Switching to an electric toothbrush in 2025

Are you team manual or electric? And no, we're not talking about cars. Here's a handy guide to upgrading your daily brushing game

- Sahil Bhalla [e-mail]

I've had a love-hate relationship with electric toothbrushes since I first acquired one during the pandemic in the US. It was a basic Oral-B Pro 1000 rechargeable electric toothbrush, which cost $50 (approximately ₹4,200). It came with a two-minute timer, a pressure sensor, and just one brushing mode, lasting a week between charges. It is lying unused as it frequently won't charge, or the timer and pressure sensor don't work.

During a later trip, I splurged ₹10,000 on the Oral-B iO8 Ultimate Electric Toothbrush, and couldn't be happier. I don't have to charge my iO8's battery frequently. The app (which works on Android and iOS) is easy to understand and provides enough information to tweak my brushing technique for better results. I did consider the Oclean X Ultra S, which provides real-time guidance via an AI voice assistant using bone conduction technology, but ultimately went for the one available in India.

If you aren't looking for that level of tech for a task as mundane as brushing your teeth (and don't want to spend upwards of ₹10,000 on a toothbrush), you can still try one—along with global brands like Oral-B and Colgate, the market in India has matured, with several homegrown, direct-to-consumer brands like Perfora, Agaro, Stim, Oracura and Dentiden making them available at affordable price-points.

Why should you consider switching to an electric toothbrush? Well, according to a 2019 study (which took 11 years to complete and is the most comprehensive one so far) published in The Journal of Clinical Periodontology, scientists found healthier gums and less tooth decay in those using electric toothbrushes than the groups brushing manually.

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