The best electric toothbrush deals for January
Smart Home Buying Advice
These electric toothbrush discounts will make you smile
It's a brand new year and if one of your resolutions is to take better care of your teeth, look no further than this round-up of the best deals across the web.
January deals on on Oral-B, Philips Sonicare and independent brands
By Emma Rowley, White Goods & Appliances Editor | 07 Jan 2022
Although sales season has drawn to a close, there are still good deals to be found on electric toothbrushes. But they're scarcer and harder to find. We've taken the hard work out of the equation by round up the biggest discounts we can find.
Buying the best value Oral-B iO
If you've been mulling over buying an Oral-B iO, the brand has quietly launched a new, more budget-friendly model. You can buy the iO6 from Boots right now for £110 in grey, lava black or the sensitive teeth edition, which is pink. The price dropped to £100 over the Black Friday and but it's holding steady at £110 now, which makes it the most budget-friendly way to get the brilliant new iO cleaning performance.
You can find out more about its features in our review, but in short, it has a black and white screen for feedback, five brushing modes and the same rotating and vibrating motion as the pricier iO models. If you want to compare its features to the other iO brushes, check out our article.
Getting the best deal on an electric toothbrush
When electric toothbrushes are launched, they are given an RRP (recommended retail price), but most brushes only sell at this price point for a couple of months. After this, they may be reduced by as much as half. This means that it's quite hard to tell whether or not you're getting a good deal as retailers can show big savings that aren't as good as they seem.
In all of the following deals, we've aimed to use the amount that the brush usually sells for as the original price, rather than comparing the discount to the RRP. That means the savings you see here are real.
The price of brushes also fluctuates depending on the time of year and the retailer, so we'll only include offers when brushes reach their lowest price point.
If you want more information on types of brush and useful features before you buy, check out our buying guide below the deals round-up.
The full list of discounts follows but if you're interested in the models we rate most highly, check out our round-up of the best electric toothbrushes we've tested.
For more help on present buying and to get some help finding the best discounts, have a look at our round-up of the best Christmas tech deals and our guide to the best tech gifts for Christmas.
Best electric toothbrush offers right now
1. Oral-B Pro 3 3900 twin pack
Was: £80
Now: £54.99 (£25.01 off)
This deal is an excellent way to get a big discount on a pair of these new Oral-B brushes, which usually sell for about £40 each. We just reviewed the Pro 3 3000 and liked it a lot. It has 3 brushing modes, a pressure sensor & a two-week battery life.
2. Oral-B Genius 8000
Now: £89.99 (£60 off)
The price quoted on the page is inflated but the Oral-B Genius 8000 sells for £140+ on other sites, so this is a solid discount, although it's currently only available on the black model. We gave the brush 4.5 stars out of 5 in our review.
3. Oral-B iO8 (UK)
From: Boots
The price for this brush goes up and down but £141 is about the lowest we've seen it. It's less than its Black Friday price. While there are still retailers selling it at around the £450 mark, other retailers have it discounted to £160 right now, but £250 is around the median price point. It's a brilliant brush, with the latest Oral-B technology. We reviewed the very similar iO9 and would recommend it.
4. Foreo Issa 2
From: All Beauty
Ignore the on-page RRP as these are being sold for £119 now, but this is still a solid saving on a cool, silicone brush. Price still varies depending on colour and All Beauty has a selection, ranging in price from around £70 to £75. Want to know what it's like to use? Check out our review.
From: eBay
As always, ignore the RRP price on the deal page (although some retailers are selling this very brush for £300) but this is a solid discount on an excellent brush.
6. Oral-B iO6 (US)
From: Wal-Mart
The newest iO of the bunch is also the most budget friendly. It usually retails for around $150, so although this price isn't as good as its Black Friday discount (it was $99.97) this is still a good time to buy. We'd recommend it.
7. Philips Sonicare 7900
From: Philips
Now: £116.99 (50 off)
The suggested retail price is a bit ambitious: it generally retails for far less. Still, this is a good price but for one of the best app-connected brushes around.
8. Oral-B Genius X
From: AO.com
The price of the Genius X tends to fluctuate but right now, you can buy it from Amazon for £110. £90 is one of the lowest ever prices we've seen for this model.
The Genius X is a brilliant brush that we gave 4 out of 5 stars in our test. You can read our review here.
Was: RRP £300
Although the £300 RRP is unrealistic, the iO6 is getting a spot in our deal round-up as this is the cheapest way to get iO brushing technology. The price dropped to £100 over Black Friday but won't be going any lower than £110 for some time to come. Check out our review to find out more about its features.
10. Philips Sonicare ProtectiveClean 6100
Normally £125, we reckon the Sonicare 6100 is the best toothbrush you can buy right now without an app and at over £35 off, this is a solid deal. The catch? The deal is only on the pastel pink colour.
Electric toothbrush discounts: What to look for
Here's our guide to buying an electric toothbrush.
Types of electric toothbrush
There are two main types of electric toothbrush. First, there are mechanical brushes, which you might also see described as rotating, oscillating, pulsing, or a variation on the above. These work by rotating (or oscillating, or pulsing) the bristles on the brush head to remove plaque and clean teeth.
The second broad type of brushes are sonic. These vibrate rather than rotate, the idea being that they hit certain frequencies that break down plaque and help to drive toothpaste between your teeth. Philips Sonicare brushes are the best-known examples.
Finally, there are a few more recent brushes in a third category, but they're much less common: ionic. We've reviewed the Sanyei Ion-Sei, which claims to generate ions that stop bacteria from growing in your mouth. Clinical studies have shown good results but it's still early days for the technology.
Smart toothbrushes
More and more toothbrushes are now boasting smart features like Bluetooth and app support, with a few even claiming to be 'AI toothbrushes'. Take all of this with a pinch of salt - but still, the companion apps for brushes can be a great way to improve your brushing technique or monitor your child's.
Different brushes handle it in different ways, but the core functionality of most apps is to monitor where in your mouth you're brushing the most (and the least) and give you tips on how to give yourself a more thorough clean. The Oral-B Genius 9000 does this in a slightly awkward way by using your phone's camera to monitor your brushing, but newer brushes like the Oral-B Genius X and the iO use inbuilt sensors to detect the brush's position in your mouth.
They may even include games to encourage kids to move the brush to a new spot in their mouth to collect virtual coins or something similar, teaching them good brushing technique in an entertaining way. As you'd expect, there'll also be all sorts of stats tracked so you can monitor your progress and how often you brush.
Even if an app doesn't appeal, there are a few key features you might want to look for in a brush. One is a pressure sensor: this means that the brush will alert you (either with a light or a change in vibrations) when you're pressing down too hard with the brush, potentially damaging your teeth and gums.
The next concern is a brushing timer. Your brush will alert you every 30 seconds to move onto the next section of your mouth, making sure that you're brushing for long enough (two minutes is the total recommended amount of time) and not missing spots. Most people favour certain areas of the mouth, while neglecting others and a timer can help you break this habit.
Finally, look for brushes with multiple speeds or modes - especially if you have sensitive teeth - as these will allow you to adjust the power to suit your preferences. It's especially useful if you'll be sharing the brush with other family members (though please remember that everyone needs their own brush heads!).
The battery might not be an obvious concern when it comes to a toothbrush, but if you don't have a handy charging socket in your bathroom, it could make a massive difference in terms of day-to-day convenience. A long enough battery life will also save you from having to bring a charger with you on holiday.
Top brushes should last for a couple of weeks of twice-daily use, and we wouldn't recommend buying anything that won't run for at least a week. Even better, some modern brushes will charge by USB, which at least gives you more options for topping them up while travelling, and might compensate for a shorter battery life.
Replacement brush heads
There are two considerations with brush heads. First, what choice of brush heads will you get? With a big brand like Philips or Oral-B, odds are you'll be able to choose brush heads designed specifically for whitening, gum care or sensitive teeth. With a smaller brand, you're likely to be more limited.
Price is also a key factor. While the brush itself may be expensive, the bigger cost could end up being replacement brush heads. Again, big brands have the edge here: thanks to bulk manufacturing, they can sell brush heads for less, and you can usually find third-party duplicates at even better prices. Smaller brands like Sanyei just can't compete here.
So before you snap up a cheap brush, make sure you won't pay for it later when it comes to buying new brush heads.
Where to find smart toothbrush savings
As with most things, Amazon is one of the best places to look for toothbrush deals first, especially if you look in the Deals of the Day. These discounts are offered for a limited time (often for a few hours only), or until stocks run out. They're also known as Lightning Deals.
We'd recommend signing up to Amazon's 30 day free trial of Prime, which will not only get you access to Lightning Deals 30 minutes earlier than non-Prime members, but will also get you free next-day delivery. Plus, you'll get access to Prime Video, which you can access through your smart TV, and other benefits during your trial, too.
If you're in the UK, other great places to look include Argos, Currys, Boots, Superdrug, and Very. It's always worth keeping John Lewis in mind too - the company's price match policies mean you can often get the same value deal as that from another retailer, with better customer service and warranties.
Author: Emma Rowley, White Goods & Appliances Editor
Emma writes about home tech. She's interested in environmentally-conscious brands, and appliances that save time, money and improve our lives.
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