I'm not certain what the best electric toothbrush is — I think any Sonicare or Oral B one will be great — but I do think everyone should own one and use one.
They don’t just do a better job of cleaning your teeth/preventing cavities, they also do a better job of cleaning and protecting your gums which I think is a bigger deal than you might think. Since switching, my gums are much healthier and my dentist can’t really tell when I’ve been flossing regularly or not.
But I also think flossing is a bigger deal than you might think. Controlling the bacteria in your mouth is a noble cause and may even be relevant in reducing the impacts of dementia. If that doesn’t seem compelling enough to get you to floss, I have a grosser way to compel you: the next time you floss, rubbing the floss carefully on both curved touching surfaces of your teeth (not just fishing out a spiky popcorn bit), smell the portion that you just used. If you aren’t a regular flosser, it will probably smell gross. So #1, it might be enough to get you motivated to clear out that festering bacteria, and #2, you might want to floss as a favor to anyone who might be getting up close and personal with your mouth.
If you’re already a flosser, or if you’re an optimizer, I recommend cocofloss. Way more effective than normal waxed floss or plastic flosser, but surprisingly resistant to tearing, which is normally an issue with more abrasive flosses. If it’s too much of a commitment, maybe just use it once a week or once a month for a more thorough cleaning than your normal floss can manage.
(if you're not willing/ready to commit to going full electric, I'd recommend getting one and using it half the time at first, and choosing a model that buzzes every 30seconds so that you spend that much time in each quadrant when you do use it)
A few more tips:
- Get a white one so that the toothpaste drips don't look gross.
- I find the Sonicare brushes are too "buzzy" for me — they sort of "tickle" but they are quieter than the Oral Bs.
- There are now very high end Oral B models which are also quiet (run via magnets??) but I worry that they might be getting that in part by moving to a more "buzzy" style. Those special new ones also aren't compatible with all the old/regular Oral B brush heads.
These are roughly $40-$50 options:
This pricey one was the highest rated electric toothbrush by Consumer Reports in the fall of 2020 (but they haven't rated the crazy new Oral-B io models).
2024 update: Consumer Reports now has the iO series in the top spot: 7 series > 10 series > 3 series