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Are Oral-B or Philips Sonicare electric toothbrushes best?
As more options for oral care and wellness flood the market, electric toothbrushes remain one of the best ways to keep teeth clean and breath smelling fresh. Two of the biggest electric toothbrush brands are Oral-B and Philips Sonicare. Each brand comes with a number of different electric toothbrushes that offer different price points and unique features to fit the budget and needs of any user. That being said, there are specific advantages and disadvantages that both Oral-B and Philips Sonicare have that make choosing between them difficult.
Types of electric toothbrushes
The two basic types of electric toothbrushes are sonic toothbrushes and oscillating toothbrushes. Sonic electric toothbrushes use vibrations in the bristle head to loosen and brush away plaque from the teeth. Additionally, the vibrations help kill bacteria in the mouth at a high rate leaving users feeling fresher after a brush in comparison to traditional, manual toothbrushes.
Oscillating toothbrushes rotate the bristle head back and forth in semi-circles to help brush away plaque. This follows a more traditional method of brushing but is far more effective than a normal toothbrush.
Sonic toothbrushes are the most effective due to their bacteria-killing abilities; however, they usually cost slightly more.
Both Oral-B and Philips Sonicare electric toothbrushes are available on Amazon and cost anywhere between $30-$300.
Oral-B electric toothbrushes
Oral-B electric toothbrush pros
Oral-B has a wide variety of electric toothbrushes that cover both sonic and oscillating brushing types. The company has four distinct lines of electric toothbrushes that come with different features and price points to match most budgets.
The iO Series represents the highest quality electric toothbrushes sold by Oral-B, while the Pro Series is the most affordable. Each electric toothbrush comes with different features, including different brushing modes, connectivity to the Oral-B app, brushing timers and much more.
Oral-B is the strongest toothbrush brand when it comes to versatility. Oral-B provides options across the spectrum of affordability alongside types of electric toothbrushes. The company offers both oscillating and sonic toothbrushes. As a result, Oral-B sells more affordable options to shoppers, with some of their products costing less than $30.
Oral-B electric toothbrush cons
Where Oral-B falls short is at the highest level of equipment. While the iO Series represents incredibly powerful brushing, it does not reach the same level of quality that some Philips Sonicare brushes have.
Oral-B also does not have as wide of a range of sonic electric toothbrushes as Philips Sonicare, with the only Sonic options being in the higher-priced series. Philips Sonicare specializes better in the toothbrush type and provides more top-level options to consumers.
Best Oral-B electric toothbrushes
For the absolute highest-end electric toothbrush from the brand, the Oral-B iO Series 9 is the top choice. With a dedicated app to connect to, seven different brushing modes and AI sensors to help fully cover the entire mouth and prevent users from brushing too hard, the toothbrush is loaded with features to make it worth the $300 price tag.
A mid-range option from Oral-B is the SmartSeries 5000. The SmartSeries 5000 comes in at less than $100 and still provides Bluetooth connectivity to other smart devices and a pressure sensor for users.
Finally, Oral-B also sells the oscillating Pro 500 for less than $30. The Pro 500 comes with a quadrant-based 2-minute timer and universal brush head compatibility, all while costing significantly less than many other options.
Philips Sonicare electric toothbrushes
Philips Sonicare electric toothbrush pros
The biggest advantage that a Philips Sonicare electric toothbrush has over Oral-B is the specialization. Unlike Oral-B, which makes a wide variety of sonic and oscillating toothbrushes, Philips Sonicare has a relatively smaller line of electric toothbrushes that all utilize sonic brushing. As a result, the company has what many consider to be the highest quality sonic electric toothbrushes on the market.
The Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Series offers some of the most comprehensive cleaning electric toothbrushes available, with each brush proving to be one of the best for gum health and removing plaque from teeth.
Philips Sonicare electric toothbrush cons
The biggest downside to Philips Sonicare electric toothbrushes comes from the lack of truly affordable options. While Oral-B has an entire line of electric toothbrushes costing $40 or less, Philips Sonicare does not offer a toothbrush that costs less than $50. For shoppers on a budget, this may put many of the company’s toothbrushes out of range.
Best Philip Sonicare electric toothbrushes
The absolute best Philips Sonicare electric toothbrush available is the DiamondClean Smart 9500 Rechargeable Electric Toothbrush. The toothbrush offers three different levels of intensity alongside five different unique brushing modes to clean at every level. The toothbrush also connects to an app that will let users know if they are using too much pressure and ensure full coverage of the mouth. The company also provides three different unique brush heads that help focus the cleaning on different parts of the mouth.
A more affordable mid-range option from Philips Sonicare is the Essence Rechargeable Toothbrush. Still offering the classic sonic toothbrush technology, this will work for anyone looking for a quality electric toothbrush without spending over $100.
Should you get an Oral-B electric toothbrush or a Philips Sonicare electric toothbrush?
Choosing between Oral-B and Philips Sonicare breaks down to two major factors: budget and additional features. Oral-B offers several added features to their electric toothbrushes across each of its lines, while Philips Sonicare has most of its added features exclusive to the higher-end products.
For users looking simply for a basic electric toothbrush for the right price, Oral-B is the right choice. However, for users looking to buy a sonic toothbrush for a slightly higher price, Philips Sonicare is the right option.
For the highest quality clean at a mid-range price, the right choice is going to be a Philips Sonicare.
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Tom Price writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
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