Oral-B iO Series 9 review

We reviewed this electric toothbrush through several weeks of use twice daily. It was also taken away on trips to test its portability. All this meant lots of charge cycles as well as plenty of use with the app.

All the settings were tried and evaluated throughout use and assessed for cleaning power.

Setup for this toothbrush is relatively simple, if you stick to the basics. Packaging is minimal and easy to access, so you can attach your included brush head to the body right away and pop it on the magnetic dock before plugging in using the razor-socket style power plug.

Note, if you don’t have a two-pin socket you will need an adapter to plug this into a standard three-pin UK wall socket.

The brush will likely arrive with a little charge, so you may be able to get brushing right away. If not, it charges fast, so the wait won’t be long.

In the box you get the toothbrush, one head, a head carry case, a travel case with separate charger cable, plus that magnetic charging dock.

There is also an app that works with the toothbrush to offer you feedback, guidance and live brushing information. This can easily be downloaded and installed on a phone or tablet and simply requires you to sign up with an email address to get the most out of it.

The Oral-B iO Series 9 is undeniably well designed, from the aesthetics right through to the inner workings. While the brush handle is similar to other models, you will notice a distinct lack of rubber.

Instead, it features a matte finish that looks attractive and offers a good grip without the cleaning issues that rubber can create – dirt tends to cling to rubber much more.

The iO-specific heads might mean a higher cost longer term, but they work extremely well and are super simple to pop on and off. This makes them easy to keep clean and it’s also useful when travelling, when they need to be removed to fit in the travel case.

The brush heads themselves have bristles of varying lengths, which are angled in such a way as to provide the maximum coverage of your teeth, as well as in between and across gums.

The base is metal, which gets far less grime on it than rubber models, and also sits easily on the magnetic charging dock. That said, a small knock will dislodge it, so in that way it’s less stable than the more affordable models with non-magnetic docks.

It’s worth noting that this is a lightweight toothbrush which sits comfortably in the hand and even when at full power offers very little vibrations to the wrist and hand.

Then there’s the LCD display, which is bright, colourful and clear. Although it might seem to be a gimmick, it proved to be genuinely useful, as did the LED colour ring, which offers varying feedback during use. More on both of those in the usability section below.

Use the Oral-B iO Series 9 once and you will immediately feel the difference compared with even the very best models with standard oscillations. This is thanks to the combination of oscillations and micro-vibrations that leave your teeth feeling extra smooth when you run your tongue over them afterwards.

Going from a top-end Oral-B Pro brush to this iO range feels like going from a regular toothbrush to an electric. The only other time we had felt a similar finish was after a visit to the hygienist for a professional clean. 

That said, this is a powerful brush that can leave the mouth a little sensitive after a few days. Changing mode to a gentler option helped alleviate this, and after a few days we were able to go back to full power.

On the subject of modes, there are seven to pick from: Daily Clean, Sensitive, Super Sensitive, Intense+, Whiten, Gum Care, and Tongue Clean, all of which allow you to tackle specific needs and get the best possible clean. 

When it comes to stains, the brush performs admirably. Whether tackling red wine, coffee or tea, it brings a visible shine to teeth. Combining it with a charcoal-based toothpaste results in visible whitening, too.

For sensitive areas, such as crowns or fillings, the brush head feels adaptive, meaning it can get around “obstacles” to offer deep cleans in cracks and around teeth without discomfort or sacrificing the quality of the end result.

The inclusion of feedback via the LED rings, an emoji reaction on the brush display, and optional app comments, combine to have you cleaning with this perfectly. But more on that next.

The Oral-B iO Series 9 toothbrush is immediately comfortable to the touch and to hold while brushing. The grip is good, and it has an ergonomic design that’s suited to either hand, with a lightweight build that’s easy on the wrist.

This is ideal as you’ll be compelled to go the distance and use this for the full dentist-recommended two minutes. The brush makes this easy, with vibrating alerts every 30 seconds to prompt you to move between the four mouth quadrants.

Where this brush stands out from the rest, as many others also offer the same vibration timer, is that it has a screen to show the times and LED alerts. While the LED light ring can be changed to any colour you like, which is nice for personalisation, it’s the alert colours that really make a difference.

If you push too hard, the light will turn red; too light and it’ll go blue, while brushing at the right pressure will retain your chosen light ring colour. It all means you should maintain the correct brushing pressure throughout.

Once you’ve finished, the LCD screen lets you know just how well, or poorly, you’ve done, displaying a cute little face that’ll either have an eyebrow raised for poor, a smiling face for ideal, or smiling with stars in the eyes for achieving a particularly thorough clean.

While all these alerts are fantastic as a way to ensure you get the most out of the brush, you can also go further with the app. Fire this up and the brush will detect which area you’re brushing and show how much you have covered in each sector.

This is motivating and impressively accurate, but perhaps is something you’ll get bored with quickly, reverting to the simpler alerts of the brush alone.

The Oral-B iO Series 9 battery life is good, but not market-leading, giving you a full two weeks from one charge with the recommended twice-daily two-minute brushing sessions.

The LCD display will let you know, after each brush, how much battery you have left, so it’s easy to keep on top of this. Then recharging is easy.

The magnetic dock makes placement of the brush a simple task and it begins charging right away, with a helpful display that shows how much it’s charged.

Unlike many other brushes, this model offers fast charging. We found this got us from empty to 55% in just one hour, then to full in under three hours. 

When it comes to travelling, the case has its own built-in charger with dedicated cable, so you don’t need to worry about carrying your dock with you.

Although only being able to carry one head isn’t ideal – if you were about to come to the end of its life and have a longer trip planned. Although the inclusion of the head carry case fixes this while keeping that main travel case as small as possible.

As mentioned previously, both charger cables have two-pin bathroom-style heads, so you either need to have a bathroom socket or an adapter to use these.

There’s no denying this is a very expensive electric toothbrush. However, when you consider this gets you as close as possible to a pricey hygienist clean, the investment starts to look more worthwhile. The sensation of polished teeth on your tongue after a brush is almost worth the price alone.

Being Oral-B, you can expect the iO Series 9 to last years – so the price per use could be very good value over time. However, the iO replacement brush heads are a premium price, so you’ll need to take those into consideration.

While it is expensive, it’s still cheaper than the iO Series 10, which is an identical toothbrush only with a different dock and a few minor upgrades.

So you pretty much get the best brush Oral-B makes here, at a slightly less than top-end price now its prices have dropped since launch.

When considering alternatives, you might want to look at the more affordable Oral-B models, such as the Pro range, or at an entirely different style to the oscillating brushes – namely sonic toothbrushes. These vibrate tens of thousands of times to clean your teeth and are mainly produced by Philips.

If you’re leaning towards sonic toothbrushes, then the best of the best is the Philips Sonicare Prestige 9900, which sports numerous smart features and has an RRP of £300.

Alternatively, you could try the more expensive Oral-B iO Series 10, for its smart dock. As with the Series 9, it offers LED light feedback on your brushing pressure and can help you with sectors of the mouth as you brush. It also has a clock display which can be used to show other useful data.

The Oral-B iO Series 9 is one of the best electric toothbrushes out there right now. For anyone who doesn’t want the smart dock of the Series 10, it offers the same powerful and smart brush at a lower price. Yes, the price is still high, but you get a lot for the money.

The Oral-B iO Series 9 offers a near-dentist-level clean, with smart feedback, app support and a screen that’s genuinely useful to keep you motivated to brush correctly. It all adds up to visible results of whiter and more polished teeth.

The many smart modes and direct feedback make this ideal for daily brushing, whitening teeth, caring for sensitive gums and more – so it is capable of dealing with any changes your mouth might experience over time. 

Having a handy travel case with charger makes this a great toothbrush to rely on, knowing it will be with you, charged and ready, no matter where you find yourself. 

This is the premium toothbrush for anyone that wants the best and is willing to pay for it.