Which Kind of Electric Toothbrush Is Better: Rotating or Sonic? - Consumer Reports (2024)

So which one does a better job at cleaning your teeth?

They are probably about equal—and it’s definitely possible to achieve great dental hygiene with either. But the answer to this seemingly simple question stilldepends a lot on whom you ask.

Follow the Money

The company-funded studies evaluating different types of electric toothbrushes tend to involve panels of people who use the brush they’re testing for anywhere from a few days to several weeks or even months. The study participants are evaluated on various measures of dental health, like the amount of plaque on their teeth or level of gingivitis they have, at the start and end of the study.

While industry-funded research shouldn’t be discounted—after all, most pharmaceutical research is funded by big companies, too—it’s fair to be skeptical, especially when outcomes seem to confirm the result a company would want.

Eric G. Campell, PhD, a professor of medicine at the Anschutz School of Medicine at the University of Colorado, has spent much of his career studying financial conflicts of interest in medicine and research. “The research that I and most of my colleagues have done at this point is largely settled,” he says. “Studies that are funded by companies, if published, are significantly more likely to have results that favor both the safety and the efficacy of the company’s product.”

One way that scientists make sense of a lot of individual studies with conflicting results is to gather data from multiple studies into one, in what’s called a systematic review. But on the question of the best electric toothbrush type, even systematic reviews come to opposite conclusions sometimes.

For example, when I reached out to Procter & Gamble for a comment on how consumers can make sense of this conflicting research, a spokesperson pointed me to a systematic review published in the journal Healthcare in 2024, which was conducted byindependent scientists. That review found that the majority of studies in their analysis found an advantage to oscillating brushes specifically for cleaning plaque in between teeth.

When I reached out to Philips with the same question, the senior manager of professional relations and education at Philips Oral Healthcare, registered dental hygienist Cindy Sensabaugh, pointed out that both types of brushes are more effective than a manual brush. She added that the vibrations created by Philips brushes help users clean hard-to-reach areas and that the brush head shape—rectangular rather than circular—may help consumers more easily transition from a manual to a powered toothbrush.

It is indeed possible to find independent systematic reviews that come out in favor of sonic brushes like those made by Philips. One such review, published in 2022 in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, found that sonic toothbrushes had the edge over the oscillating kind for plaque removal and gum inflammation.

To cut through the confusion, I turned to Cochrane, an international network of researchers and professionals that conducts systematic reviews, which is generally considered to be the gold standard for this kind of research.

Fortunately for consumers, there’s a Cochrane review that directly compares different mechanisms of electronic toothbrushes. Its result? The Cochrane researchers conclude that it’s essentially a draw.

“The findings of this review do not support the use of any particular mode of action for powered brushes,” the authors wrote. They did note that the data appear to show a slight advantage to oscillating toothbrushes over sonic ones for plaque reduction and gingivitis. But it’s so small that the researchers couldn’t say whether the statistical difference in performance actually translated into a meaningful difference in dental health outcomes for users.

In other words, the results weren’t clear enough to make a recommendation either way.

So How Should You Choose?

To get some practical advice, I put this question to several dental professionals. Even if the research is still divided, these experts often tend to recommend one kind—though, of course, dental professionals sometimes have potential conflicts of interest too.

Jennifer Harmon, a registered dental hygienist who teaches dental hygiene at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told me she tends to prefer the oscillating type. “I find it adapts better around the crowns of teeth,” she says. (Harmon has received a speaking fee in the past from P&G, which makes oscillating toothbrushes.)

On the other hand, Sally Cram, DDS, a periodontist and a spokesperson for the American Dental Association, tends to recommend sonic brushes, especially for her patients with gum problems. She says the high frequency of the brush’s vibrations means that sonic types “really do get into nooks and crannies that some other brushes can’t.” (Cram said she has no financial relationship with any dental companies.)

Still, in a lot of ways, the question of which brush is best for you comes down to personal preference. Harmon says that with patients and dental hygiene students, “We encourage students and patients to try both,” she says. What matters most is how you use the brush. “Do you understand how to use that specific brush, and how effective are you while using it?”

Martha McComas, a registered dental hygienist and clinical associate professor at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry, says something similar. “It is really heavily dependent on the user,” she says. “You can have the greatest $200 toothbrush that you want, and if you’re not using it properly, it’s not going to do any better job than someone who’s using a manual toothbrush effectively.” (McComas sits on the advisory board for the dental company Curaden, which makes sonic toothbrushes, though she says she receives no financial compensation for that.)

Consumer Reports rates electric toothbrushes, and one advantage for consumers is that we don’t have a conflict of interest when it comes to brands. We’re an independent nonprofit, we buy all the products we test ourselves, and we don’t accept any advertising.

Our testing involves participants who skip all brushing and dental hygiene for 12 hours and then use one of the toothbrush models we’re testing. A trained technician measures their plaque levels before and after brushing. It turns out that our results also show there’s no clear winner when it comes to sonic and oscillating toothbrushes. Among our six recommended toothbrushes, three are oscillating and three are sonic.

Best Rotating and Sonic Toothbrushes

Members can see all of our rated electric toothbrushes. Below are our top-rated rotating and sonic toothbrushes.

How to Use an Electric Toothbrush Correctly

What matters most is that you brush regularly and brush right.

McComas says a common mistake people often make with an electric toothbrush is using it essentially the same way they would a manual—making little brushing motions back and forth. But this can actually limit the amount of added benefit you get from the brush making its own many tiny swipes of your teeth.

Instead, you should hold the brush against your teeth, angled about 45 degrees from the surface. Make sure you clean each tooth for a few seconds on the front and back and biting surface. McComas suggests taking your time and making a few passes over the same areas to make sure you don’t miss any spots, in much the same way as you might overlap lines when mowing a lawn.

Finally, many electric toothbrushes have 2-minute timers. Make use of that feature so that you don’t shortchange yourself on cleaning time.