I remember the first time I bought a Philips Sonicare DiamondClean toothbrush I was blown away. Yes, spending $200 for a toothbrush was a hard concept to get used to, but after I brushed my teeth for the first time I felt like I had just come back from the dentist’s office. Not only that, before electric toothbrushes I’d sometimes spend 10 or 20 seconds brushing my teeth (which resulted in more cavities that I care to admit here). But my electric toothbrush “forced” me to spend a whole two minutes brushing.
How Philips Sonicare Quality Plummeted
And then, one and a half years after my purchase, my toothbrush just…stopped working. It wouldn’t take a charge. So what did I do? I dutifully went back to the old Bed Bath and Beyond and picked myself up a new one. But then I realized that I had a two year warranty. So I called them.
I was surprised; they did ask any questions, they didn’t ask me to send pictures or even send the unit back. They just packed up and sent me a new one.
It took me a few years to realize what was going on. And it’s the same story we’ve seen over and over again.
Philips didn’t invent the Sonicare toothbrush. A company called Optiva did. They made all of their toothbrushes out of the USA, in Washington State, and built up a reputation of being the best electric toothbrushes you can buy. Philips acquired them in 2000, and of course, immediately moved all production to China while keeping their price point high. Their strategy, of course, is that it’s cheaper to send customers refurbished (used) toothbrushes when they break vs. spending money on high quality manufacturing in the US.
Is Philips still made in China?
It’s maddening, but Philips does still make their high end lines out of China. But wisely, they’re starting to diversify some of their supply chain to Indonesia (I don’t believe for a second they’ve grown a conscience; I think now that they’ve become dependent on China, their contractors are just turning the screws.
Which other brands should I consider?
While Philips revolutionized the industry, Oral-B (owned by Proctor and Gamble) has come on strong as a competitor. Not coincidentally, while Philips was going all-in on China, Oral-B was manufacturing most of its toothbrushes out of Germany (thanks to P&G owning Braun as well) and quickly developed a reputation as being far superior than Philips.
Unfortunately, now that they’re successful, Oral-B appears to be moving its low-end products to China (will these corporations never learn?) The good news is that unlike Philips, it looks like they make some of their higher-end models out of Germany and Hungary.
As for brands other than Philips and Oral-B, there are a lot of new entrants to the market. Hot brands like SURI, Curaprox, and quip foolishly rushed to China, but there are others worth considering which I’ll highlight below.
The Best Electric Toothbrushes Not Made in China
1. Oral-B iO Series 10 Rechargeable Electric Toothbrush
This is Oral-B’s high end toothbrush, made in Hungary. If you’re looking for the best Oral-B toothbrush with the most advanced technology, this is it. With this model, you get fast charging, a pressure sensor that tells you if you’re brushing too hard or too soft, and a battery level indicator and brush time clock. All Oral-B toothbrushes have the distinctive round head, modeled after a dentist’s tools.
At $380, it’s not for everyone, but if you can afford it, it’s the best you can get. You can get it on Amazon or directly from Oral-B. Around Black Friday and times they’re looking to clear inventory you should be able to land it for $100 less.
Here are some other models to consider, based on the highest rated and best selling models on Amazon.
Oral-B Pro 1000 – This was actually named as Wirecutter’s #1 pick, but remember that Wirecutter makes its money when people click and buy from it—so they’re not going to recommend the iO Series 10 (which is by far the better model). But this one isn’t bad, and it’s very affordable at $50. It has over 4.6 stars on Amazon from over 73,000 reviews, so people seem to like it. It’s made in Germany (not the USA as the Amazon listing says).
Oral-B Smart 1500 – Here’s another one made in Germany. The “Smart” series is one level above the “Pro” series and includes features such as Bluetooth connectivity, connecting to an app, and more brushing modes, if those things are worth an extra $25 to you. This one has a rating of over 4.6 from over 19,000 reviews.
Oral-B Genius X Limited – The “Genius” series has more bells and whistles like the ability to track where you’ve brushed and pressure sensor feedback. Based on a customer Q&A and the response from a P&G rep, it looks like this one is still made in Germany. It retails for $200, but you can sometimes get it on sale for as low as $100.
Oral-B Genius 7500 – This one is also still listed as made in Germany. It retails for $135.
I’ve seen some sites on the Web that say that all toothbrushes marked as Pro, Smart, and some Genius models are definitely not made in China. What’s strange is that on Amazon you’ll find a lot of models that say they’re made in China. What’s happening here is likely that people are buying them from the Asia market and reselling them on Amazon—which is technically illegal but of course Amazon goes ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
My best advice with Oral-B is to 1) buy from an Amazon listing that lists out the country of origin clearly and send it back if you get one from China or 2) go to a brick and mortar store like Best Buy to read the box for yourself.
2. Philips Sonicare 5300 ProtectiveClean Rechargeable Electric Toothbrush
This Sonicare toothbrush is the best selling and highest rated Philips toothbrush on Amazon, and it clearly states that it’s made in Indonesia.
I splurged and ended up getting the DiamondClean 9700 a few years back when it was made in Indonesia as well, but Philips has started to hide the country of origin information again, leading me to conclude that they’re moving production back to China (where it’s been since at least 2018). Surely enough, I see Amazon reviews from their top of the line models, the Prestige 9900 and the DiamondClean 9750 as made in China again. Boo.
To be honest, there is really no difference between the 5300 (which is made in Indonesia) and those higher models as far as your tooth brushing goes. I paid an extra $200 to get the DiamondClean 9700 (when it was made in Indonesia) and all I got were gimmicks: a tongue brusher, a useless app, and maybe an extra brush head or two. If I could do it over again, I’d just go with the 5300.
Amazon customers are complaining that certain models like the 6100 that as recently as 2022 were made in Indonesia are now back to being made in China. The 6500 is still listed as made in Indonesia, so if you’re looking for a slightly higher end product, you can try that. Again, if they send you a China one, throw it back.
If you want to go a little lower end, the 5100 is still listed as made in Indonesia. At $80 it’s much more affordable.
3. Emmi-Dent Ultrasonic Toothbrush Set
If like me you’re getting a little sick of jumping through hoops to figure out which products that Proctor and Gamble and Philips sells are made in China or not. It’s maddening to do weeks and weeks of research on these products, only to find out a few months later that Oral-B or Sonicare have changed their manufacturing yet again.
The other utterly annoying thing about Oral-B and Sonicare is that they just keep pushing out more and more models with completely useless features, just to get people with FOMO to buy the latest and greatest. Philips has completely forgotten what made the original Optiva Sonicare so great, and Oral-B is fast on the road to forgetting how they beat Philips.
In the meantime, there are some companies that are truly innovating, and not surprisingly they’re not manufacturing out of China. One of these companies is Emmi-Dent, based out of Germany. It doesn’t use “sonic” vibrations nor “spinning”. It uses ultrasound technology which creates microscopic bubbles that “implode” and help to dislodge plaque and bacteria—without even having to move the bristles over the teeth! Reviewers have marveled at it, saying it’s like a “magic wand” or “something out of Star Trek”.
Not surprisingly, it’s German engineered and made in Germany. Of course, if it gets popular they’ll almost certainly run to China where China factories will steal their technology. But for now, it’s the only game in town.
Conclusion
There was another brand called Curaprox that I was going to recommend because one of its representatives said in February 2023 that the toothbrush and accessories were made in Lucerne, Switzerland. But I’m finding evidence that they’ve since moved production of the toothbrush to China. They’re still making the heads (which reviewers say are excellent for gum care) in Switzerland, but I’m afraid it’s only a matter of time before those move to China too. It’s sad that even now, companies still go to China where their intellectual property will be stolen.
Other than these, there aren’t a lot of choices. But as always, if you come across one that I missed, please let us know in the comments!
I also had a “made in USA” Philips Sonicare at the time. Great thing, worked perfectly. However, the large brushes were expensive and by mistake, assuming that the new one would also be made in USA, I bought the new model, which was made in China…
Immediately returned it and bought an OralB, which I have been using for a very long time now. Everyone here has an OralB, all made in Germany. Super quality at an affordable price.