250 the 250+ and the 350
Hi Colette.
I am not aware of brush heads not fitting on the 250R, Colgate brush heads are interchangeable. Is the model you had before particularly old with a different fitting potentially?
I am a little surprised to read you think the brushing sensation is rough. To me, it is quite gentle and softer than the likes of Oral-B. But, everyone is different.
In terms of alternatives, you will probably need to move away from the Colgate range. You could take a look at the Oral-B Pro 2 2500.
Do Colgate proclinical toothbrush heads fit the Colgate omron? Thanks
Hi Jan.
I believe the answer you are looking for is yes.
Most recent toothbrushes from Colgate, are to my knowledge made in partnership with Omron, hence Colgate Omron.
Often the brushes are then given a name, where Omron is not included, i.e Colgate ProClinical 250.
If you have a much older brush it may be worth double checking, but I am pretty confident you will find any of the mentioned heads will fit just fine.
Hi Jon, I bought my daughter the black Omron 250 last year for Christmas and I’d like to get her some replacement heads. Are the 360 ones compatible do you know? Many thanks Janny.
Hi Janice,
Yes, they are compatible. The good news is all the current Colgate brush heads fit onto any of their current range of electric toothbrushes (the exception being the Colgate Connect E1 toothbrush).
Thank you so much Jon for replying so swiftly. I can now easily finish my Christmas shopping, Happy Christmas to you and yours,
Janny Lambert.
Thank you for getting back to my Jon, your very kind.
Hi Jon, can you tell me which heads are compatible with Colgate ProClinical Pocket-Pro Rechargeable Electric Toothbrush. I’ve watch a couple of your videos and bought this bush in black for my daughter because of your review, but I don’t know anything about electric toothbrushes, so I’m struggling with this head replacement issue. Thanks
You can use any of these heads Terri with the ProClinical Pocket Pro.