Best electric toothbrushes — and one you should totally avoid

If you've been on social media like, at all over the past few years, you've probably already heard and seen quite a bit about quip. I'm here to tell you: It's great. 

If you're used to using a manual toothbrush and you're wary of giving up that control, quip is the perfect marriage between manual and electric functionality. Instead of a rotary brush head, quip opts to employ sonic vibrations that help knock loose any nasty bits that are caught up in your teeth and gums. Once you start it up, a two-minute timer sends feedback every 30 seconds to signal when you switch to a new quadrant of your mouth. You end up getting great coverage, and it holds you to brushing your teeth for the amount of time you should be brushing. I also recommend the metal handle option over the plastic one, if you can manage the slightly extra price — it's made better, and the plastic one feels a bit cheap.  

While you can get a quip brush as a one-time purchase, the real value is in its high-quality subscription service. When you sign up, you'll be sent your quip brush in whatever color you chose, a bottle of mint toothpaste (although I personally like using Crest whitening toothpaste instead), and an optional, refillable floss add-on. After that, you'll get a new shipment of your add-ons every three months for just $10 apiece. Of course, you can cancel or switch up your orders on-the-fly at any time, and they have a responsive customer service line. 

One thing that always helps an electric toothbrush stand out from the pack: Customization. If you want to make your brushing experience uniquely your own, Shyn might be a good place to start. 

Among Shyn's best features are the four possible brushing modes (as well as five different intensity levels) and three swappable brush heads. The device itself has separate modes for regular cleaning, whitening, sensitivity, and massaging — all of them easy to switch to within seconds. Although you can only choose one of the multiple brush heads at a time, they all serve a unique purpose. One head is meant to help whiten your teeth with its slim, angled neck and superior plaque removal. Another is perfect for those with fragile gums — it has extra soft bristles, and a gentle clean tip to improve overall gum health. Finally, the plaque removal head is designed with high-density bristles to knock any and all dental debris off the surface of your teeth. 

Shyn also has an audible pressure sensor that alerts you if you're brushing too hard, a charging base and travel case, plus a two-minute timer to ensure you brush your teeth the recommended amount of time. 

According to my colleague and assistant reviews editor Miller Kern, who has used the toothbrush, Shyn's super skinny brush head might be a little too small for some, but that'll be up to your personal preference. Shyn also offers a subscription service, if you choose, in which you'll receive a replacement brush head every three months for just $5. (You should totally check out Miller's story on the best electric toothbrush subscription services, too.) 

I'm going to out myself here — I forget to floss all the time. Like, I don't floss more than I do floss. I know, it's not a good look, and I sincerely hope my dentist isn't reading this right now. 

The Waterpik flosser and electric toothbrush combo doesn't let you forget to floss, though, because it's all in one place. Equipped with two separate buttons — one to start the brush head's sonic vibrations and the other for water flossing — the Waterpik allows you to brush and floss in one go. (A third function employs both modes in tandem.) Water flossing is reportedly gentler on your gums, meaning no bloody mess for those who've been abstaining from a truly complete mouth-care process. (Raises hand.) And if you ever need to take the toothbrush with you for travel, you can disconnect it from the water hose and reservoir for easy portability.

The Waterpik brush also has a 30-second timer for each quadrant of your mouth, ten different pressure settings, a water reservoir that doubles as a charging base, replacement heads, and a premium travel case. 

If you regularly forget to floss, this is what you need. 

One Amazon reviewer said:

This is a great two-in-one appliance that has finally gotten me to pay more attention to my dental hygiene (well, that, and a straw-that-broke-the-camel's-back painful teeth cleaning visit to my dentist.) The variable intensity in the water pick is great, and has the added advantage of cleaning the toothpaste from the brush at the same time...I'm all in on this appliance, and use it daily as part of my regular routine.

This toothbrush from Oral-B is super highly rated.

The rotary brush — meaning its bristles move in a circular shape rather than using sonic vibrations — is highly effective when it comes to clearing out plaque and debris from your teeth. Though it hasn't been proven that a rotary brush is much better than a vibrating brush, which means it'll come down to personal preference for you. Some say that rotating brush heads get around the curvature of your teeth better, but I personally prefer sonic vibration brushes nonetheless. 

The Oral-B 1000 CrossAction packs in a lot of features that are normally reserved for pricier models, like a pressure sensor that alerts you when you're brushing overzealously, a charging base, and a two-minute timer that tells you to move onto a new mouth quadrant every 30 seconds. 

Even though this is a good toothbrush overall, it's probably not the best for someone with sensitive gums — rotary brushes take a lot of the control away from you as opposed to vibrating ones, and can end up tearing at your gums a little too much. This might not be a problem for some people, though. 

As far as rotary-type electric toothbrushes go, this is the best one you'll find at a good price. 

You've almost certainly seen Burst pop up on your Instagram feed (most likely accompanied by Chrissy Teigen's face) at some point. But thankfully, it's not one of those Insta-brands that doesn't deliver on what it claims to do. Burst is actually pretty darn good. 

The ergonomic electric brush brings multiple brushing settings to the table (like Shyn), including ones for whitening, sensitivity, and massaging. It's also the only brush of its kind (that we've found) with charcoal bristles, which supposedly whiten your teeth and remove surface stains a little bit better than non-charcoal-infused brushes. It  has that two-minute timer that can be seen in a lot of electric toothbrushes, and its long-lasting battery will get you up to a month of usage before it needs a charge. 

What Burst does really well, however, is protecting your gums against damage and gingivitis pain. Have you ever brushed your teeth and ended up with bleeding gums? Yeah, it sucks — but that won't happen here. Burst's bristles are extra gentle, and as long as you're not brushing too hard, you shouldn't have any pain at all. And hey, it doesn't hurt that the toothbrush looks super cool, either. 

Burst also has a subscription option if that's what you're looking for, which automatically sends you a replacement head every 12 weeks for $8 — though it's completely optional.

Taking your fancy toothbrush on a long trip is always a risk, so having a burner brush on-hand for travel isn't a bad idea.

This super cheap toothbrush from Arm & Hammer is ADA-approved, and you can also find it in most drugstores. While it strips away all the features that are included with the other recommendations on this list, it's still an electric toothbrush, which gives it a slight edge over manual drugstore options. One nice extra perk is its color-wear bristles that remind you to replace the head every three months. 

Its inexpensive nature makes it a nice, low-risk item to take with you on your travel excursions. Could you imagine losing your Philips DiamondClean after a transatlantic flight? Not a great way to start your vacation, that's for sure. It can also serve as a great, low-investment first venture into electric toothbrush territory if you're used to manual brushes and want to test the waters. If you find out that it's not for you, it's not a huge waste of money.  

Of course, with the low price, you should also be aware that this brush isn't going to last forever. 

One Amazon reviewer said:

"I've been using the Arm & Hamer Spinbrush for many years and even though I have tried many others I find myself going back to this one because it seems to do a better job of cleaning my teeth with its dual movement brush head., and I like that it has a base so it can stand up on a countertop... About my only complaint would be the slide-type power switch. It is sometimes difficult to turn it on or off when my hands are wet and think a push-button power switch would be a huge improvement. The battery lasts a long time, and you can purchase replacement brush heads."

Honestly, it doesn't really get much better than the Philips Sonicare DiamondClean — if you're going to spend a lot on a toothbrush, make it this one. We aren't the only ones who think that — the customer reviews are stellar across the board, and other big-name sites like GQ and The Strategist have included it in their best-of lists for electric toothbrushes. 

And it's no wonder why — the DiamondClean, at least at first, has an almost overwhelming amount of features. They may seem like things you don't initially need (and maybe that's true) but once you have them, you won't want to live without them. So, let's talk about said features, shall we?

Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Smart 9300 (quite the mouthful) includes three different types of brush heads (plus one exclusively for your tongue), five separate cleaning modes, a charging cup (not a base, a cup), a premium carrying case, a pressure sensor, and Bluetooth connectivity. 

You may be wondering what "Bluetooth connectivity" entails — basically, the DiamondClean has a smartphone companion app that uses the location sensor within the brush track your brushing habits. You'll then be able to view diagrams on your phone showing where you've brushed, and more importantly, where you’ve missed. You can even get personalized in-app coaching to help you become a more effective tooth-brusher. 

Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Smart 9300 is a serious investment, but we can't say it's not worth the money if you can spare it. 

And now, a word of warning. 

Similar to quip, the Foreo Issa 2 brush uses sonic vibrations instead of a rotating head, but that's kind of where the similarities end. You may have noticed that the Issa 2 is $150 — a price that, apparently, doesn't correlate at all with the quality of the brush.

First off, Issa 2 is constructed from bacteria-resistant silicone that claims to be exponentially more hygienic than your run-of-the-mill bristles, and gentler on your gums. (For people with sensitive gums, Foreo also offers a switchable 100% silicone head, as opposed to the stock silicone-and-regular-bristle combo.) The pulsation that comes from the brush during usage is said to be two times for powerful than a more inexpensive brush. The Issa 2 also has a built-in tongue and cheek cleaner, as well as an angled design in an effort to give you a complete, whole-mouth clean. Like a lot of newer electric toothbrushes, this one also has a timer on it, but Foreo's version gives you positive and constructive feedback after each use (signaled by a light-up happy or sad face). Perhaps the most seemingly impressive aspect of the Foreo Issa 2 is that one charge supposedly lasts you an entire year. 

This all sounds good and dandy — until you do some research, that is.

On almost every site I visited, I came across overwhelmingly negative reviews of the Issa 2 brush. The vast majority of purchasers that posted a review said that the brush ceased to work after just a few months of use, and Foreo's customer service wasn't particularly helpful in providing a replacement. Other complaints included an unfair return fee policy, and multiple users saying that the brush didn't make their mouths feel much fresher than it had when they first woke up. Right now, the Issa 2 stands at just over a 3-out-of-5-star rating on Amazon.

For a toothbrush that is this expensive, these should not be problems that buyers are experiencing. Until Foreo can revamp the Issa toothbrush line, it's a no-go from us.