Colgate Smart Electronic Toothbrush E1 Review

To determine which brush is truly the best, we bought the top models that are currently available and tested them side-by-side. Our toothbrush showdown was divided into four weighted rating metrics: Ease of Use, Cleaning, Battery Life, and Comfort.

Performance Comparison

Comfort

Our Comfort metric, responsible for 40% of the total score, is based on how comfortable it felt to brush with, the amount of noise each brush generated, and if there is a pressure sensor. This brush lacks a low power setting for sensitive gums, but we found overall that this brush generally lacked intensity when it came to brushing. This allowed our testers with sensitive gums to utilize this brush in its normal setting without too much discomfort. None of our judges found this brush to be anything but comfortable, noting that the intensity of brushing is quite similar to using a regular, manual toothbrush.

This brush is also one of the quietest models — significantly quieter than the mechanically sounding rotation-oscillation models. Very few of our judges had any issues with the sounds made by this brush, regardless of whether they were the ones brushing or a bystander. However, one judge was not a fan of a higher-pitch whine they found this brush to emit. This brush does lack a pressure sensor, losing it a few points.

Cleaning

Responsible for the next largest portion of the score at 30%, our cleaning test is next in terms of importance. We ranked and scored the cleaning performance of each brush by having our testers skip brushing their teeth for a period of about 12 hours, then had them use a plaque-disclosing tablet to reveal the plaque accumulations. They then used the E1 to clean their teeth, with scores based on the before and after photos in addition to a close-up visual inspection.

The Colgate Smart delivered a slightly above-average performance. This brush usually got the majority of the plaque of the outward-facing — and easier to reach — surfaces of our testers' teeth without issue.

However, it did tend to do much worse on the hard-to-reach interior surfaces. The majority of our testers had multiple spots where the tinted plaque remained on either the inside surfaces of their front teeth or anywhere around their molars.

Ease of Use

This metric is next in terms of importance, meriting 20% of the total score for each toothbrush. We ranked each product on how easy the handle is to clean, how intuitive the interface for each brush is, and if there is storage for additional brush heads, as well as if there is a two-minute timer. It only has a single cleaning mode, but it does have a two-minute timer with quadrant pacing. We did note that it is a little more difficult to swap brush heads on this brush, as you have to twist them on and off, rather than simply snapping them into place like almost any other toothbrush we have tested.

It is very easy to clean the majority of the handle of this toothbrush, with the only problem area being around the button. This area is a bit of a pain to clean, so we would advise that you do your best to keep this area clean. Colgate also states that the handle is waterproof, but you shouldn't rinse it under running water and use a damp cloth instead, so using it in the shower is definitely out. Finally, this brush has one of the most simplistic interfaces of the entire group, only having a single button. In addition to having a one-button interface, this toothbrush is also a smart product, wirelessly connecting to your smartphone.

It has a companion mobile app that purportedly will use artificial intelligence to coach your brushing and improve your overall dental health. While we can't really speak to the actual effectiveness of this, we weren't huge fans of using the app while brushing, finding the whole process to be a bit inconvenient and cumbersome.

This brush is very stable on the base - it wobbles around a lot, but never toppled in our shake test. It's a little less stable off of the base but still isn't very prone to being knocked over. Unfortunately, there is not a handy place to store any additional brush heads on the charging base. This toothbrush isn't particularly impressive in the aesthetics department, but it has an overall sleek design, putting it just above average in the style department.

Battery Life

Our final metric is responsible for the residual 10% of the total score for each brush. We ran each brush for two minutes in the morning and two minutes in the evening each day, scoring each one off of how long it lasted. The E1 delivered a bit of a lackluster performance. This brush lasted for 18 days in our test before calling it quits. It also has a battery indicator that will change colors from green to yellow to red, informing you when it is time to charge this smart toothbrush.

Value

While there are definitely better overall value options than the Colgate, this product is the best value option if you are set on getting a smart toothbrush, with the smart offerings from Oral-B or Sonicare costing significantly more.

Conclusion