Electric toothbrush recommendation

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#3451499 10-Jan-2026 13:20

this is a bit off tangent from the initial request but...
I had a car accident that smashed up a lot of my teeth and left me with a partial denture. Those teeth that remained had plenty of cracks in them which over time developed problems of their own. I really have to take extra care of the teeth I have (most bottom row are fine but the upper is a mix of real and fake teeth). After noticing that dental hygienist visits were taking longer and they kept commenting that I should try and do more to assist, I started looking over many different toothbrushes but ended up going down a different path and bought a water flosser and toothbrush combo
https://www.pharmacydirect.co.nz/Waterpik-Complete-Care-5.0-Waterflosser-Toothbrush
the toothbrush is great, have had it about 3 years now, but the water flosser is what has made the biggest impact. Took a bit of getting used to but my dentist has commented that my teeth and gums are doing great now. It's a considerable price jump, but these two combined were the best option.

https://keybase.io/fizzychicken

mkissin

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#3451505 10-Jan-2026 14:10

I don't recall what the price was, but Costco have gigantic packs of the Philips Sonicare heads, if you're a member.

Dunnersfella

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#3451559 10-Jan-2026 17:09

My partner and I just got the Series 6 Oral-B and they're a complete revelation compared to our older generation Oral-B's.

We both noticed our teeth feel cleaner and it does seem slightly gentler on our teeth / gums.

Very happy with our purchases.

Sinuation

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#3451573 10-Jan-2026 19:00

Also unrelated, but buy the softest electric toothbrush heads you can. Many dentists straight up say that anything above soft is way too hard on your teeth and gums and are compared to horse brushes.

Morgenmuffel

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#3451686 11-Jan-2026 11:08

Ok, so slight hijack here, just started with an electric toothbrush, does each person have their own, or do you swap heads each time, also where do you get the racks to put the heads on?

Also best place to buy new heads

Oral b vitality? I think

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#3451687 11-Jan-2026 11:11

Swap toothbrush heads on our $300 oralb brush

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geek3001

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#3451692 11-Jan-2026 11:25

Sinuation:

Also unrelated, but buy the softest electric toothbrush heads you can. Many dentists straight up say that anything above soft is way too hard on your teeth and gums and are compared to horse brushes.

I would argue this is related - I can speak from experience and strongly agree with this - whatever brush you use, manual or electric, you must use the softest brush / bristles you can get, and go easy on the elbow grease.

Having brushed my teeth with brushes with bristles that were too stiff for many years, I have successfully worn down the dentine on most of my teeth and upset my gums somewhat. My dentist made this observation about ten years ago during an annual checkup.

Swapping to the softest bristles has made a world of difference to my gums, however the damage to the dentine is irreversible.

gzt

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#3451698 11-Jan-2026 11:47

geek3001: I would argue this is related - I can speak from experience and strongly agree with this - whatever brush you use, manual or electric, you must use the softest brush / bristles you can get, and go easy on the elbow grease.

The mid to top models all have pressure sensors to train users out of any bad habits in that area.

gzt

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#3451699 11-Jan-2026 11:49

Linux: Swap toothbrush heads on our $300 oralb brush

How do you mark the brushes?

geek3001

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#3451700 11-Jan-2026 11:52

gzt:
geek3001: I would argue this is related - I can speak from experience and strongly agree with this - whatever brush you use, manual or electric, you must use the softest brush / bristles you can get, and go easy on the elbow grease.

The mid to top models all have pressure sensors to train users out of any bad habits in that area.

That's a good design feature.

Unfortunately I'm a difficult customer stuck with brushing manually. I'd like to use an electric toothbrush however in my case the vibrations can cause migraines, due to triggering of the trigeminal nerve.

gzt

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#3451701 11-Jan-2026 11:56

The Phillips style is a lot quieter maybe that will help. I think the Colgate ones are similar to Phillips and cheaper although I haven't heard one. Maybe check that serious review guy above or send him a question about nerve stimulation. But yeah it probably won't help.

Edit: Actually, Phillips Soniccare with the Sensitive head seems to be the recommendation for that.

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geek3001

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#3451703 11-Jan-2026 12:11

gzt: The Phillips style is a lot quieter maybe that will help. I think the Colgate ones are similar to Phillips and cheaper although I haven't heard one. Maybe check that serious review guy above or send him a question about nerve stimulation. But yeah it probably won't help.

Edit: Actually, Phillips Soniccare with the Sensitive head seems to be the recommendation for that.

Hmm, interesting, thank you, I'll look into that.

alasta

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#3451705 11-Jan-2026 12:32

gzt:
Linux: Swap toothbrush heads on our $300 oralb brush

How do you mark the brushes?

Oral B brushes have coloured rings that can be clipped on to the base of the brush head. This allows brush heads to be identified for different family members.

gzt

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#3451753 11-Jan-2026 12:48

alasta: Oral B brushes have coloured rings that can be clipped on to the base of the brush head. This allows brush heads to be identified for different family members.

Ah I see. Series io brushes don't have that ring. Googling around I see advice the io brushes have one of 24 unique symbols printed on the brush for identification purposes. Not so easy but maybe better and mostly workable.

I have to admit my initial reaction to the sharing with brush change is a bit 'ew' and it had not crossed my mind. On the other hand if it works and the rest rinses clean then why not. Looks like io series has a smooth surface for better rinse.

I'll see how me and S.O feel about brush swapping when I've had a closer look after purchase. For a $400 toothbrush it does make it easier to justify and better value for money.

Nate001

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#3451811 11-Jan-2026 13:44

I will add it took me a few days to get used to the Sonicare vibrations. You can adjust low/high mode. If you press too hard it will give you feedback via different vibration.

We have a complete brush each because we can't be bothered swapping heads twice a day, and you have to wait your turn etc. Mrs has the gum care model with travel case and I have the basic version.

When we go travelling we take hers and I take a head to use. Keeping track is easy if you have different colour heads, black for her, white for me.

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