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After six years in development, the new Oral-B iO aims to be the Tesla of electric toothbrushes. According to the company, the way it achieves this is by incorporating "more than 250 patents from around the world" and "employing a frictionless magnetic drive to distribute energy more efficiently to the tips of the bristles." Translation: The vibrating, spinning, oscillating brush bristles effectively and quietly clean and polish without rattling the entire head. And the discreet, round brush head wraps around your teeth, especially the back molars, better than other designs. Meanwhile, a smart sensor (which the brand calls artificial intelligence) tracks your brushing, and the Oral-B app, synced to the toothbrush via Bluetooth, tracks it all and acts as your virtual coach. Details are as follows.

If you had asked me 5 years ago about gum care, I would have had zero opinion on it. I flossed (opens in new tab). I brushed. I went to the dentist twice a year. I even tried Crest Whitestrips (opens in new tab) several times. Pregnancy changed everything. The hormones (including progesterone) that make your skin glow, your body strong, and your moles darken, ravage your gums. My gums swelled, reddened, and often bled during two pregnancies and the year of breastfeeding that followed. And like the rest of my body, my gums will never be the same. (Before we were all quarantined for the coronavirus, my family dentist put me on a four-month cleaning schedule. This was costly and generally unpleasant. But I paid the price: suddenly my gums became inflamed and began to feel sensitive for days, sometimes weeks at a time (probably a reflection of my general lockdown nature). Flossing and brushing with another well-established electric toothbrush seemed to have little effect on my gum rage. Then the iO appeared before me (literally, a trial model was sent to the editorial office).

It was not love at first sight. The box seemed too big, and the toothbrush was pitch black, in stark contrast to most of my bathroom essentials (there are other colors too). There were also lots of bells and whistles: do I need a colored light to let me know I'm brushing too hard? Apparently you do need it. This turned out to be one of my favorite features. The menu of brushing programs includes Sensitive, Whitening, and Gum Care. This is also useful. A digital interface that smiles at you when you brush for two whole minutes" Most surprisingly, I was hooked on this.

What I can live without, however, is the app that comes with it. In fact, I had been using the toothbrush for over a month before downloading it to write this article. While the app does provide reminders to replace the brush head and track brushing performance over time, I found it distracting. Also, the information provided (i.e., which areas I spent the most time brushing) was not always accurate. Maybe it's just me, but I don't need another reason to hang onto my iPhone. Apps aside, this product is a winner: after one use, my teeth felt smooth and clean. Much cleaner; within a week, my gums felt calmer and calmer looking. And now, it's been over a month and I haven't had a single gum irritation.

Sure, $200 for a toothbrush (up to $300 for models with more features) is expensive. But if I can keep a smile on my face between cleanings, it's worth it in my book.