More than half of all children in the US will develop a dental cavity by roughly the third grade, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Although using an electric toothbrush is not guaranteed to reduce dental issues, experts say a powered brush can make it easier for some kids to achieve good oral health habits.
For children using an electric toothbrush for the first time—or for anyone who prefers gentler vibrations and is okay with doing some manual brushing to achieve a complete cleaning—the Quip Kids Electric Toothbrush is a great choice.
The Philips Sonicare for Kids Sonic Electric Toothbrush and the Oral-B Kids Electric Toothbrush are more powerful (and louder and heavier) rechargeable brushes that do more of the brushing work than the Quip brush. The Philips Sonicare brush can sync wirelessly with an interactive app, which some brushers may find motivating.
Our pick
Quip Kids Electric Toothbrush
This non-rechargeable toothbrush has a two-minute timer and a streamlined brush head and handle. It’s lightweight, quiet, and gentle.
The AAA-battery-operated, vibrating Quip Kids Electric Toothbrush has the primary features our experts said a children’s brush needs: a smaller brush head and handle. These make it easier for young kids (or the adult helping) to manipulate the brush and reach small spaces in the back of the mouth. The Quip Kids Electric Toothbrush is the quietest, lightest, and—most important—gentlest brush we’ve tested, and it impressed our kid testers, who had various levels of experience with using an electric toothbrush. The built-in two-minute timer helps with encouraging kids to brush for the amount of time recommended by leading dental associations.
Specs
- Battery: AAA
- Refill cost: $7 (if you sign up to receive a new brush head every three months)
- Syncs to an app: no
Also great
If you want a kids electric toothbrush that recharges by plugging into a base (rather than relying on replaceable batteries), the Philips Sonicare for Kids Sonic Electric Toothbrush is a good option. Like the Quip brush, it vibrates, and it has a built-in two-minute timer. Unlike the Quip brush, its vibrations do much of the brushing action. This model pairs via Bluetooth with a fun and robust interactive app, which could be helpful for kids who need encouragement to brush. The Philips Sonicare brush has a much longer, heavier brush handle than the Quip Kids brush (it’s effectively adult-size) and larger brush heads (though you can buy compact-size replacement heads), so it may be too big for younger kids.
Specs
- Battery: rechargeable
- Refill cost: $10
- Syncs to an app: yes
Also great
Oral-B Kids Electric Toothbrush
This rechargeable brush has a small rotating brush head. It’s also a bit larger than our pick, but our kid testers still found it easy to manipulate. However, it is significantly noisier.
If your child doesn’t like the sensations produced by a vibrating toothbrush (which can feel unpleasant or ticklish to some), they may like the rotating Oral-B Kids Electric Toothbrush, which spins instead of vibrates—though it is noisier than the Quip and the Philips Sonicare brushes. This brush is a bit larger than the Quip brush, but it’s smaller than the Philips Sonicare brush. Like the Philips Sonicare model, the Oral-B Kids brush recharges by plugging into a base. Like our other picks, it has a two-minute timer. It doesn’t have an option to sync wirelessly to an app, which may be a pro or a con, depending on your needs and preferences.
Specs
- Battery: rechargeable
- Refill cost: $7
- Syncs to an app: yes
