Dentist Dr Toby Edwards-Lunn points out that electric toothbrushes help children, the elderly or anyone with a weaker grip to make sure their teeth are getting the proper cleaning they need. “In this day and age the technology is so good, you don’t need to put any elbow grease into it. The brush does it for you,” he says. It’s basic, with just one setting, but you do get a timer, with the brush pulsing every 30 seconds and switching itself off after two minutes. We also like the unusual pink, blue and yellow colour choices. The reason I love this toothbrush so much is the intuitive design coupled with the fact that I can feel the deep-cleaning effects (the closest I’ve got to a hygienist-standard clean at home). Even though it cleans powerfully, it doesn’t feel too harsh on my gums. It also has a remarkably long-lasting battery – I started by testing it daily for four weeks and only had to charge it once in that time. It’s definitely won a permanent place in my bathroom cabinet. Choosing the best electric toothbrush could make a tangible difference to your general health as well as giving you a better smile. Research into brushing teeth, published in 2016, found that good dental health could slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s and that gum disease can speed up mental decline. Dentists generally recommend brushing with an electric toothbrush over a manual model. The One doesn’t have the brushing power of a larger Sonicare brush, but it’s ahead of other battery-powered electric toothbrushes and does a great job of leaving your teeth feeling shiny and clean. The relatively gentle movement is also brilliant for massaging along the gumline.

Because an electric toothbrush does the work for you, and because most will now tell you when you’re pushing too hard, it can help protect against further recession.” Will electric toothbrushes whiten my teeth? Patients who use electric toothbrushes are a lot less likely to suffer from gum disease”, says Dr Edwards-Lunn. “Unfortunately, gum disease is a multifactoral disease. Just having an electric toothbrush doesn’t mean you won’t get it. But it will mean the risk is much reduced. The most important thing is removing the plaque.” Will electric toothbrushes help with receding gums? If you want to save some money, you’re not restricted to the manufacturer’s own heads. A few smaller, third-party manufacturers make Sonicare- or Oral-B-compatible brush heads, which usually sell for much less than the real deal. Philips and Oral-B will tell you that you’re not getting the same quality or clean from these cheaper heads, but in our tests some have been perfectly effective.

Looking to replace your old toothbrush or treat yourself to the latest tech? We’ve tested the best electric toothbrushes for every budget

It’s true you can still get the progress reports and ‘journeys’ if you leave your phone in the bedroom – the toothbrush talks to the app via Bluetooth – but in practice I found that I stopped bothering after a few days. On the plus side, those few days’ guidance were enough to change how I brush my teeth. I spend much longer on each zone now, trying to get the little smiley face on the toothbrush’s built-in screen that says I’ve done well. The toothbrush uses sonic technology, although it pulses at a lower frequency than the more expensive models above (40,000 pulses per minute). However, my teeth were still left feeling squeaky clean, and I especially liked how the brush has a central silicone bristle to help with removing surface stains. Slim, sonic and sustainable, that’s the Suri toothbrush in a nutshell. It was born out of frustration at the four million electric toothbrushes which end up in landfill per year thanks to unrecyclable plastic parts. Suri’s answer? A sturdy aluminium frame, plant-based cornstarch heads, and castor oil bristles. Dr Richard Marques, a private dentist based on London’s Harley Street, says: “By now, so much research has gone into them that any electric toothbrush you can buy is better than a manual toothbrush. They either use rotation and oscillation or vibration, and you’re able to clean your teeth without scrubbing too hard.”

Some toothbrushes combine the two actions and are known as rotating-oscillating. This is my personal recommendation to patients and what I use. Other mechanisms of action include pulsing and sonic. Pulsing and sonic are additional features to a rotating, oscillating or rotating-oscillating brush.” Simply switching to an electric toothbrush cannot guarantee healthy teeth, of course. A good toothpaste, brushing technique, brushing at the right time and flossing are all crucial too. But an electric toothbrush is certainly a good start. One handy feature which we hadn’t seen in the iO4 is the brush head replacement reminder. An orange LED light at the bottom of the control panel will flash when the brush head needs to be changed. The top of the handle also has a pressure sensor, flashing green or red according to how hard you’re pressing.

The best electric toothbrushes you can buy in 2023

Plus, while you don’t get all the extra brushes or charging glass of the flagship model, it does still come with a handy USB charging case, making this a fantastic toothbrush for both home and travel. It’s still not what you might call cheap, but it’s a premium brush at a price you might find easier to swallow. Not everyone wants the bother of an app-enhanced dental routine, so if you’d rather spend a little less but still get a great toothbrush, then the iO Series 3 could be for you. It delivers the same magnetic drive technology as the other brushes in Oral-B’s flagship iO-Series range, but comes without the advanced sensors and Bluetooth connectivity to monitor your brushing and send the data to your smartphone. In practice, that means a quieter brush with a more comfortable vibration, and one that still leaves your incisors feeling polished and your molars super-clean, as well as doing a fantastic job of clearing plaque from between your teeth. Original charger (either the circular magnetic charger or the oval Type 3757 charger with central peg) Battery life is also solid for a budget brush, while it takes just four hours for a recharge. Most importantly, though, this is a big step up in cleaning from manual brushes or cheaper battery models, and you can kit out the whole family without breaking the bank.

What’s more, it delivers an excellent clean, with three modes – Sensitive, Daily Clean and Whitening – that take you all the way from a softer brush that’s easy on the gums to a more intense polish that should help get rid of staining. Battery life, meanwhile, is exceptional; you will easily get through two weeks of brushing and probably three without a recharge. It’s the new king of sensibly priced brushes.

To make things more complicated, brush heads come in different types designed for different dental requirements, so you’ll find Sonicare heads for gum care, deeper cleaning or plaque defence, and Oral-B heads with slightly different brushing actions. Any Sonicare head can be used with any Sonicare brush, but Oral B’s standard heads can only be used with its Pro-series brushes, while its iO heads only work with iO series brushes.