Why an electric toothbrush was my best dental upgrade
While one editor highlights one Philips electric toothbrush, he argues any electric toothbrush is better than a manual toothbrush — shop his other picks.
Three different brush heads cover different use cases: Healthier gums, cleaner mouth and a cleaner tongue, plus an anti-plaque brush head. You also get a stylish travel case that shelters the brush body and a single brush head — for home, the Sonicare shows up with a rocks glass-style stand into which you can drop your toothbrush and it will get charged. More than 1,700 reviewers on Amazon left the electric toothbrush a 4.3-average rating, to boot.
After syncing this electric toothbrush with the Sonicare app, you can follow your brushing in real time, a progress bar tracing a generic representation of teeth on your phone. When you’re finished brushing each corner of your mouth, you earn an imaginary point. And yes, the gamification of basic hygiene is helpful (for me, anyway). But even once that feature loses some of its fancy, there’s a much more functional interaction that has kept me on my toes ever since I started brushing with the Diamondclean.
If you press down on your teeth too hard, committing the detrimental act of over brushing, you’ll be notified via a light outlining the base of the toothbrush. Why there? When brushing, the toothbrush base is what’s facing the mirror you might be facing, turning that light quite visible. But even if I’m walking around my apartment, I can tell the light is flashing, telling me to ease off the handle. And that’s made me more mindful of my brushing, training me against exerting too much force on my one set of teeth. The app will also indicate over brushing but it’s not necessary to get use from the function.
Of course, the toothbrush is water-resistant and durable — it’s sustained several drops by my hand and survives without a scratch (even if the brush head might pop loose on impact). You can get it in different colors to match various ages and styles, including Grey, Pink, Rose Gold and White — I recommend the Black.
Of course, even its discounted $200 price right now keeps the Philips Sonicare at the significant investment level. You’ve got several other options when it comes to highly-rated electric toothbrushes.
In our guide to electric toothbrushes, Fung recommended using this Oral-B Pro toothbrush. It tracks your habits over time and provides you with helpful oral care tips. It includes six modes: daily clean, gum care, sensitive, whitening, deep clean and tongue cleaner.
This starter kit from the subscription-based Quip includes an electric brush, toothpaste and a three-month supply of refillable floss and instructions. You can opt into a quarterly delivery of brush heads, batteries, toothpaste and floss for $25, as well. The also brand recently released its own version of a smart toothbrush.
The Arm & Hammer Spinbrush features dual-action vibration that combines a side-to-side bristle movement in addition to a spinning movement. This is the best option for anyone who wants to experiment with the electric toothbrush space before committing to a more substantial product.
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