If I’m being honest here, I think that brushing my teeth at night has to be the most annoying chore within my routine. My bed is just so comfortable and I’m usually quite tired. (Before you start judging my oral hygiene, I do brush my teeth every night. I’m just venting.)
Brushing your teeth is a vital chore, no matter how tired you are, though. Just think about how awful it feels to wake up in the morning with a stale, musty mouth because you didn’t take two minutes to polish those pearly whites the night before. Doesn’t sound worth it now, does it?
Of course, don’t neglect a brushing session after you wake up, either. Your coworkers certainly won’t appreciate that.
A regular cleaning schedule is only part of a healthy mouth, though — you’re also going to need a good toothbrush to make sure you can eradicate all the plaque, tartar, and food bits that accumulate throughout the day.
We recommend getting an electric toothbrush opposed to a manual one, and a lot of dentists tend to agree. But, why? The answer is pretty simple, actually: An electric toothbrush uses a motor that can achieve somewhere around 30,000 brush strokes per minute. Try moving your normal, human arm that fast next time you brush your teeth. Try it. You can’t.
Not only does an electric toothbrush clean your teeth faster, but it also cleans them more effectively. With the speedier, more frequent strokes, an electric brush can better remove plaque and debris from around your teeth and gums. Sorry to your old, manual brush, but it’s just not cutting it anymore, buddy.
We’ve all seen those electric toothbrush commercials that claim to be the best at getting in between your gums, preventing cavities, warding off gingivitis, making your pearly whites sparkle like George Clooney’s, et cetera — but how do you know which ones are really worth the counter space?
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How to select the best electric toothbrush
When buying an electric toothbrush, there are a few things you’re going to want to consider.
First off, the power source. Some electric toothbrushes are powered by batteries, which tend to last longer on one charge, but you’ll have to regularly replace them. Others are rechargeable with an included base, which keeps you from having to purchase new batteries all the time, but comes with the cost of less life on one charge — so if you forget to plug it in, you’re going to end up with a dead brush.
You’ll also want to think about the unique perks that come with each brush. Does it have a two-minute cleaning timer? How many options are there for interchangeable brush heads? Are there multiple speed settings on the brush? Different mouths benefit from different perks, so we’ll get into the nitty-gritty on those within each of our recommendations.
Why opt out of a toothbrush subscription service?
You’ll notice that many toothbrush brands (including a few on this list) offer subscription services for their products in conjunction with a one-time purchase option. Most of these services work in a similar fashion: For a small price, they’ll send you a refill of whatever is included in your membership every three months, whether it’s a fresh brush head, new batteries, toothpaste, floss, or what have you.
While it is important to replace your brush heads every few months, all those extras (while usually inexpensive) do tend to run the bill up if you’re in it for the long haul. For some, it’s more cost-effective to just purchase a toothbrush outright and buy new heads in bulk that can be switched out on their own schedule.
So, what’s the best electric toothbrush?
In the end, we generally like to think that the best way to tell if you’ll be satisfied with what you’re buying is by asking people who’ve already purchased said item. You know, word of mouth. So we scrutinized every customer review we could find to see what real people had to say about their favorite electric toothbrushes.
Below, eight of the best electric toothbrushes (and one you should probably stay away from):