• Skip to main content

Animated-Teeth.com

Helping consumers understand dentistry.

Important pages –All Oral-b
Models
Best
Oral-b’s
All Sonicare
Models
Best
Sonicares
Brand
Reliability
Rotary
Brushes
Why buy
a sonic?
Why buy an
electric brush?
All topics.  »All Electric Toothbrush pages.  »Comparing Sonicare and Oral-b effectiveness.

Sonicare vs. Oral-b: Which brand is more effective? | Which brand’s toothbrushes are better at removing dental plaque and improving gum health?

– Our review of dental research that’s evaluated the brushing effectiveness of Sonicare vs. Oral-b electric toothbrushes. How do they compare?

Which electric toothbrush brand has the more effective design, Oral-b or Sonicare?

We’ve been reporting about electric toothbrushes on our website’s pages for over 15 years. And during that timeframe, we’ve read through scores of published research studies that have evaluated the brushing effectiveness of both Sonicare and Oral-b powered toothbrushes.

And while that may seem impressive, what we have to report about what we’ve learned over the years really isn’t.

Spoiler alert #1: We tend to feel that Oral-b brushes probably have the more effective design.

That’s right, the phrase “probably have” is about all the more committal we feel we can get on this subject.

As we explain on this page, it’s our opinion that the studies that have been published on this subject are generally unimpressive. And collectively, they fail to provide substantial evidence that one brand is significantly more effective than the other in improving or maintaining oral health.

Spoiler alert #2: We’d never buy a new brush without considering current models from both brands.

Now, this sentence is one we can definitely feel strongly about. That’s because we think a lot of other factors need to be considered when selecting a powered brush other than just effectiveness. And with proper model selection, we’re certain that you can be effective using either brand, Sonicare or Oral-b.

FYI: What do you need to know when picking out an electric toothbrush? – We have a number of pages on our website that discuss issues that we feel are important to consider. For example:

  • Do you understand how the design of Sonicare and Oral-b toothbrushes differ? – How Sonicares work. | How Oral-b’s work. | Using one design may be naturally more intuitive for you than the other. And if so, that’s probably the better brand for you to own because you’ll be more likely to use that brush effectively.
  • Do you realize that not all Sonicare and Oral-b models create their company’s optimal brushing action? If not, you should read these pages: The best Sonicares. | The best Oral-b electrics.
  • And, of course, there’s always the issue if it’s even important for you to buy an electric toothbrush at all. Using an electric brush can be a valuable aid. But you can be just as effective with a manual one too if you’ll take the time to do so.

 


Sonicare vs. Oral-b: Which brand is more effective? – Research evidence and comparison.

The remainder of this page cites several research studies that have been conducted over the last few years that have evaluated the effectiveness of Oral-b vs. Sonicare powered toothbrushes. As you read along, we’ll point out why we’re so underwhelmed with the evidence available on this subject.

Study #1 –

Title: A 6-month randomized controlled trial evaluating a novel smart-connected oscillating-rotating toothbrush versus a smart-connected sonic toothbrush for the reduction of plaque and gingivitis.   Author: Goyal (2021)

Study findings: As results, this paper states …

“A significantly greater percentage of subjects in the O-R brush (Oral-b) group versus the sonic (Sonicare) brush group transitioned from ‘not healthy’ to ‘healthy’ gingivitis case status at week 24.”

▲ Section references – Goyal

Picture of Oral-B powered toothbrush.

Oral-B Pro 3000

Study #2 –

Title: Evaluation of an oscillating-rotating toothbrush with micro-vibrations versus a sonic toothbrush for the reduction of plaque and gingivitis: results from a randomized controlled trial.   Author: Adam (2020)
Study findings: As conclusions, this paper states …
“The novel O-R electric toothbrush with micro-vibrations (Oral-b’s best brushing action) provided greater plaque and gingivitis reductions than the marketed premium sonic (Sonicare) toothbrush over 8 weeks.”

▲ Section references – Adam

So, there you have it. Conclusive evidence that Oral-b makes more effective electric toothbrushes than Sonicare … Right?

Oh, did we mention that those studies were “sponsored” research?

What is sponsored research?

This term simply refers to the fact that some aspect of the study was paid for by an interested party, like a toothbrush manufacturer.

With the studies above, both papers clearly state (in their “conflict of interest” section) that some of the authors (people overseeing/conducting the research) are employees of The Proctor & Gamble Company. (That’s the maker of Oral-b toothbrushes.)

Is sponsored research necessarily bad or suspect?

No, sponsored studies can be well designed and objective, and therefore make a valid contribution to dental science.

However, we will point one thing out. Do you think these studies would have been submitted for publication if the Sonicare toothbrushes were found to provide superior results instead of Oral-b?

Only the authors can answer that question, or maybe just their bosses. And that kind of hints at how bias can be associated with sponsored research.

Picture of a Sonicare toothbrush.

Sonicare Electric Brush

Let’s move on to some other studies …

Study #3 –

Title: A Comparison of the Effect of Two Power Toothbrushes on the Reduction of Gingival Inflammation and Supragingival Plaque.   Author: Mirza (2019)
Study findings: This paper concluded that …
“The Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Smart powered toothbrush reduced gingival inflammation, gingival bleeding, and supragingival plaque significantly more than the Oral-B Genius 8000 powered toothbrush following a 42-day home-use period.”
OK, those are some different results. Now, let’s look at yet another study.

▲ Section references – Mirza

Study #4 –

Title: A Comparison of the Effect of Two Power Toothbrushes on the Gingival Health and Plaque Status of Subjects with Moderate Gingivitis.   Author: Starke (2017)

Study findings: This paper’s conclusions state …

“Philips Sonicare DiamondClean with Premium plaque control brush head (SPC) was statistically superior to the Oral-B 7000 with CrossAction brush head (OCA) in reducing gingival inflammation, gingival bleeding, and supragingival plaque following 14 and 42 days of home use.”

▲ Section references – Starke

Ok, those two studies definitely came to different conclusions. So, maybe Sonicare is the better brand vs. Oral-b?

Oh, did we mention that these studies were “sponsored” too?

Yes, that’s right. Both of these studies clearly state that some of the authors are employees of Philips Oral Healthcare, the maker of Sonicare products.

???

Like we stated above, there’s nothing inherently bad about research being sponsored. But in general, here’s our take on the current state of affairs in this field.

How studies get conducted.

Selling powered toothbrushes is a big business, really, a giant business. And (especially) the two dominant manufacturers in the field (the makers of Sonicare and Oral-b toothbrushes) are searching for any evidence they can present to consumers to sway them into thinking that their brand’s design is more effective than their competitors.

In their quest, these companies are eager to sponsor any study that has the potential to shed a favorable light on their products. And it’s our impression that this kind of research makes up the bulk of studies that wind up getting conducted.

What would you expect to see if one brand is clearly better?

It would be our conjecture that if one brand’s toothbrush design really is substantially more effective than the others that this fact would have become apparent a long time ago.

And a part of that evidence would be that it would be very difficult for the less effective brands to come up with a study design/premise that would be capable of showing their product in a favorable light. But as you’ve seen above, that’s not the case. Studies seem to demonstrate that both brands are the more effective one.

What we’d like to find in published research.

If/when some new/significant advancement in toothbrush design/effectiveness really has become evident, we’d expect that you would see a lot of independent researchers jumping in with their own studies, not just sponsored authors.

We’d expect to see excitement and interest throughout the whole dental community in documenting and promoting this new best thing for patients. And it’s our impression that that’s just not the case. This field seems dominated by interested players (toothbrush manufacturers), each constantly trying to shift the scrimmage line back and forth with each new study they fund.

As a final example, were going to mention this study.

Study #5 –

Title: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies comparing oscillating-rotating and other powered toothbrushes.   Author: Clark-Perry (2020)

This type of study is referred to as a “literature review.” For a review, the authors will:

Step 1 – Define an objective. In this case, that was:

“To compare the efficacy of rotating-oscillating heads (like Oral-b) VS sonic (like Sonicare) action heads powered toothbrushes on plaque accumulation and gingival inflammation.”

Step 2 – They’ll then sort through published research. In this case, only studies published from 2009 up to March of 2019 were considered.

Step 3 – They will then select from all of the studies they’ve discovered only those that meet their inclusion criteria. (That includes issues like, does the study have a valid design? And, what level of bias is associated with the study?)

Here’s a surprise.

When performing this review, the authors only identified 12 studies that met their inclusion standards.

Note: In a span of a decade, only 12 studies were found to be worthy of consideration? That should give you an idea of the (poor) state of affairs of dental research evaluating the effectiveness of electric toothbrushes.

The review’s findings.

As conclusions, the paper stated this:

“There is some evidence to suggest that OR (oscillation-rotation, like Oral-b) powered toothbrushes might remove more plaque and reduce the number of bleedings sites (a measure of gum health) better than other powered toothbrushes, specifically, sonic action toothbrushes (like Sonicare).

▲ Section references – Clark-Perry

Our conclusions about the compared effectiveness of Sonicare vs. Oral-b powered toothbrushes.

For us, the conclusions stated by this last study, the review, sums things up just fine for us too. We think that any evidence that suggests that Oral-b makes more effective toothbrushes than Sonicare is just marginal, although that may be the case.

But in that belief, and as mentioned above, we would let other factors (unit design, features, cost, availability, etc…) have equal weight in our decision in selecting a brush. That’s because, bottom line, we don’t think which brand you choose will matter significantly. Both Oral-b or Sonicare can make a good, effective choice.


Pictures of Sonicare electric toothbrushes.

Our affiliate links can be used to shop for Sonicare products. We participate with both Amazon.com  and  Walmart.com programs.

Disclosure:  Sales stemming from our affiliate links earn a commission for our website, although without any additional cost to you.


 
Page details –Last update:  May 22, 2021Authored by  Animated-Teeth Staff Dentist

What's next?

Full menu for topic:  Powered Toothbrushes

  • Sonicare Toothbrushes Pages -
    • The Sonicare toothbrush lines. - A review of features. Comparisons.
      • Review - The 9900 Prestige toothbrush
    • Which are the best Sonicare models? - Our take on which Sonicares offer the best value.
    • How sonic toothbrushes work. / Effectiveness. - Details about sonic toothbrush technology.
  • Sonicare Features Pages -
    • Sonicare brush heads - Designs and styles. Which are best?
      • Sonicare's BrushSync explained.
    • Sonicare brushing modes - Which are the most important to have?
    • Additional Sonicare features - UV brush head sanitizer, battery types, charger units, travel features.
  • Oral-b Toothbrushes Pages -
    • The Oral-B rechargeable lines - A review of features. Comparisons.
      • Review - Oral-B iO Series 9, 8, 7, & 6 toothbrushes
    • Which are the best Oral-b models? - Our take on which Oral-b's offer the best value.
  • Oral-b Features Pages -
    • Oral-b brush heads - Designs and styles. Which are best?
    • Oral-b brushing modes - 3D vs. 2D / What's important?
    • Additional Oral-b features - Smartphone app, wireless Smartguide, timers, brushing pressure indicators, charging units, battery types.
  • More about electric toothbrushes pages -
    • Sonicare vs. Oral-b - Which brand is more effective? - What does dental research say?
    • Sonicare vs. Oral-b - Which brand is more reliable? - Our take on this issue.
    • Powered vs. Manual toothbrushes - Do you really need an electric toothbrush?
    • Rotary electric toothbrushes - Rota-dent, Interplak, Braun Oral B. Design differences.
    • The best electric toothbrushes for Senior Citizens. - Applications. What to look for.
Page Top

 Page references sources: 

Adam R, et. al. Evaluation of an oscillating-rotating toothbrush with micro-vibrations versus a sonic toothbrush for the reduction of plaque and gingivitis: results from a randomized controlled trial.

Clark-Perry D, et. al. Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies comparing oscillating-rotating and other powered toothbrushes.

Goyal CR, et. al. A 6-month randomized controlled trial evaluating a novel smart-connected oscillating-rotating toothbrush versus a smart-connected sonic toothbrush for the reduction of plaque and gingivitis.

Mirza F, et. al. A Comparison of the Effect of Two Power Toothbrushes on the Reduction of Gingival Inflammation and Supragingival Plaque.

Starke M, et. al. A Comparison of the Effect of Two Power Toothbrushes on the Gingival Health and Plaque Status of Subjects with Moderate Gingivitis.

All reference sources for topic Electric Toothbrushes.

More about Electric Toothbrushes.Related SubjectsSearchPage Top

Animated-Teeth.com© 2000–2022   WMDS, Inc.
Disclaimer and Terms & Conditions of UsePrivacy & Cookie PolicyAbout Us