Electric toothbrushes do a much better job cleaning teeth than old-style manual brushes. This is especially important for kids, who need to build habits for a lifetime of good dental health. I have been using electric toothbrushes for a long time, so I decided to make a buying guide to help you choose the best electric toothbrush for your kids.
There are many electric toothbrushes on the market now, and it’s hard to know which one is right for you.
The major manufacturers each have quite a few models and it’s often difficult to tell how one differs from the next. In this section, I will talk about the different features and aspects of electric toothbrushes and discuss how important they are in terms of overall performance.
Electric toothbrushes can get expensive, so you need to be informed before you make a decision.
Our Favorite Electric Toothbrushes For Kids
- KidTimer extends brushing time each day until dentist recommended 2 minutes is reached
- KidPacer alerts the child to move to the next quadrant of the mouth to ensure a thorough cleaning
- 75% more effective than manual toothbrushes in hard to reach places
- Its distinct shape allows the toothbrush head to surround each tooth for individual cleaning
- With a waterproof handle, this electric toothbrush uses a Sensitive Clean toothbrush head for a gentle brushing
- Makes it a breeze for your kids to develop healthy brushing habits
- Kids battery toothbrush for children ages 3+
- Rotating PowerHead reaches, surrounds, and thoroughly cleans multiple surfaces
- Raised center-row bristles help clean chewing surfaces
- Making Brushing Teeth Fun with SpongeBob and Patrick!
- Kids Battery Powered Toothbrush Helps Kids Brush Better
- Slim, Easy to Hold Handle for Kids
Who Can Benefit From An Electric Toothbrush?
In addition to their deeper clean, electric toothbrushes have a few extra features that manual ones lack. The most important of these is the two-minute timer, which helps you brush for the right amount of time.
Before I got an electric toothbrush I thought I hit that time, however it turned out I was falling short at less than one minute. Your children are likely to be similar – they aren’t brushing for as long as they should.
Of course, everyone benefits from better brushing – it prevents cavities and expensive root canals, which are a kid’s (and parent’s) nightmare!
What Electric Toothbrushes Do
There are two main ways to categorize these brushes – those which use disposable batteries and those which are rechargeable.
Each has their own advantages. The rechargeable kind is useful because you don’t need to buy replacement batteries, however you do need to remember to charge it.
Brushes with disposable batteries present an ongoing expense as you need to replace the batteries on a regular basis.
In any case, the power source drives a motor, which rotates and vibrates the head of the brush. This gives you a better clean than manual brushes.
Most brushes also have some other features that use the power, such as a timer, sound and lights. Brushes that have more features tend to use more power, so you will need to charge or replace the batteries more often.
All of these features can be overwhelming at first, but you use an electric toothbrush just like a manual one. All you have to do is turn it on and brush as you would normally. Most designs nowadays have on/off switches instead of buttons which must be held down.I really like that because it’s just easier. The electric ones tend to be a little heavier, which might be a surprise to kids if they are not expecting it.
Be aware that they could drop the brush. I have selected sturdy and robust brushes that won’t break to help deal with this issue.
How To Brush Your Kid’s Teeth With An Electric Toothbrush
How To Choose An Electric ToothbrushThere are a lot of things that differentiate the electric toothbrushes on the market. First of all, there’s price.
The cheapest decent models start at around $50, and they go up from there with higher-end models reaching the hundreds. If you have more than one child, then you are going to want to take this into account.
You also need to think about replacement brushes. Just like manual brushes, the heads on electric toothbrushes need to be changed because the bristles wear down. I usually replace mine about every 3 months. Every model and brand has different brushes.
Pro Tip
Change your electric toothbrush heads every 3 months. After that time if you brush your teeth several times daily, they stop being effective. (source)
If you have a favorite kind of brush, then you will want a toothbrush that can load the appropriate head. Sometimes this is more than just a personal preference. If your kids have braces, then you will want a softer set of bristles. The same goes for if your children have sensitive teeth.
Battery life does not differ a whole lot between the main brands. You can usually get at least a week out of one charge or one set of batteries. Remember that for rechargeables, you need to run the battery all the way down at least once every six months.
Think about the features you really need, because they are a big contributor to the price. For example, some higher end brushes have multiple cleaning speeds. I don’t think these are hugely important, but again if you are dealing with sensitive teeth, a lower speed might help.
The timer is the most important feature. Lights, music, and so on are all extras – the timer is essential.
Next up, I will review five brushes so that you can see what to look for in the best electric toothbrush for kids.
Our Favorite Electric Toothbrushes For Kids
Philips
Philips Sonicare Sonic for Kids This is the little brother of the Philips brush I listed above. It has basically the same set of features and a very similar design, with the difference being that it does not have or use an app. It is a little cheaper than the HX6321. Look here if you need more brush heads.
Oral-B
Oral-B Pro-Health For Me The Health For Me brush is pretty similar to the Philips HX6321. It has a timer, an app, and lots of Disney branding. The brush is tough and comes with extra brush heads out of the box. See here for extra brush heads.
Philips
Philips Sonicare for Kids HX6321/02This Philips brush comes with an app that you can use to encourage kids to brush correctly. It’s a sonic brush, which is supposed to give it a deeper clean, but I never noticed much of a difference.
Oral-B
Oral-B Pro-Health Power Kids This is a budget model of electric toothbrush. It has Monsters Inc branding, which I love. The brush head cannot be replaced and the brush uses a AA battery, though, and I don’t love that. This is basically a disposable brush that you only keep for about three to six months, tops.
Colgate
Colgate Kids Sponge Bob Here is Colgate’s version of the cheap electric toothbrush. It take two AA batteries to work, and like the Oral B this brush is disposable. There are many different designs available. 
our #1 rated
Pros
If you don't like the app system
get this one and save a bit of money.
The timer is very intuitive
Has a high and low power mode (good for braces and sensitive teeth)
Sturdy
will resist drops
Cons
Comes with a few stickers but not much else to make it 'fun'
Quadrant notifications are too quiet for my taste
The grip is a little awkward to hold in my opinion
our #2 rated
Pros
The Disney branding will appeal to kids
The soft default brush head is perfect for children's mouth
Comes with multiple heads
Sturdy for the price
Timer + Quadrant notification
Cons
Louder than most other brushes
No way to tell it is charging properly
Hard to find heads for it
The app is clunky
our #3 rated
Pros
KidTimer ensures a full 2 minutes of cleaning
Kidpacer tells the kids when to switch quadrants
Comes with stickers for customisation
Comes with an app you can use to incentivize proper brushing
Rechargeable battery that uses included case
Replacement heads are well priced if you buy in bulk.
Cons
Not exactly sure what Sonic Action does
The app sometimes feels like more work than it's worth when you already have a timer
Only comes with 1 brush head so get a few more right away
our #4 rated
Pros
It is extremely cheap so you don't risk much if your kids don't like it
The design is cute and fun and I think kids who like Monster Inc will love it
Comes with a 2 minute timer
Nice soft brush head
Cons
Won't last very long
I don't like that it uses AA Batteries (toxic trash)
Non swappable heads
our #5 rated
Pros
Cheap
effective and gets the job done
Basic 2 minute timer
Very appealing design and characters
Cons
You get what you pay for
this will only last a few months
If you order online
you don't actually get to chose the design
Conclusion
Out of all of these five, I like the Philips HX6311/07 as the best electric toothbrush for kids. I think it has the most value and is lacking only the app, which I find superfluous.
It has soft bristles, a timer, a strong motor, a decent price, and a durable case.
The price point is not bad either, especially if you share one base between multiple children and just swap heads.
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