Which New Electric Toothbrush To Buy in 2023?

As we publish guides on how to repair electric toothbrushes we are often asked, when buying a new electric toothbrush, which models will be easiest to repair or replace the battery in when the battery eventually stops holding a full charge. Below is our current answer to this question, as of this year.

Total Cost of Ownership

As well as the one-off initial cost of buying your electric toothbrush, there is the ongoing cost of replacing the head every 3 months. We would go for an Oral-B (Braun) rather than a Philips Sonicare toothbrush due to the fact that genuine replacement brush heads are available more cheaply and this is the main ongoing cost with electric toothbrushes. The brush heads are usually on special offer in at least one of the big UK supermarkets at any given time, and are often half price in Superdrug too.

Once the internal rechargeable battery of your toothbrush is worn out and only holds enough charge for 1-2 days use it can be replaced by following one of our battery replacement guides.

Too Much Choice

There is far too much choice when it comes to picking a new electric toothbrush. Each manufacturer has many versions and colours of the same handle which they package up with different combinations of heads and/or accessories and then sell as a different ‘model’. Oral B do this the most. Hopefully below we can pick out the main choices for you.

Current Models

There are a many currently available Braun Oral-B models. Type numbers are generally not visible on packaging apart from misleading ones and the labelling system can be confusing so go by the name printed on the box.

• Vitality models: These models do not have the third “dimension” of tooth cleaning i.e. vibrating the head back and forth in the direction the bristles point. Straightforward to replace the battery with easy soldering once you get the handle open, which can be slightly more difficult with the new design. This is Oral-B’s cheapest model but the long-term savings are negligible.
• The Pro 2 also labelled as PRO 2000: These are Oral-B’s mid-range models. They have one button on the handle to power on and switch between fast and slow speeds. The pressure sensor light is useful for both new and experienced users. They are the most compact toothbrush but the battery can still be replaced. Needs fine soldering.  Available new on eBay here.
• Genius, iO and Smart 6: Most expensive, with lots of modes and features that might be unnecessary. Battery can be replaced once it is depleted. Needs fine soldering.
• Triumph v2 models labelled as ‘SmartSeries’ 6000, 6500, 7000: These have two buttons on the handle. Easiest brushes to change the battery on. Extra brushing modes and bells & whistles if required. Sometimes labelled as a 5000 (with 2 buttons) but not to be confused with the 1 button version labelled as a 4000 or 5000 which is different. Still available new from eBay here and from Amazon here.

Don’t forget that if you don’t have a 2-pin shaver socket in your bathroom to plug the charger into you will also need to buy a shaver adaptor plug, which plugs into a standard 3-pin UK mains wall socket and has a fused 2-pin socket on the back of it to plug your charger into. Beware of unfused ones which are dangerous and do not meet current electrical safety standards.