Electric toothbrush recommendation

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#3451813 11-Jan-2026 13:47

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

How do you mark the brushes?

@gzt different coloured bands at the base of the toothbrush head they just pop on and off

robjg63

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#3451818 11-Jan-2026 14:16

Even the most basic Oral-B (or any electric) toothbrush, will do a very good job if used regularly.

I have gone through several of the Oral-B vitality (most basic model - a little over $30 if you are lucky) over the decades.

The advantages with something like a Basic Oral-B:

Easily available replacement brush heads ('originals' are expensive, but you can find cheap generic replacements that work fine too)
2 minute timer means you brush for a consistent time
Easy to hold on to and navigate around the teeth
You dont have to press hard (and shouldn't) and they work great on the gums

This article says that they clean 21% better than a manual. I figure that would easily be correct. With a manual you have to move the brush a lot to try and clean an area. With the electric, it is constantly cleaning, so you just move it slowly over your teeth and can get into every corner.

With the basic Oral-B, you can even replace the rechargeable battery - so I found out when mine started failing the middle of last year.

I got a (larger than original) replacement from jaycar (around $9) and now it lasts nearly a month on a full charge.

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gzt

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#3451819 11-Jan-2026 14:18

Keeping track is easy if you have different colour heads, black for her, white for me.

Great point. The io brushes come in black and white.

gzt

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#3451820 11-Jan-2026 14:25

robjg63: Even the most basic Oral-B (or any electric) toothbrush, will do a very good job if used regularly. I have gone through several of the Oral-B vitality (most basic model - a little over $30 if you are lucky) over the decades.

Great point I'm feeling bad about spending $400 on Oral-B io9 but I'm going to do it anyway. Slightly improved functionality, charge indicator for minor travel and battery management, magnetic base instead of peg base. The io6 has all that in a less flashy form for $250 but no magnetic base. So, I talked myself into io9 because the peg base annoys me.

gzt

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#3451821 11-Jan-2026 14:27

One really good thing about the Phillips option is standard usb charging now. Oral-B haven't made it that far yet unfortunately.

lNomNoml

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#3451824 11-Jan-2026 14:45

Sinuation:

Used to have Oral-B's but found the gunk going to the bottom gross so I switched to philips sonicare toothbrushes, pretty solid.

My partner had the same issue and also moved to Sonicare, the Oral-B's are really hard and annoying to clean.

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#3451826 11-Jan-2026 14:46

I have been using Oral-B's for more than a decade now. Bought a new one a year ago, the Oral B Electric Toothbrush Genius Series 9000 which seems to have been replaced by Oral B Electric Toothbrush Genius Series X.

They come with a travel case that allows you to charge it via USB. It also charges on the inductive charger that my old one used. So use that for day to day charging.

Used to have a lot of plaque before starting to use the Oral-B, but after I started using it I hardly have any, so it seems to be working.

I have seen mention of higher speed oscillations making for better plaque removal when I have been doing my research. Not sure how much it matters, and if the pricier Oral B's are any better than the cheap ones. But from what people have been saying here, it seems like the pricier ones (based on my experience) last longer, if nothing else.

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gzt

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#3451830 11-Jan-2026 14:53

lNomNoml:
Sinuation: Used to have Oral-B's but found the gunk going to the bottom gross so I switched to philips sonicare toothbrushes, pretty solid.
MY partner had the same issue and also moved to Sonicare, the Oral-B's are really hard and annoying to clean.

The latest Oral-B 'series' line doesn't have that problem rubbery handle grip. In any case, looks like you could strip that off if desired. I'm curious how you find the brushing action in comparison? Videos I've watched say you must still move the Phillips sonic brush in a circular motion to get the best of it.

larknz

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#3451832 11-Jan-2026 14:56

One advantage of the more expensive Oral B brushes is a much improved battery life.

siyuan

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#3452272 12-Jan-2026 15:02

I've been using a Xiaomi T500 for 5+ years now, what I like the most about it is its BLE, which integrates with Home Assistant. I use Home Assistant to charge limit the battery (50%-80%) to prolong its battery life, and to-date the battery can still very easily last more than a week without charging.What's also nice is that compatible brushes can be bought from Aliexpress way cheaper (20 for ~$24), where as you only get 3 for $19 in NZ. But I don't know if all models of Xiaomi's toothbrushes support BLE, and whether Home Assistant supports them.

larknz

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#3452273 12-Jan-2026 15:06

You can also buy compatible brushes from Aliexpress for the Oral B toothbrush. However I found them to be lower quality and I have gone back to the genuine brushes.

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jen1001

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#3452324 12-Jan-2026 15:30

larknz:

One advantage of the more expensive Oral B brushes is a much improved battery life.

I have a Genius 9000 bought in 2019, battery life is approx 6 days which is great.

Agree with your other comment on replacement heads. I got some “equivalent” ones from Temu and although they’re handy (and cheaper) it feels like the branded ones are better quality - the bristles on the cross action ones turn yellow over time, that’s when I know we’re close to the 3 months and it has to be changed 😅

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#3452336 12-Jan-2026 15:54

siyuan: I've been using a Xiaomi T500 for 5+ years now, what I like the most about it is its BLE, which integrates with Home Assistant. I use Home Assistant to charge limit the battery (50%-80%) to prolong its battery life, and to-date the battery can still very easily last more than a week without charging.What's also nice is that compatible brushes can be bought from Aliexpress way cheaper (20 for ~$24), where as you only get 3 for $19 in NZ. But I don't know if all models of Xiaomi's toothbrushes support BLE, and whether Home Assistant supports them.

Looks like it's still a current model:

https://www.mi.com/global/product-list/personal-care/oral-care/

They look more or less equivalent to Phillips at a better price.

Blackcat13

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#3452511 13-Jan-2026 08:10

Prior to Xmas I went thru this challenge of choosing an electric toothbrush. My dentist recommended something that will sense too much pressure ( Ive damage my gums scrubbing too hard), a scrubbing sensor and a timer.

From a few weeks of research I narrowed down to either Oral B or Philips, in the end Philips ones appeared best for my scenario of super sensitive gums (based on reviews and info I read) , and as they have so many models I went to their website and compared them all, didnt look at model/price just looked at features I needed based on dentist advice. Picked the one that had what I needed.... of course it turned out to be the latest and greatest and was expensive, however I got it super cheap in a sale at Farmers.

https://www.farmers.co.nz/electrical/personal-care/electric-toothbrushes/philips-sonicare-prestige-9900-electric-toothbrush-champagne-hx9992-21-6695316?tracking=searchterm:philips+toothbrush

I didnt pay anywhere near that price just FYI.

Thoughts on its performance : it has an app that you put on phone, and keep phone close to toothbrush while using, and it basically teaches you how to use it properly, image of a mouth of teeth shows on screen and as you clean it updates to show what you have completed, if you missed any areas etc. I used this for a week till I felt I had it down and then havent used it since.

Toothbrush comes with tongue cleaner and a charging case as well as a charging base & cord. Super handy for travel to have the charging case. Fully charged so far its lasted 2 weeks without a recharge.

The base lights up a diff colour if you press too hard or scrub too hard. It vibrates after you clean each section so you know when to move on.

Also recommend the water flossers, got one on sale at PB Tech, took a while to get used to, and I recommend use in shower , but it does a good job.

gzt

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#3452766 13-Jan-2026 22:31

I purchased the Oral-B iO Series 9 (iO9) NZ$382. Three brushing sessions so far. First impressions - not as harsh and 'brushy' feeling as the low end brushes. More a buzzy vibration feeling which may not be a good thing for some people. On my second session I used the sensitive setting to avoid that. Third session back to standard setting now I'm used to it.

The base is weakly magnetic. That makes sense. I positioned it at the back of the shelf to avoid it being knocked down by other hands. Works fine. I will turn off the base until 20% in some effort to lengthen battery lifetime.

I thought my SO had gone off electric brushes. I may have made a mistake there. The two brush stand is handy. Sharing the base is ok and it washes clean enough. The mechanism is more involved than the lower end brushes. To some extent the surfaces are not as visible. With hindsight if I'd thought more about that aspect I might have purchased two io6 machines vs one io9. I see the US and UK market has twin pack io6 available. Not in NZ.

Edit: The shaft shape on the io9 has annoyed me a bit. The wide bit seems relatively easy to buzz my teeth on. I'm getting better at avoiding it. Standard price for the three month brush replacement is $80=4 with a 'subscription'(!) available for $50. That would be ok if the brush hits it out of the park but it seems average so far. Time will tell.

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