Best electric toothbrushes 2023: the best battery-powered bristles for every budget
Brush your way to a brighter bite with our guide to the very top electric brushes around
Mouthwash might freshen your breath, but it takes more than a quick swill to keep your gnashers nice and shiny. Want pearly whites to impress your dentist? Brush twice a day with one of the best electric toothbrushes.
From in-app feedback to self-cleaning bristles, the best battery-powered brushes make it painless to keep plaque at bay. And while the smartest handles don’t come cheap, you don’t need mega bucks to get a million-dollar smile.
Keen to upgrade your oral hygiene? The list below features our pick of the top toothbrushes, covering bristle sticks fit for every mouth and budget. Add one to your bathroom ensemble and your tooth doctor is sure to approve – provided you don’t forget to floss between your fangs.
What’s the best electric toothbrush you can buy?
- Best electric toothbrush overall: Oral-B iO Series 10
Oral-B’s most intelligent toothbrush to date, this smile-enhancer tracks your action, directs your focus and offers brushing feedback through the app.
- Best travel electric toothbrush: Suri Sustainable Sonic Toothbrush
Self-cleaning, streamlined and sustainable, this sonic brush ships in a neat travel case which uses UV-C light to blast bacteria living in the bristles.
- Best affordable electric toothbrush: Ordo Sonic+
This affordable yet effective shiner polishes your porcelain with 40,000 pulses per minute, aided by a silicone element in the head.
How to pick the best electric toothbrush
Brush hour
All bristles are different. Some feature finer filaments to clean between teeth, while others employ silicone for heightened hygiene. Germaphobe? Certain sets use UV to sterilise the head between sessions.
Crown control
Need help with your molar management? Several brushes feature timers to help you hit the two-minute mark, while some use apps or guide lights to coach you to cleaner teeth.
Molar power
Most brushes come with a sink-side charging stand. Taking your teeth on tour? Don’t ruin your dental routine with a hotel disposable: pick a model with a chargeable travel case.
Gum runner
Good vibrations can be found at different frequencies. Most handles have several speed settings to suit your sensitivity, while the best offer multiple modes for the perfect wash and polish.
The best budget electric toothbrushes
The everyday educator: Hum by Colgate
Want frequent feedback on your technique? You could schedule monthly meetings with an ivory inspector. Or for daily dental intelligence which costs less than the tooth fairy’s annual allowance, try this simple Bluetooth baton. Paired with the Colgate Connect app, it tells you which teeth to target and helpfully highlights any molars you might’ve missed.
The straightforward stick: Philips One by Sonicare
A manual approach can clean most of your mouth, but battery power gives even the best brushwork a boost. This uncomplicated upgrade enhances your regime with 13,000 micro vibrations. Shipped with a tidy travel case, it buzzes every 30 seconds to help time your routine. Opt for the AAA version and you’ll get 90 days from a single cell, or buy one with a built-in battery for a month of fuel from each USB-C boost.
The value vibrator: Ordo Sonic+
Skimping on oral hygiene is a fast track to fillings, but healthy teeth needn’t cost hundreds. Want an affordable way to avoid dentures? Good for 40,000 pulses per minute, this reasonable brush features four modes for a cleaning experience to suit the needs of your gnashers. Soft bristles go easy on gums, while a silicone nib lightly polishes your porcelain.
The dental do-gooder: Brushd Electric Toothbrush
Gleaming teeth aren’t much use without a world worth smiling about. Protect your piano keys and the planet with this waste-busting brush. Designed for use with Brushd’s plastic-free toothpaste tablets, its heads can be returned for shredding and recycling. Plus each subscription plants a tree, so you can grin at Greta without a guilty conscience.
The best smart electric toothbrushes
The sonic sensei: Oclean X Pro Elite
Even the smartest handle won’t give you wisdom teeth, but this hushed brush can at least help you find peace of mind while polishing your chompers. Suppressive algorithms keep motor noise to a minimum, so your thoughts won’t be clouded by 42,000 vibrations per minute. Once you’ve exited your zen state, you can tap into its counsel on the touchscreen.
The AI adviser: Oral-B iO Series 10
Automation will one day do away with dentists, leaving robots to wash and floss our fangs. Until then, this clever cleaner’s the closest thing. Putting AI in your mouth, it tracks your action across six zones, using lights atop the magnetic charging dock to show where to focus the micro-vibrations. When you’re not wielding the wand, an integrated clock indicates the best time to brush, while the Oral-B app points out where you can improve.
The cleaning coach: Philips Sonicare 9900 Prestige
Any trainer can tell you what to do, but it takes a true teacher to understand your needs. This tutoring toothbrush does both. Tracking pressure and motion up to 100 times a second, it reacts in real time to adjust intensity and avoid enamel cruelty. It also syncs with the Sonicare app, giving visual guidance that’s personalised for your pearly whites.
The best alternative electric toothbrushes
The wavey whitener: Silk’n ToothWave
A speaker stack might make your calcium rattle, but even the bassiest stereo won’t blast the tartar off your teeth. For frequencies that get the plaque jamming, turn up the ToothWave in your oral arena. Emitting mild radio waves, it breaks down the bonds which cause impurities to stick, kicking surface stains off the setlist.
The bacteria blaster: Suri Sustainable Sonic Toothbrush
Brushing twice a day should keep cavities at bay, unless you’re unwittingly smearing bacteria all over your bitey bits. Rest this brush in its bundled charging case and a UV-C light inside will zap any nasties lurking on the bristles. Time for a fresh head? Pop the plant-based top off the aluminium body and ship it back to be recycled.
The tilted topper: Curaprox Hydrosonic Pro
Your two front teeth might be easy to reach, but getting at your grinders requires deft tip control. Need a helping head? This nimble number sports swappable tops that are gently bent for dental navigation. Available in three styles, the smallest bristle set is angled at 15° for more ergonomic access to your chewing crew.
Chris Rowlands
Freelance contributor 
