Electric toothbrushes are battery-powered brushes that use oscillating or sonic vibrating movements to remove plaque build-up, debris and bacteria. Most modern models feature two-minute timers, multiple cleaning modes and pressure sensors to ensure you aren't brushing too hard. How we test electric toothbrushes Oscillating toothbrushes feature rotating and pulsating round brush heads that can rotate up to ~8,000 times per minute, depending on the model. While they're slower in this department, oscillating toothbrushes benefit from the rotating head, which is fantastic for fighting plaque.

Gums recede for lots of reasons,” Dr Edwards-Lunn says. “Patients can be susceptible to it, or they can sometimes brush too hard. They can have past problems with gum disease, which could have caused it. And they can have a thin biotype of gum, where it’s a genetic thing. Last, electric toothbrushes use a sonic vibrating mechanism to help loosen plaque and other debris from between your teeth. The vibration number—usually between 30,000 and 40,000 per minute—is a good number to know, but not crucial to the overall operation. For instance, some come with travel cases, or attractive chargers — there are toothbrushes that can be charged through a drinking glass for instance. Others have multiple functions, such as a water flosser attached to the base, or a built in UV cleaner. Then there’s smart connectivity to consider as well. With this, you can connect your electric toothbrush to your phone, letting you monitor and improve your brushing method. If the Oral-B iO Series 9 is a little beyond your budget, this is an excellent alternative. The Oral-B iO Series 6 is essentially the same as the top-end brush but with a lower price tag, thanks to fewer fancy accessories.The Oral-B Genius X doesn't have the advanced frictionless magnetic motor of the iO Series 9, which means it's a little noisier. However, it's still an excellent electric toothbrush. Included accessories: 1 handle with 2 minutes timer, 1 charger, 3 brush heads, 1 premium travel case While I’ve spent a lot of time testing the Multishape’s toothbrush, trimmer and electric shaver, I haven’t used the body grooming tools as much. This grooming tool features an attachment for trimming nose and ear hair, and it does a fine job at this. In my professional experience, you don’t need anything fancy to get this task done, and so I don’t have as much to report on this feature. What's better than a plain old electric toothbrush? One that completely revolutionizes the grooming routine with a plethora of interchangeable heads that help you shave, trim your beard, cut your nose hair and even fade your head hair, all from the same device. Panasonic’s Multishape is your ultimate grooming tool combining all your most-needed devices into one long-lasting handle. Simply clip on a new head and jump from tidying your whiskers to glossing those pearly whites.

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. Seven cleaning modes (daily clean, sensitive, gum care, intense clean, whitening, super sensitive and tongue clean) Top review: "Highly recommend you get one, lots of settings to choose from you're bound to find one that's best for you, love it so much bought them for all the family." Along with the electric toothbrush, this is my favorite feature of the Multishape. Too often, beard trimmers are not designed for guys with long beards. We’ve tested the best beard trimmers from Wahl, Panasonic, Philips-Norelco and others, and many popular trimmers feature attachments that only work with short facial hair.

Why should you use an electric toothbrush?

The only downside is that there are no controls for adjusting modes or choosing an intensity setting on the brush itself. Instead, all the customization is done through the mobile app. That's not an issue once you've set it to your exact preferences, though; provided you don't like to switch modes on the fly, it's a superb brush. The Panasonic Multishape with beard trimmer head and rotating adjustment dial. John Velasco | SPY.com Using gentle micro-vibrations and AI technology to guide you through your brushing routine, our testers said it delivered a really clean feeling. It boasts a range of settings and will even remember the last one you used, so you don’t have to fiddle around to find your favourite. Calling your product “prestige” will always conjure up a certain expectation – Philips claims it's the most advanced brush it makes – and that statement is undercutting the truth, as it's one of the best toothbrushes around. Before we even get into the technical features though, just look at it. We defy you to find a more handsome toothbrush set in the history of toothbrush sets. If you felt like your toothbrush was a cold, heartless tool to just get a clean mouth, then the 9900 Prestige is here to show your bathroom routine a bit of love, with a stunning charging stand and travel case that complements its sleek, dark appearance and minimalist design.

Included accessories: 2 Philips Sonicare DiamondClean 9000 handles, 2 C3 Premium Plaque Defence brush heads, 2 charger bases, and a glass charger It's not a true smart brush like the above Oral-B, as it has no sensor to detect mouth position, but it will flash if you put too much pressure on your gums and has both regular and sensitive modes. For thirty dollars, or the equivalent? It's excellent.There are two different kinds of motion in most modern electric toothbrushes; sonic and oscillating.

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. Aesthetics aside, Spotlight’s toothbrush is just a joy to use. The three settings are easy to switch between and the sensitivity option is especially good at lowering the intensity while still feeling effective (the misuse of powerful electric toothbrushes can, after all, be a cause of gum recession). Its high-frequency sonic oscillation also means that toothpaste and oxygen are delivered to even the most inaccessible places for a deeper clean.

What brand of electric toothbrush is best?

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. Anyone not used to a water flosser should ease into it slowly — the transition from soft water pressure to jet propulsion can cause bleeding gums and a messy bathroom floor.Because of its larger size, you'll need a bigger countertop than a pedestal sink, too. How we tested the best electric toothbrushes