Battery Powered

Like it says on the tin, a couple of AAs is all it will take to keep your electric toothbrush humming along nicely. With twice daily use, they should last between four to six weeks. Battery-powered electric toothbrushes can be handy for travelling if you don’t want to be bothered carrying around yet another charger.

Rechargeable

Just like a phone, they feature a charging station or cable, which tops up an internal lithium battery. Don’t stress if you forget to recharge for a few days as you should get – at the very least – a couple of weeks of optimum performance on a full charge. Recharging daily will see that battery last up to five years, but if you want to squeeze extra life out of it, let it run down fully every six months and recharge. Most rechargeable models also feature a red light display somewhere on the handle, which indicates that a power top up is required.

Air Flosser

Although flossing is an established part of dental care – especially when it comes to gum health – the traditional ribbons and tapes can be unwieldy. That’s where air flossers come in. Used with water or mouthwash, they use compressed air to deliver a stream to teeth and the area between them to dislodge the debris and plaque that can cause problems down the track. And the stats are pretty impressive. We’re talking up to 99.99 per cent plaque removal in treated areas in a process that takes only a minute for a whole mouth clean.

Vibration/Pulsation

The head simply vibrates to help dislodge plaque.

Oscillation

Meaning the brush heads move from side to side up to 8800 times a minute as an additional way to remove plaque.

Rotation

The brush heads move in a circular motion.

Multidirectional

Side to side and up and down movements are combined.

Replaceable heads

Just as manual toothbrushes need to be replaced through wear and tear over months of use, look for an electric toothbrush that allows you to do the same. Packs of three to six replacement heads will keep you going for a while, just replace the heads every three months. One of the newer developments in this area are heads featuring brushes with differing lengths to provide what is known as cross action, which adds a new cleaning dimension to the motion of the motor.

Timers

One of the key frustrations of dentists – aside from where to moor their second boat – is that while people are conscientious about brushing, they often don’t do it for long enough. Never fear, however, many of the latest generation come with a handy smartphone app, which guides you around your mouth, ensuring you spend the correct amount of time in each zone. Clever.

Pressure Sensors

For a generation raised on manual toothbrushes, it can be tough to get to grips – see what we did there – with the efficiency and power of electric toothbrushes. Instead of simply letting the brush do the work, users sometimes apply too much on their teeth and gums, inadvertently causing damage in the moment and over time. To prevent this, leading brands now include pressure sensors, which alert you when you’re pressing too hard. It usually takes the form of a light somewhere on the handle, which illuminates when you need to ease off a touch.

Battery Life

Depending on the model you opt for, most electric toothbrushes require 14 to 22 hours to fully charge their lithium ion batteries from scratch. That said, you should be able to get five days to two weeks use out of them – brushing twice a day for two minutes each time.