The Philips Sonicare 4100 is a simple electric toothbrush our tester found to be effective and gentle. Using ultrasound technology, it produces up to vibrations per minute, making short oral b genius toothbrush work of plaque and tartar. The built-in pressure sensors help protect your gums from over brushing, and the brush head replacement reminder alerts you when it’s time for a new one.
The most significant thing about any powered toothbrush that might change over the course of its lifetime is the battery life; over the years, rechargeable batteries tend to lose capacity. In the case of a toothbrush, this might mean it becomes less powerful or doesn’t hold a charge for as many days. While you may think stiff bristles are better at removing plaque, they can cause gum irritation, tooth sensitivity, and damage to the mouth if used too aggressively. An affordable toothbrush that doesn’t skimp on quality, the Colgate Extra Clean Full Head Toothbrush uses circular power bristles to clean teeth effectively and remove plaque. The gripped handle is comfortable to hold, and the built-in tongue scraper helps remove bacteria and freshen your breath.
This is because the movement of the brush head provides good brushing technique everywhere that it reaches, while manual brushing can be suboptimal in hard-to-reach areas, or difficult for some people. Rather than a standard brush head on a handle, these devices include trays that look like mouthguards lined with bristles. In promotional materials (such as the Amabrush video that accompanied the company’s 2017 crowdfunding campaign), the companies claim their devices can simultaneously clean all of a person’s teeth in mere seconds. (Amabrush filed for bankruptcy in 2019.) Questions of efficacy aside, a single user could expect to pay hundreds of dollars for the starter kit for one of these devices. And all of the replacement mouthguards cost more than $10 apiece, making these types of toothbrushes far more expensive than any of our other picks.
Philips Sonicare’s 9900 Prestige is the brand’s top-of-the-line smart toothbrush. It connects to your phone—to track your brushing habits—and has extraneous cleaning oral b genius toothbrush modes. The replacement brush heads for the 4100 are slightly more expensive when compared with Oral-B’s, making this brush costlier over the long run.
It’s just a shame that there isn’t a pressure sensor to keep us from brushing too rigorously. Testers agreed it left their teeth feeling squeaky-clean, removing plaque without causing any discomfort, while 93% found the vibrations weren’t too overpowering. It also offers real-time brushing feedback and advice via a free Bluetooth phone app. If you don’t always use the app, it stores the data and syncs it when you next open it, meaning you don’t miss out on this innovative feature.
Not only did it leave behind specks of food, it also required using a special kind of toothpaste made by AutoBrush. Nearly all electric toothbrushes that pair to apps collect varying amounts of personal information. In most cases, the only way to opt out of your data—anonymized or not—being disclosed with affiliates and third parties, for a variety of purposes, is to not download or use the app at all. If there’s one hygiene product you use every single day, it’s your toothbrush. Unfortunately, many people are clueless when it comes to picking the right one. If you are curious about which Oral-B toothbrush head to get, visit the CVS Pharmacy® in your area.
Like the Pro 1000, the 4100 has a two-minute timer with quadrant pacing plus a pressure sensor and is not trumped up with unproven features. However, the has two intensity settings (meaning you can brush with strong or stronger vibrations), and its battery lasts longer on a full charge than that of the Pro 1000. Since October 2021, the charging pedestal that accompanies any new 4100 has only a USB plug. Customers can request a free two-prong plug adapter from Philips Sonicare. Philips is a brand that seems to be able to do it all, from lightbulbs to TVs and even toothbrushes. And its Sonicare protectiveclean 4300 model has just been reduced by a massive 57 per cent, meaning you can save a sparkling £80.