By: Mitch | Last updated April 17, 2021 
Electric toothbrushes are most preferred by people with less dexterity to ensure their dental hygiene will always be ensured every day. Aside from them, people who want more convenience every brushing session also finds them preferable because of its automatic brushing actions, it's better brush heads, and its technology. While the traditional plastic or wooden brushes may be more affordable and accessible, electric toothbrushes are still a favorite among many simply because it has tools that the former can not have because it is not electrically operated.
Sonicare is the brand name of Philip’s electric toothbrushes. Starting in the 2000’s the company has been known as one of the best-selling brands because of the innovative features that they regularly add along with the efficiency of their products in cleaning the teeth. They are known for having models that are capable of creating strokes from 30,000 up to 60,000 depending on the model which is enough for ensuring the best dental hygiene for users. Based on studies, their products are capable of removing tooth plaque and debris easily when used every day and with appropriate usage.
Oral B is a known company that offers all-around products for teeth hygiene. Their electric toothbrushes are made in collaboration with known electronics company Braun. They are especially known for their unique design for brush heads which is round compared to the common oblong design of other companies. Oral B adds different technologies to their brushes that ensures good cleaning for all regardless of the product which is added to. With them, users can expect very good cleaning even for their entry-level and most affordable units. Aside from this, they also offer good product additions such as additional brush heads, travel cases, and more.
In choosing the best electric brush, the main deciding factor still depends upon the user. The best way this article can help users to decide is by giving specific strengths and weaknesses between the two brushes. To be able to choose the better product, users must choose the specific areas which they prioritize over the other such as the pricing, the cleaning technology, and more. Between the two, both Oral B and Sonicare are popular products that are recommended by a lot of users because of their good product quality.
One of the most important factors to consider is the cleaning performance of the brush. Here, the main factor to be reviewed is how well it can remove plaque and debris in the teeth and how effective it is when used every day. The main difference between the two is the technology that they use for cleaning the teeth. Oral B uses oscillating technology to accomplish this which is mainly possible with their round brush design. With this, the brush employs a mix of rotating and oscillating which aims to clean all of the parts of the teeth and to cover as much of its surface and its sides as possible. Sonicare, on the other hand, uses the Sonic technology which combines mechanical brushing and vibrations that reach past the bristles to clean debris within the teeth. Both are recommended by dentists because of their good cleaning results and their effectiveness. Between the two, the products are a tie mainly because research that chooses a clear winner among them is balanced. Our actual tests with the two products based on user response and visual evidence show that the two are equal in their performance. So it really comes down to personal preference. For us we found that the Oral B felt like it gave a bit of a cleaner feeling as you could focus more with its round head on the individual tooth versus the oval shape of the Sonicare, which always seemed to overlap or not fit as nicely.
Winner - Oral B
In terms of the two, the clear winner between the two is Oral B mainly because its most affordable units are almost half the price for Sonicares. The best part is the fact that Oral B’s Pro product line which is its most affordable still contains its most basic and important features that are capable of providing good cleaning results, battery health, and pressure sensors.
In terms of their more expensive units, though, both Oral B and Sonicare offer very good features that makes it good for its price. For this, we compared Sonicare’s DiamondClean brushes compared to Oral B’s iO series.
A note to take into consideration, is that both of these companies offer a wide range of features and pricing for different models, but this was based on a high level review of the products and features you get at each price point.
WINNER – Oral B
The aesthetic quality of the brush is also important to consider especially if children will be using it as to promote dental hygiene for them. Both brushes have a wide variety of available designs, but Sonicare is a little ahead in this department. This is because of its sleek design, their muted colors, and it's more clinical look that makes it look much more expensive compared to Oral B which still has units that have a plastic design. This is something that we noticed in our oral b pro 3000 review , where the product was nice but it just didn't have the same finished look to it. Some may also not like the round and small brush design of Oral B because it is far from the design of traditional brushes. So you do pay a bit more for a nicer finish so Sonicare wins this round, but if you don't care as much about the looks and more about the value then Oral B would win. But as this is all about the looks we have to go with the
WINNER – Sonicare
Features are one of the most important parts of an electric brush as it separates it from manual brushes. Both brands have a Bluetooth feature which allows users to be guided while they brush through the quadrants of the teeth. This can also be a good tool for teaching children. Both also have pressure sensors which warn users in case they are pressing their units too hard on their teeth.
A good feature of Sonicare is the BrushSync tool. First, it warns users in case they need to replace brush heads which is usually recommended to only last for three months at most for them to get the best cleaning. Next, this tool automatically chooses the best cleaning mode depending on the brush head attached to the unit.
For Oral B, their travel case is a very good addition that makes carrying the unit, its brush heads, and its charger very easy. This is especially convenient as it is durable and light enough to be carried anywhere.
WINNER - Tie
Overall, both brands are highly recommended for users and leaders in this space. However, we do have to pick a winner and in the office we all thought that Oral B is a better choice for for those looking for more affordable products that do a great job but don't look as nice as the clean lines that Sonicare provided. Either way you can't lose between these two brands and the cleaning style will really come down to what you like best, but for us Oral B was by far better. If you liked this review and want to know more about the different models and pricing available today, we would love it if you took a look at our full set of reviews for the best electric toothbrush on the market today.
