How to get cheap replacement brush heads

Have you been thinking that the cost of brush heads for your electric toothbrush are a bit expensive?

Do you want to save a few pounds each time you buy them or find some cheap alternatives?

If you are like me, then I suspect the answer is yes.

With prices ranging from just £2 through to £10+ per head, a saving of just 50p can seem like a little win.

Over time these saving can add up.

In this article, I will share with you a few what that you can save a few pounds or even tens of pounds on your Oral-B Sonicare or Colgate toothbrush heads.

How To Get Cheap Toothbrush Heads

1. Buy in bulk

One of the best methods that I have found to save money is to buy in bulk.

Bulk buying is a common method across all product types that generally results in a lower price for the more you buy.

Now, with a brush head lasting 3 months at a time, you are not going to want to go out and buy hundreds of these.

However, buying a larger pack or multiple smaller packs at one time can bring the cost down.  It is amazing how much can be saved by simply buying 8 brush heads rather than 2.

For example, at the time of writing (prices always subject to change) a pack of 4 x Oral-B Cross Action replacement brush heads costs £11.99 on a well known online retailers website.  This makes the price of each head £3.

However a pack of 8 is on the face of it more expensive at £18 per pack, but split that by 8 and the cost comes down to just £2.25 per head.  That is a saving of 75p per brush head.

If you bought 2 of the 4 packs rather than 1 of the 8 packs it would cost £6 more.

In my mind, £6 saving for an extra click on a web page is not bad going considering you will likely need all 8 brush heads over the life of the toothbrush anyway.

This is not limited to Oral-B, so let’s look at Sonicare in this next example.

A pack of 4 x ProResults brush heads costs £21.53 or £5.38 per brush head (at the time of wr.

Change the pack size to 8 and the headline price increases to £29.95, but the individual head cost is £3.74.  That is a whopping £1.64 saving per brush head and over £13 on a pack of 8!

These are just 2 examples from one supplier.  Many others will offer the same sort of savings.

2. Vouchers & promotions

If you want to be a super nifty shopper, search or look around for any vouchers or promotions that might be going on.

There are no set times when these vouchers or other promotional offers will be running but it can be worth checking in every now and again to see what is going on.

Whilst vouchers and promotions are always subject to change and differ from retailer to retailer, you might find there are a few extra pounds to be saved.

Christmas is often a good time to pick up some deals as electric toothbrushes and their accessories.  Black Friday, Cyber Monday and through the festive period such products are often discounted around this period of gifting.

However, this need not always be the case and some vouchers you need not do any work for.

Vouchers can vary from a few pounds (£) off, to a percentage (%) discount or to maybe free shipping if buying online.

In the last section on bulk buying I spoke about a pack of 8 x Oral-B brush heads costing £18 per pack.  Well this could be reduced by a further £1 simply by ticking a box. Yes, it’s that simple.

This retailer was not only was offering a better bulk price for buying 8 brush heads rather than 4, but on the pack of 8 (which is already cheaper per head) a further saving was available thanks to a promotion that required you to tick the voucher box.  So here is a double win, a bulk saving and a voucher!

3. Subscribe and save

A newer but increasingly popular option is a subscribe and save method.

A subscription based service it works on the basis of you choosing what you want and how often you want it delivered.  It then turns up at your door in regular cycles as you requested.

Like a magazine being delivered every month, you can select to have a new toothbrush head delivered at set time periods.  You may have a pack of 4 delivered once a year every year, or if you have a family, every 3 months.

The big benefit here is that you do not need to remember to order, the retailer does that for you and you win as a result.  The retailer gives you the benefit of lower pricing as a thanks for subscribing.

The terms of the subscriptions vary between suppliers, but most offer a discount for subscribing and allow you to change or cancel at any point.  However, do check this before signing up.

Amazon is the largest provider of such a service, but brands like Sonicare do offer this on their own website.

4. Shop around

Quite possibly the simplest advice I can offer is to shop around.

You may have a favourite store, be that online or on the high street, but that does not mean they are cheapest.

Sure, feel free to purchase from whoever you are most comfortable shopping with, but be aware that by shopping around you may save money.

Do not spend too long shopping around though, as the time spent looking for better prices may well be outweighed by the savings.

Some of the best stores to consider for purchase include:

• Amazon
• Boots
• eBay
• Wilko

Even your own dental practice could be worth a consideration.

Do be more vigilant if you are being offered toothbrush heads from private or smaller sellers. There is often a market for fake or counterfeit brush heads and whilst we are not suggesting that a seller on such a marketplace is not genuine, these outlets are harder to police so they are more prone to such and sadly it is you as the buyer who is victim to this

5. Buy third party

Whilst buying manufacturer original brush heads is often the preference, there are third party options.

Third party or aftermarket options are brush heads made by companies/brands that are not the manufacturer of the toothbrush.

Most of us would prefer the manufacturer branded brush heads as then you can be assured of the fit, quality, reliability and performance.  However often these come at a price.

Third party options can deliver a similar experience, the difference being you tend to pay less because the brand/manufacturer of these does not command the same price.

There are many different companies who offer brush heads, but one of the more popular is Molarclean.  They make replacement brush heads for Oral-B toothbrushes.

Now, unlike Oral-B who have 6 different type of brush heads, Molarclean offer just 1 type, which does mean your choice is a little more limited, but the benefit is the decision process is simpler.

At the time of writing (prices are always subject to change) a pack of 4 x Oral-B Cross Action replacement brush heads costs anywhere from £11.99.   This makes the price of each head at least £3.

Molarcleans equivalent works out at about £1 per head, that is a whole £2 per brush head cheaper.

I have tested Molarclean brush heads and written up our thoughts and opinions in this review.

Like many others I was pretty impressed with the quality and performance of these as alternatives.

Yes, there is sometimes a benefit for going for the branded option, but for the cost savings they are well worth it and the quality is very good.

This is just one aftermarket brand I have mentioned, but one of the better known ones.

Whilst many other third party options could deliver comparable products do be careful.

If something sounds too good to be true, maybe it is.  For example, getting 4 brush heads for £1-2, is a lot less again.  Whilst this needs to be judged on a case by case scenario, particularly cheap products may be of an inferior quality.

That quality may show in several ways.  The bristles on the brush head may not last all that long, nor be of a good quality and you may not get indicator bristles either.  The physical fit and construction of the head may also be poor and in extreme cases could break whilst in use.

We have heard a few horror stories where cheap brush heads have not lasted and even cut the mouth of users because of this.

Be smart, question if it is too good to be true.  Do you trust the seller? Are you able to find other reviews of the brush heads?

It is also worth being aware here of the fake or counterfeit brush heads.  They may look like the real deal, be at a particularly good price but sadly are not genuine.  It could be well worth a few minutes of your time reading over fake brush head posts, the links are provided below.

• Oral-B fake brush head
• Sonicare fake brush heads

Cheapest Oral-B toothbrush heads

If you are looking for the absolute cheapest Oral-B brush heads, then you need to look at the aftermarket brush heads.

I mean the brush heads made by companies other than Oral-B themselves, but are designed to work with an Oral-B toothbrush.

There are many companies that offer such products.

I mentioned Molarclean as one example.

However, there are many brands, a large proportion of which are form China, that offer even cheaper brush heads.

You will typically find these on marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon.

At the time of writing, the cheapest I could find worked out at just 41p per head.  That is £2.50 cheaper than Oral-B.

I cannot comment on the quality of these products and suggest you are cautious of the cheapest options.

Please be aware also, that using after market brush heads, those that are not made by Oral-B is likely against their warranty conditions, as highlighted in my article on aftermarket brush heads.

Cheapest Sonicare toothbrush heads

The cheapest Sonicare brush heads are not those made by Philips Sonicare themselves.

You will need to look at those heads designed to be compatible with Sonicare brush handles, but are made by other companies.

There is not necessarily 1 brand or company that prodsuces the cheapest.  Prices and suppliers are always changing.

You will typically find these on marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon, with most brands/sellers being from China or similar markets where these products can be made very cheaply.

At the time of writing, the cheapest I could find worked out at just 54p per head.

I cannot comment on the quality of these products and suggest you are cautious of the cheapest options.

Please be aware also, that using after market brush heads, those that are not made by Philips Sonicare is likely against their warranty conditions, as highlighted in my article on aftermarket brush heads.

Your comments and opinions

All being well the tips and advice given above will help you save a few pounds when next shopping for toothbrush heads.

If you have any advice, tips or suggestions for other readers, leave them below.