Since we started testing brushes back in 2019, we’ve tested almost two dozen different brushes from over 10 different companies (they keep cropping up like weeds). While brushing each morning and evening, we paid close attention to how the brushes felt against our teeth, whether the brush was heavy or uncomfortable to hold, and whether the brush was too loud for a pre-coffee brain to handle. When the toothbrush came with an app (yes, unfortunately toothbrushes have apps now), we tried to asses whether a reasonable person would actually get something out of downloading it. And while we didn’t weigh aesthetics too heavily, we’ll admit to being suckers for something that looks good on a sink ledge.
We considered all additional features, like extra cleaning modes (shoutout to the“gum health” mode!), and pressure sensors. After all that, we found several you’d actually want to use every day, morning and night. Here are the best electric toothbrushes we’ve tested for a brighter, cleaner smile.
The Best Electric Toothbrush, Overall: Hum by Colgate
The Colgate Hum is not the first smart electric toothbrush, but it is the first that might actually convince you to spend some part of your morning staring at a disembodied set of teeth on your phone screen. We’ll explain further in a moment—first, the basics: The brush head is gentle, but not so gentle that it feels ineffective. The handle is lightweight, comfortable to hold, and easy to actually maneuver around, so that you don’t miss any spots while brushing. And best of all, its smart features don’t jack up the price of this brush and make it more expensive than other similar electric toothbrushes.
Brushing with the Colgate Hum without connecting it to the app is basically the same experience as brushing with a toothbrush like the Burst (more on that below). Both employ the same back-and-forth brush heads, though the Hum doesn’t have charcoal-infused bristles. The Hum also has a 30-second timer built-in, so that when it pulses, you know to move to another quadrant of your mouth. Unlike the Burst, however, when you hit two minutes, the Hum doesn’t immediately shut itself off. We think this is an advantage, because it allows you to do that oh-so-satisfying final pass over your teeth after the time has elapsed, just in case you missed something.
Back to the app: If you can be convinced to sync the brush head to your phone (a steep hurdle, admittedly), you will get a…guided brushing experience. The app tracks where in your mouth your bristles are aimed in real-time. So, if you’re looking at your phone, it’ll give you target areas to focus your attention, so that you get the front, top, and back of every tooth in every area of your mouth. In this mode, the brush won’t pulse every 30 seconds. Instead, the app prods you to move on from a section of your mouth when it senses you’ve adequately cleaned it. The first time we brushed while using it, it made us brush for almost 3 minutes. But honestly, having something to focus on made the time go by a lot faster. It was actually…kind of a fun game? And, unlike using other smart brushes with overpowered motors, the prolonged brush process here won’t make teeth feel like they are going to vibrate out of your sensitive gums. In addition to feeding you helpful data about your session, the Colgate Hum gamifies the whole process with “smile points” that you can use for discounts on refill brush heads and even a new brush.
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