Oral-B iO Series 4 Electric Toothbrush with (1) Brush Head, Rechargeable, White

Why it's worth it

The iO Series 4 uses the same magnetic-drive oscillating-rotating head as the Series 9 but drops the color display down to a light ring and cuts the modes from seven to four. For most mouths, the clean is indistinguishable.

This is the brush we'd buy for the money. The head, the motion, and the pressure sensor are the parts that do the clinical work, and the iO 4 has all three. What you give up is the color screen, three modes you'd rarely touch, and the fancier travel case. Wirecutter's long-running pick was the Oral-B Pro 1000 for exactly this reason — the plainest handle that still carried the clinically validated basics. The iO 4 is the modern version of that argument.

The four modes cover the real cases: Daily Clean, Sensitive, Super-Sensitive, and Whitening. If you've just had a deep cleaning or your gums bleed easily, Super-Sensitive is the mode you'll want, and it's absent from plenty of pricier brushes. The light-ring timer turns green when you've hit two minutes, so you get pacing without needing to look at a screen.

From our review of 8 dentist-recommended electric toothbrushes, by Eleanor Vance, Health & Beauty Editor

What we like

• +This is the brush we'd buy for the money
• +The four modes cover the real cases: Daily Clean, Sensitive, Super-Sensitive, and Whitening
• +Because it takes the same iO heads as the Series 9, a household can share one supply

What to know

• –Charging problems come up more than we'd like
• –It ships with one brush head, and the box is plainer than the Series 9's