It’s a wednesday morning in early January – surely someone needs a reason to avoid work for another 5 minutes?

My dentist keeps telling me I need an electric toothbrush because I’m overbrushing. I’m reluctant to further complicate one are of my life which I thought was straightforward: buy new toothbrush with supermarket shop, repeat every 3 months or so. But I can’t seem to change my technique, so I’m going electric. I expect people will be gathering at my bathroom window to shout “traitor!” at me in no time.

What’s good? Is there a printer-like situation to avoid where I buy a cheap toothbrush and then sign my life away to buying extortionate heads for it every other week?

I generally just use whatever Oral-B one that’s around 30 quid.

Phillips Sonicare. £19 from my dentist. It’s massively better than the Oral B / Braun ones I’ve been using forever.

Used an Oral B for years – just the basic cheapest version. Upgraded when the batteries died to a £30 Bluetooth version that has the bonus of a 30-second timer – which I thought was a gimmick but turns out to be a very useful feature (one buzz for each quarter of the mouth). Bluetooth is not of use. It does have a pressure sensor to flash red if you press too hard.

I use a standard head for cleaning. Then some teepee sticks to clean the interdental surfaces and finally a polishing head and a tiny dab of very expensive Oral B whitening toothpaste to remove tea and coffee stains for a further minute. One tip I was given was to change the angle of the brush across each tooth to get into the gaps.

The above regimen, once a day, saw me a perfect score at the dentists last month. I avoided them for ten years previously. But I was blessed with granite surface enamel. YTMV

Eeb it!

I’ve got an Oral-B, it has the 30 second timer that is useful. It’s fine, the dentist think my teeth are fine, it wasn’t very expensive and it works.
Also, cheap heads off Amazon save money and if you pick well, work fine as well.

My last two have been Braun/Oral B, when my last one died i replaced it with a Sainsbury’s own brand Oracare one £15 and the heads are half the pice of branded ones, just as good as any i’ve had previously so if you have a Sainsburys local to you i’d definitely recommend them.

Phillips Sonicare. £19 from my dentist. It’s massively better than the Oral B / Braun ones I’ve been using forever

As an “Oral B by default” user for years who’s about due a replacement I’m interested to know how this massive betterness manifests itself.

Whichever Braun is on offer at Amazon and within your budget!

We tried cheaper replacement heads once and for some reason found that they ‘nipped’ soft tissue around the inside of the mouth; there are also fakes out there so make sure we get genuine Braun replacements.

Maybe try a softer toothbrush?
The problem in the UK is that nearly all manual toothbrushes are medium or hard bristle but we should be using very soft brushes.

I moved from an oral B electric toothbrush to THESE and the result is just as good without a load of electricity usage.

So it seems like, despite prices ranging from £15 to £150, no-one thinks spending more than £30 is worth it. Excellent news. Thanks all. What the hell does a £150 toothbrush do, anyway?

Interesting idea about extra soft manual brushes though.

The above regimen, once a day, saw me a perfect score at the dentists last month. I avoided them for ten years previously. But I was blessed with granite surface enamel. YTMV

I also didn’t go to the dentist’s for about 10 years. Finally got round to going, just to get a check-up, and they didn’t even need a scale and polish. I put that down to thorough brushing, the flipside of which is I’ve brushed some of my gums away too.

Eeb it!

I don’t understand you… have all your teeth fallen out?!

Oral-B sensor job, didn’t like the high frequency buzzing of the Philips, but I have sensitivity teeth 😢

I like my electric tooth brush which I use on my remaining teeth 😅.
Made a big difference when I bought it.
If I was buying one now I’d look at the xaiomi mi tooth brushes, I think they are also app connected?

I had a Phillips one, tried an oral b and went back to Phillips pretty quickly. I couldn’t say that one cleaned better than the other, but preferred the feel of the Phillips.

No but I could possibly do a video of one if you like?

Philip’s somicare here, would recommend, has lasted 5 years now, I buy new heads from Philips when they have a sale.

Having got through a good few electric toothbrushes over the years, the one feature I thought worthwhile was the choice of 3 speeds but that obviously costs more. Now just make do with a basic model and am grateful if it lasts more than a couple of years.

I have a basic oral-b thing which is fine but it really annoys me that the low battery warning comes on at the same time it goes into slow mode to save battery.

Warn me so I can charge it before it goes into slow mode, for goodness sake!

I use a Sonicare having previously had an Oral B, I much prefer the Sonicare. I can’t necessarily say my teeth are cleaner but I just prefer the experience.

I used to have a top end Sonicare which could vibrate softer or harder and had different modes that could massage, complete waste of time. I now have one of the cheaper ones which has the same motor as the top end but only one mode. I think the absolute cheapest one is lower spec but the next model up is perfectly good. Brush heads are expensive but i think are designed to last 6 months and Tesco do a decent equivalent for much less.

Check out Fairywill (or could be Fairywell) on Amazon. Just as good as any of the mainstream brands I’ve used but cheaper replacement heads. Multiple cleaning modes too.

Slightly leftfield suggestion, an AA powered one:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Oral-B-Toothbrush-Replaceable-Batteries-Precision/dp/B004EFXO28?th=1

Works for me as I have a bunch of AA batteries on rotation anyway for other devices. Hopefully will last longer than fixed battery ones as the batteries are repaced.
Very cheap too.

We used Oral-B for ages then switched to Sonicare because people recommended it. It was fine, no better or worse, but the heads were big, and small ones were hard to find / expensive (may have changed now). So we went back to Oral-B. Cool story huh? Just thought I’d balance out the ‘Sonicare is much better’ opinions. 🙂

Having got through a good few electric toothbrushes over the years

This is what I’d really like to avoid. It’s bad enough chucking toothbrushes out (after they’ve been through the brushing mud off stuff > cleaning dirty stuff > cleaning really nasty greasy stuff process), I don’t want to be sending more batteries and electronics to landfill if I can help it.

No but I could possibly do a video of one if you like?

😆
Sorry for piggybacking on your successful marketing strategy!

If I was buying one now I’d look at the xaiomi mi tooth brushes, I think they are also app connected?

Sounds like an excellent reason not to buy one! The day I’m cleaning my teeth and think “hmm, this device really needs to exchange data with my phone” is the day I just smash my teeth out and call it a day.

I was next door to Boots at lunchtime so I popped in to see if they had anything in the sale.
They had a £15 Oral-B one (not on sale) – maybe the same as the Sainsburys one?
Noticed the AA ones as well, but I’ll inevitably run out of batteries due to me buying them before I need them and my girlfriend waiting til she needs them and then using mine.
Bought an extra soft manual toothbrush (they have those Curaprox ones linked above, and considerably cheaper than Amazon, but I just wanted one) so will try that and come back to this thread if that’s not working for me.

Fairywell. Much better than the old oralb one. Battery lasts for ages (unlike the oral b) no annoying charging stand and it charges from usb so handy for travel.

The thing with Oral-B is they are all broadly the same. You’ll have two next to each other on the shelf, one at £20 and one at £50 and the only difference is the bundled heads which are all 100% compatible with everything else in the range.

You pay extra for frippery you don’t need, an LCD display won’t get your teeth any cleaner and if you need a timer to brush your teeth you probably shouldn’t be allowed outside unaccompanied.

AA batteries? How very 20th Century of you.

This is what I’d really like to avoid. It’s bad enough chucking toothbrushes out (after they’ve been through the brushing mud off stuff > cleaning dirty stuff > cleaning really nasty greasy stuff process), I don’t want to be sending more batteries and electronics to landfill if I can help it.

Indeed and don’t get me started on water filters, and routers, and, er, bet there’s plenty more!

AA batteries? How very 20th Century of you.

Yeh works for me – no charging dock, so easier for travel and doesnt take up space in the bathroom.

No captive battery so shouldnt need to replace the whole thing in a few years.

Already have recharegable AAs on rotation anyway for xbox pads and beard trimmer.

From my experience/ memory…

the Phillips heads were bigger and a hell of a price to replace and was no better at cleaning than the Braun.

if you get an oral-b then I suggest avoiding the very basic ones as they have a less powerful motor/battery (and tend to feel a bit meh). If you go up to the 2000 or 3000 you get much better bang for your buck and better motor/battery. After that you start to pay for all sorts of extras/gadgets that you will probably never use/need. So my recommendation is to get whatever 2000/3000 is on offer on Amazon/Boots etc.

I tried the Fairywell one last year after it being recommended on here.

Likes: long battery life, charges from USB

Dislikes: it doesn’t actually clean your teeth very well. All it does is vibrate a bit. You still have to scrub like with a manual toothbrush. After 3 months my teeth felt furry and my dentist asked if I was actually cleaning them.

I went back to a basic Oral B and now my teeth are clean again. I buy bamboo heads and just chuck them in the log burner when they are done.

Oral B here. Nothing fancy 20 ish quid off A$$mazon. My hygienist said they make a legitimate, noticeable difference over manual brushes

Interdental / superfloss for the sides of my teeth / top of gums. Dentist said not cleaning these areas was why I was getting problems for years. Flossing isn’t just for removing food.

Have had both Sonicare and Oral-B over the years; mid range to high end and both performed well.
Preference is Sonicare but not at current prices – even with 50%+ discounts which bring prices to where they should be.

if you need a timer to brush your teeth you probably shouldn’t be allowed outside unaccompanied

Nonsense. Most people have no idea how long two minutes is when stood at the mirror. Even the 30 seconds feels like an age when I’m brushing mine. The teepee silicone picks have also been an important addition.

Enough detail to cure any insomnia https://www.electricteeth.com/uk/best-electric-toothbrush/

TLDR: Oral-B Pro 2500

This is what I’d really like to avoid. It’s bad enough chucking toothbrushes out (after they’ve been through the brushing mud off stuff > cleaning dirty stuff > cleaning really nasty greasy stuff process), I don’t want to be sending more batteries and electronics to landfill if I can help it.

Buy bamboo toothbrushes. There’s a shop in town sells them, the company who do them are called f.e.t.e. – from earth to earth , the main body is bamboo, the bristles are made from a plant-based nylon, and they can be composted. I’ve got one on the go, with two more after that one goes fluffy. They’re available as soft, medium and firm, but even the firm bristles are nowhere near as stiff as most plastic ones, I use firm, but they feel fairly soft and flexible. The bristles are contoured along the top as well.
Bugger spending loads on electronics and batteries that cost a lot and have an environmental impact when you can spend £3.50 on something that will break down naturally. They come with different coloured bristles and the end of the handle is coloured, so you could use them for marking where things are planted in the garden, and compost them when they start to break down.

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I have been using a Fairywell brush for the past couple of years. It wasn’t doing a great job to be honest as I always get a bit of a telling off at every check up so I’ve switched to a manual Curaprox one now on recommendation of my dentist. I’ll see how I go at my next check up but so far I’m impressed with it, lets see if the hygienist agrees in March.

Mrs fadda is a hygeinist and says “OralB every time”.

Reason is that the brushing technique for electrics is different from that with a manual brush. With a round head elec brush, you place the brush on each tooth in turn and rock it laterally, so the edge bristles get into the gaps between the teeth. Most non- Oral B brushes are shaped more like a manual brush and so encourage a scrubbing action, which rather negates the benefits of an elec brush.

As above, one up from the basic gets you all the benefits of the whole range – excepting the ridiculous IO which is the only one to use bespoke heads and is mostly for people with more money than sense. Also, the battery lasts about 4 goes on the IO, which I know because Mrs fadda has one – there seems to be little benefit in spending 5 times as much on a brush, as far as I can see.

Too late to edit, so to add to my post above, after a lunchtime conversation with Mrs fadda; apparently the “Cochrane report” is the go-to indy review of electric toothbrushes and found that oscillating-rotating brushes (OralB being an example of these) are significantly more effective than other elec brushes.
All of the OralBs have a pressure sensor which will help with your overbrushing too