This article was taken from the March 2013 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
How we tested
Dental hygienist Iben Rohde-Jensen tried out five electrically operated toothbrushes (battery and rechargeable). Using plaque tablets and brushing over a four-week period, Rohde-Jensen filled in scorecards for each one, showing the percentage of tooth surfaces still affected by plaque deposits. The reach of the brushes and their ability to remove decay-causing plaque were assessed, along with ease of use.
Oral B TriZone 3000
This model has three brush modes (Daily Clean, Polish and Sensitive), an anti-slip grip and a pressure sensor to indicate if you're brushing too hard. However, our tester, dental hygienist Iben Rohde-Jensen, noted that the sensor was a bit unresponsive, requiring "quite a bit of pressure before it activates". The tip of the brush head moves -- useful to reach <span class="s3">wisdom teeth -- and the longer bristles <span class="s2">reach in between teeth. A travel case and two brush heads are included.
Wired: Good choice of heads
Tired: Short charge life
Score: 7/10
Price: £99.95
*[
oralb.co.uk](https://www.oralb.co.uk/en-gb)*
Colgate ProClinical A1500
This design features a small brush head (with a lightweight, anti-slip handle) to get into hard-to-reach areas easily. Users select from three settings -- Auto, Optimum and Deep Clean. Rohde-Jensen found the Auto mode a little complicated to start with, as it has three speeds with three brush actions. The Deep Clean mode was too powerful, which is not ideal for sensitive teeth, but the Optimum mode was comfortable and the easiest to use.
Wired: Intelligent brush; 45-degree angle indicator
**Tired:**Uncomfortable Deep Clean mode; complicated to start
Score: 7/10
Price: £169.99
*[
colgate.co.uk](https://www.colgate.com/en-gb)*
Panasonic EW-DS11
At just 16cm tall and taking one AAA battery, this compact and lightweight "sonic" toothbrush is sized for travelling. The dual-edge brush head is small – useful when tackling hard-to-reach areas -- but it hardly vibrates at all. Rohde-Jensen suggests using it like a manual toothbrush, as "You can't rely on the vibrations alone to remove plaque."
Wired: Useful travel-sized form
Tired: <span class="s4">Not enough power for effective removal of plaque
Score: 2/10
Price: £39.99
*[
panasonic.co.uk](https://www.panasonic.com/uk/)*
30 Second Smile
This rechargeable toothbrush has two sets of brush heads - QVC claims its two-sided design reduces brushing time, allowing "a thorough clean in 30 seconds". The standard head was a little rough on gums, and Rohde-Jensen pointed out that, as the head is bulky, it's hard to reach the back molars. But it did remove a reasonable amount of plaque.
Wired: Battery life
Tired: Too quirky
Score: 4/10
Price: £38
*[
qvcuk.com](https://www.qvcuk.com/)*
Philips Sonicare DiamondClean
Sleek and stylish, this flexible model comes with two brush heads in two sizes. Rohde-Jensen felt having five cleaning modes (Clean, White, Polish, Gum Care and Sensitive) was a bit unnecessary. Its Sensitive mode was the best in our test for cleaning delicate gums and teeth.
Wired: Top-notch design and build; effective cleaning
Tired: Mode-option overkill
Score: 8/10
Price: £250
*[
sonicare.co.uk](http://www.sonicare.co.uk/)*
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
