electric toothbrushes - recommendations?

spaceboy

Need to buy one for xmas, know nothing about them.

debitcardmayhem

Nor do I

pogofish

I've had a few over the years and found the Braun/Oral-B range to be deservedly the market leaders as no other brand I've owned has lasted beyond a year before failing in one way or another.

I've found Brauns to last pretty reliably for around three years before the cells degrade and won't hold charge. the handle/motor unit is sealed, so they can't easily be replaced. There are now a bewildering range of models and heads but I've always found the basic, no-frills model and standard heads to be just fine. They may be amongst the dearer makes but Boots in particular runs frequent offers that bring the price right down. Similarly, the multi-packs of heads are often on offer and I'll pick-up enough to last a good while at one time. Generally heads give about three months before needing replacement.

When you start with one, take it easy as you can end-up with bleeding gums if you overuse but that will settle down quickly and not be a problem again.

Your tubes of toothpaste will also last a lot longer as you only need enouth to put a decent blob on the brush head, instead of a stripe the full length of your toothbrush.

Some say you should hook-up the charher/holder to your shaver socket and have the unit on permanent charge but reckon that will gas the cells in no time, so I tend to run mine flat then fully recharge. This seems to get maximum life out of the cells. For two of us, a full charge lasts around two weeks.

Again, there are various head holder/charger combos at greater cost but I found the holders break easily and are difficult to clean. Much cheaper to get the basic charger-only model and keep the heads in a small glass - very easy to clean. Heads come with little bands to colour code the heads so individuals can easily tell which belongs to who.

Think that's about it?

feelingblue

I have used a phillips sonicare healthy white for the last 8 years or so. Have had two in that time and love it. I am a smoker but my dentist doesn't know as I don't have smokers teeth!! I have had two de-scales in the last 8 years and no other treatment. My new model has a sensitive option which it automatically switches to for the first few uses to get your teeth used to it. Remember to switch it on in your mouth or toothpaste goes everywhere - something my hubby forgot to do when he 'borrowed' it and covered bathroom mirror with toothpaste!! hth!

SteveJH200

Philips Sonicare without any doubt. After my second Braun packed up I bought one of these and my teeth have never been whiter. I bought a twin pack as it was on special offer for under £50 but the price has risen since then.

Toothsmith

A Braun/Oral B.

Spend about £30-40, but if a better one is on offer at that price then go for it.

This will be as good a toothbrush as anybody will need.

Avoid ultrasonics, especially at the cheap end of the market, and if you've got £100+ to spend on one, you'd be better off spending £40 on the brush and the rest on a visit to a hygienist to be shown how to use it!

simmey

I've used Braun Oral B for approx 10 years and my dentist is very happy with my oral hygene, I use the basic model, Argos sometimes has them on offer at about £15 (half price) and EBay sell brush replacement heads very reasonably (make sure you get the original ones not replicas) the charge lasts about 7 days if you use it for the recommended time of 2 mins twice a day (it pulses when you get to two minutes so you don't need to time yourself). There are some very expensive models out there but they are really not necessary.

Ximian

Oral B, been using one for years and I'm very happy and my dentist has also commented that teeth and gums are healthy. Since using an electric toothbrush I haven't had any problems. Had to replace the battery after 3 years though, which was about £3

Toothsmith

Ximian wrote: »

Oral B, been using one for years and I'm very happy and my dentist has also commented that teeth and gums are healthy. Since using an electric toothbrush I haven't had any problems. Had to replace the battery after 3 years though, which was about £3

I didn't think the batteries could be replaced?

Spank

I have been using this Sonicare for a few years & would get another 1 to replace it in the future

pogofish

Toothsmith wrote: »

I didn't think the batteries could be replaced?

They can be but its not the easiest thing to do and the waterproof seal is compromised. Well within the range of a competent home electronics hobbyist.

The cells themselves can also be quite expensive and if you can get the toothbrush on offer, most of the cost advantage is lost.