Lateral or rotary. Rotary action brushes clean by oscillating whereas lateral models vibrate from side to side.

We recommend electric toothbrushes with a CHOICE Expert Rating of 80% or more.

The CHOICE Expert Rating is made up of ease of use (volunteer trialists) (45%), feel (volunteer trialists) (45%) and ease of charging (10%).

We ask trialists to rate how easy to is to remove and attach the heads, adjust modes and turn each brush on and off.

Triallists select a brush based on rotary or lateral brushing preferences, then assess how 1) the toothbrush feels to hold and use, 2) how well it comfortably reaches all areas of the mouth and 3) how the brush feels against teeth, gums, tongue etc while in use.

We assess charging method, clarity of charge notifications such as LED lights, and how easy it is to plug and unplug each toothbrush to charge.

Number of days brushing you will get from a full charge, based on two-minute cleaning sessions twice per day.

This is the recommended retail price.

Recommended retail price per pack.

The replacement cost of individual brush heads. Many are only available in multipacks of two or more. Individual cost is calculated by dividing the cost of the pack by the number of heads included.

Brushes that don't allow you to change the head will mean you'll have to replace the entire unit up to four times a year.

Shop Ethical rates the environmental and social impact of the company (not the product) using independent sources. This rating is not included in our total score. The rating ranks from A (highest) to F (lowest); N/A means there is no rating for that company.

The number of replacement heads included in the pack with the toothbrush.

Weight of the electric toothbrush in grams.

This shows you when you should recharge your toothbrush.

A timer will either indicate when to move the brush to a different part of your mouth, or when you have passed the recommended two-minute clean.

Preset operating duration. Some models have a range of operating times depending on the cleaning mode.

Automatically turns off the motor when the brush duration is reached.

An alert that prompts you to start brushing the next section of your mouth. This column lists the number of intervals and their duration.

Helps prevent gum damage by detecting when you're brushing too hard and reducing the movement action of the toothbrush.

Total number of brush modes e.g. sensitive, deep clean, whiten.

Some heads use bristles that slowly fade to white over time, indicating that they need to be changed.