Best electric toothbrush for 2020: Quip, Colgate, Sonicare and more compared

Angela Lang / CNET

I’ve been looking for a very simple electric toothbrush for a long time. I would search the internet for my ideal toothbrush and end up overwhelmed with all the high tech options built into the app. At some point I would buy one, but in the end I kept using a manual toothbrush because I never found an electric toothbrush that did exactly what I needed it to do and nothing more: brushing my teeth better.

Joke is everything I’ve ever looked for in an electric toothbrush. For one thing – and for me a big deal – the brush head is actually almost the size of a manual toothbrush head. It’s not tiny like most other electric toothbrushes that I know clean one tooth at a time as recommended by the ADA, but I really like the full-size brush head of the Quip toothbrush. (CNET editor Sarah Mitroff felt the opposite. So be sure to read her Quip review when considering a Quip brush.)

Quip is super easy in every way: it has a speed and a 2-minute timer that buzzes every 30 seconds and turns off after 2 minutes. That’s it. There is no app to mess around with, no chargers or cables to carry or keep. Quip is powered by an AAA battery in the head of the brush. Charging takes three months. At this point, replace the brush head with a new brush and a new charge.

Since there is no charger, Quip is very easy to transport. The included toothbrush holder also serves as a protective cover for the trip.

While giving Quip the title of “best simple electric toothbrush”, I would also call it the best travel electric toothbrush and the “best electric toothbrush that feels like a normal toothbrush”.

I will say that the Quip motor is not very powerful compared to other brands like Sonicare or Oral-B. It felt like manual cleaning with a little more momentum, and although I really liked it, many people won’t. And if you are looking for a smart electric toothbrush with Bluetooth or an app, Quip is not the right one.

Waterpik

Dental floss changed my life. No joke! I always hated dental floss – when I was a child my orthodontist didn’t let me get braces until I knew about dental floss. Now I have a permanent holder at the top and bottom and I still hate dental floss.

Waterpik makes flossing incredibly easy and efficient. With little effort and in about 5 minutes, the Waterpik water fin removed food particles between my teeth (which are very tightly packed) and under my permanent metal holder, which can take up to 20 minutes alone.

For me, this was like a revelation from the other world: “Dental floss can be so easy ?! Why did I never know?” My dental assistant will be so proud of how clean my retainer looks when I return to my next appointment.

In addition, the Waterpik Complete Care 5.0 is a bargain compared to buying an electric brush and a Waterpik separately: this two-in-one battery contains five water fin tips, two Triple Sonic brush heads, 10 pressure settings, three brush modes and two. Minute timer with quadrant stimulation.

The Waterpik is getting used to – when I used it for the first time, I was not up to the water drop from my mouth. Finally, I learned to bend slightly so that my mouth hovered over the sink, and now it’s one of my favorite dental health products I’ve ever used.

However, be warned: if you have sensitive gums, start with your water fin at a low setting. I made the mistake of randomly putting mine at level seven for the first use and my gums were bleeding. The next time I selected it down to level three and slowly worked my way up to a stronger setting as my gums become less sensitive.

Colgate

Some electric toothbrushes have Bluetooth functionality and app integration these days, but the Colgate app is the only one that didn’t give me a headache. The simple user interface gives you easy-to-understand information about the duration, frequency and surface coverage of your brush.

I thought that was silly at first, because how hard is it to brush your teeth, right? Well, I was quickly rejected when the app told me that during my first session with the E1 toothbrush I had only reached 68% of the surface coverage. I no longer found the toothbrush app combination silly when I found that my percentage increased with each brushing session! The coaching really works.

Apart from that, the brush itself is beautiful. It is slim, comfortable to hold and not as bulky as some other electric toothbrushes. When I first received the package, I thought, “Huh, it feels like Apple branding.” Call me a branding expert because I learned later that the Colgate is E1 actually sold in the Apple Store as an Apple accessory.

With just 10 days of battery life, the E1 isn’t the most durable rechargeable toothbrush on the market, but that shouldn’t be all. Just don’t forget your charging station when you go on a trip.

Philips

I found the Philips Sonicare ProtectiveClean 6100 the gentlest of all the brushes on this list in all three settings (white, gum care and cleaning), but I still felt like my teeth were cleaned thoroughly every time they were used. And although I have sensitive gums, I sometimes brush too hard. The ProtectiveClean actually buzzes when you press down too hard with the brush. This is a gentle push to let you know that you need to reduce the pressure.

The ProtectiveClean 6100 has three different modes for different requirements: cleaning, whitening and gum care. I will say that I was disappointed to learn that this toothbrush actually has different brush heads that are optimal for each mode (I thought I would have found the only one that has an all-in-one brush head!), But that Modes still feel different even when using the same brush head.

For example, my ProtectiveClean came with the “W Diamondclean” head (the whitening head), but I did well with the other settings with this brush head. Was it ideal or optimal? I dont know; I would have to compare each setting with the right brush head. But I’m saying that you’re probably fine without the three individual brush heads.

If you can’t remember when to replace your brush heads, you’ll be amazed: Philips BrushSync technology shows how long you’ve used your brush head and how much you’ve brushed. These are two key factors when changing brushes. A light on the handle flashes and the brush beeps so you know it’s time to order a new one.

Shyn

Shyn (pronounced “gloss”) is a newer subscription-based oral health company that currently offers electric toothbrushes, dental floss, toothpicks and teeth whitening products. The company’s Ultra Flex 10 brush head has recently received ADA approval and is among the other electric toothbrushes on this list.

You can choose from several brush heads to customize your Shyn electric toothbrush, including whitening, anti-plaque, or gum care. I tested the Ultra Flex 10 brush head and was very impressed.

The brush head is slightly larger than most electric toothbrush heads, but still smaller than a manual toothbrush. The bristles are soft and flexible, and the brush head has a thin, mushy rubber coating that protects the gums.

I thought that the Shyn electric toothbrush with the Ultra Flex 10 brush head did a thorough, thorough cleaning without making my teeth or gums feel sensitive (which is a big deal for me; more on that below).

Similar to Quip, you can opt for a subscription that sends new brush heads every three months. Shyn’s subscription costs $ 6 every three months for the Ultra Flex 10 Brush Head.

Oral-B

The Oral-B Pro 3000 is a good brush. It’s really. It’s just too powerful for me. The brush head vibrates and swings, while most electric toothbrushes only perform one or the other function. Theoretically, that would result in deeper purification, but even if that’s true, I don’t think it would be worth it for me.

My gums and teeth felt sensitive after each use with the Oral-B Pro 3000, but I tend to experience more tooth sensitivity than most others. If you have sensitive gums, keep in mind that Oral-B has a variety of brush heads that can help. There is definitely a possibility that I would not have experienced as much sensitivity if I had used it these sensitive gum brush heads.

However, this has several advantages: I feel that the Oral-B Pro 3000 is better at eliminating the morning sliminess of the mouth than any other brush on this list, and that it has done a great job of throwing debris from the hard-to-reach back teeth .

Because the brush head is small (which I usually don’t like) and vibrates, the Oral-B Pro 3000 miraculously cleaned my permanent brackets – something no other toothbrush has ever done. Depending on what I had eaten, I sometimes felt that after using the Oral-B Pro 3000 I didn’t even need to floss.

Waterpik

You already know how much I love the Waterpik, and you can assume that I was very excited to learn that there is a product like an electric toothbrush that is also a water fin. I don’t mean a water fin that comes with an electric toothbrush – I mean a water fin that is an electric toothbrush.

My excitement quickly turned into anger when I sprayed my eye first and then sprayed water over my bathroom mirror as I frenziedly tried to turn the damn thing off. Don’t make my mistake, guys. Simply put the toothbrush in your mouth before activating the Waterpik function.

Apart from the initial downturn, I enjoyed my experience with the Waterpik Sonic-Fusion toothbrush. Using the Waterpik function is a bit awkward at first because the brush has to be connected to the pipe through which the water flows. Once you find the sweet spot on your bathroom counter, this will no longer be a problem.

I liked the Sonic-Fusion as much as the Waterpik Complete Care in terms of cleaning power, but in terms of design, the Complete Care is easier to use than the Sonic-Fusion. If you have enough space on your bathroom counter, I would recommend complete care over the Sonic Fusion. But if you’re in a tight space or want to travel with a water fin and an electric toothbrush, the Sonic Fusion is a great option.

Brightline

Although there are many inexpensive electric toothbrushes, my experience with the Brightline brush from Hamilton Beach Brands (compared to some others in the same price range) clearly dictated this brush as one of the cheapest electric toothbrushes.

The Brightline The product suite is a new brand from Hamilton Beach Brands that was launched in December 2019 and is the company’s first foray into personal care. As a brand known for kitchen utensils and household appliances, I would say that things didn’t go badly

The Brightline brush motor is powerful – I was a little surprised at the sound at first – but it is not so powerful that it hurts. The brush head has contoured bristles that are rather soft and flexible. This special brush has only one speed (with “adjustable intensity” according to the user manual, although I never found out), but Brightline offers another brush with five modes for about $ 10 more.