Which Is The Best U-Shape Toothbrush: AutoBrush or Sonicbrush?

Is the extra investment in an AutoBrush truly worth it? We’ve got the answer!


Post by: Melissa Hines

Hot take: using a manual toothbrush in 2023 is equivalent to using a flip phone in 2023 – you don’t want to be that person that’s still manually brushing their teeth twice a day.

But which electric toothbrush are you supposed to choose? There are a lot of options nowadays, but from my experience, there is only a handful to consider. And consider them I did.

I was on the hunt for a new *electric* toothbrush because my old one broke and I wanted something powerful, high quality and that offered a lot of value. I decided to give both AutoBrush and Sonicbrush a shot to see which one would be my new toothbrush for life. I’ll break down which was better (and which one you should get) below.

Brushing Power

AutoBrush: Brushing power is where AutoBrush is easily best in class. AutoBrush brushes use sonic technology that results in 35,000 vibrations per minute - which is 574 vibrations per second! That’s a lot. It’s safe to say that my teeth felt tangibly clean after brushing with AutoBrush.

I also love how with AutoBrush, since the toothbrush has a gap between the handle and head (essential for electric toothbrushes), the vibrations actually run through the head to the bristles to deliver an incredible but gentle clean. This definitely is not the case with Sonicbrush, as I found out.

Sonicbrush: While I still felt like I got a sufficient vibrations from my Sonicbrush, it wasn’t anywhere near the level of the cleaning I got from my AutoBrush. Sonicbrush uses similar sonic technology as AutoBrush, but with half of the power and without nylon bristles. So you don’t nearly get as much of a clean as you do with AutoBrush.

I also felt most of the vibrations from my Sonicbrush in my hand, not my mouth, which was weird to me. So I realized that there wasn’t a gap between the handle and the head of the brush like there is with AutoBrush.

Winner: AutoBrush

Brushing Experience

AutoBrush (Ended up buying one for my kid 😂): AutoBrush’s brush bristles are SO soft. This is important to me because my old brush had hard bristles that frequently made my gums bleed and caused a few infections. The bristles also are designed incredibly well - they’re tapered to get into the crevices between your teeth and gums better and remove more plaque.

I didn’t realize that you actually need to be gentle when brushing your teeth. Plaque is soft, not hard. My dentist told me to think about “wiping the plaque off” instead of “scrubbing the plaque off,” which makes sense now that I think about how AutoBrush is designed.

I'd also like to highlight that AutoBrush is backed by clinical research. In a clinical study conducted by SALUS Research (an ADA-accredited facility), AutoBrush users were measured against a control group of manual toothbrush users. The results found AutoBrush to be “statistically superior to ADA manual toothbrushes,” with AutoBrush users being 27 times better at removing plaque from the whole mouth. Facial gumline and lingual gumline reductions both exceeded 70%.

You can read more about the clinical study here.

Sonicbrush: My brushing experience with Sonicbrush was awful. The silicone bristles reminded me of my old facial brush (firm and not effective), which I didn’t love. Silicone bristles for brushing teeth DON'T WORK. In fact, there's a popular clinical study proving that silicone bristles is just as effective as not brushing at all. My gums did bleed a bit, but that might have been due to excess inflammation.

Without the gap between the head and handle that allows the brush head to move with the vibrations or nylon bristles, I had to manually scrub my teeth, which caused bleeding gums and discomfort. It also didn’t give me the full experience of what an electric toothbrush can offer – it almost made me feel like I was using a flip phone. It’s safe to say that AutoBrush definitely wins here.

Winner: AutoBrush

Value & Affordability

AutoBrush: One of the best parts about AutoBrush is that it runs on a rechargeable battery, so you never have to worry about buying replacement batteries. It comes with the entire charging kit and is very easy to charge. It also amazed me how AutoBrush has a 4-week battery life! A+, AutoBrush.

AutoBrush also has a lifetime warranty which is great to see – this shows me they stand behind their product quality and are confident in it.

Price-time: My AutoBrush costs $99, which at first seemed like a lot. I also signed up for replacement replenish pack to be delivered to me every 60 days for $45 a delivery (not bad). To me, the price seemed high, but in reality, AutoBrush is the type of brush that you buy once and then never have to think about buying a toothbrush ever again.

My AutoBrush also came with a 30 day money back guarantee. I'm not sure if that promotion is still running, but this helped ease me into the whole-mouth toothbrush concept.

Sonicbrush: Sonicbrush just slightly wins on price. It’s $70 for the brush and only $15 for the replacement silicone brush heads and battery. Sonicbrush also had a limited 14-day warranty.

Affordability Winner: Sonicbrush

Value Winner: AutoBrush (by a mile!)

The Ultimate Winner... AutoBrush.

After just one night of brushing with AutoBrush and Sonicbrush, I could tell there wasn’t much of a debate about which was better. AutoBrush wins by a mile. I was hoping to like Sonicbrush because of its cheaper price, but I once again learned that you get what you pay for, and AutoBrush is truly the best brush.

What’s more, AutoBrush has an amazing community of over 10k dental professionals (think hygienists and dentists) that test their brushes in each step of the development process, so it really didn’t surprise me that they are the best one out there without a doubt.

So, If you’re looking to step your toothbrush game up, then you should consider getting a AutoBrush today.

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