Oral-B iO Series 10 review

The Oral-B iO Series 10 is currently the head of toothbrush royalty with more features and smarts than any brush the brand has created before. As such, this comes with a price tag which clearly reflects that premium offering. Spending that extra does get you new features like fast wireless charging, quieter operating, and smart tracking features. But does this model justify that extra expense over the competition? 

If you're a committed user who takes advantage of the tracking features, this can give you the best possible teeth and gum care. Realistically, though, you may not stick to using it that extensively. That said, the new base with live feedback does take away the reliance of a connected phone for live feedback as you brush without the effort older models like the iO series 9 demanded.

The round, rotating head on this brush also vibrates at a micro level, giving it the ability to provide the best clean yet. Combine this with the iO specific heads, along with seven cleaning modes, and this brush should be able to keep even the most challenging of mouths up to the highest dental standards. Will your dentist notice you've upgraded to this over the iO Series 9 model though? Likely not. 

This review aims to lay out all you need to know before you commit to your new toothbrush. Although it's worth noting that while the suggested retail price sits at $350/£450, at time of publishing, it has launched first in the U.K. U.S. launch is expected soon.

Oral-B iO Series 10 review: Design

The Oral-B iO Series 10 is available in two versions: Stardust White and Cosmic Black. In both cases the design features a flecked pattern finish which gives that Stardust and Cosmic look. The brush heads themselves come in solid colors to match the brushes and specifically feature the iO connectivity head, meaning only this type will work with the model.

The handle itself offers a smooth finish with a slight matte, enough to give you a reassuring grip as you hold and use the brush at various angles. The lightweight build makes it comfortable to use but there is also a decent balance to the brush giving it heft in the right places to make brushing near effortless. It also helps to give great feedback so you can apply the right amount of pressure quite intuitively, even without that light ring offering color based feedback to help (more on that below).

The display is very clear with a relatively high-resolution LED color screen. This is top and tailed by two buttons, each of which are slightly concave and covered with a grippy rubber surface. This is useful for grip but not necessary when brushing, since the Cosmic dots actually slightly protrude to offer grip all over the brush handle.

The box offers you the toothbrush itself with a head and a two pin charger that connects to the wireless magnetic charging dock. There is also a slender travel case which can be used to charge with the same mains power cable. You also get a travel case to hold two more spare heads. 

Oral-B iO Series 10 review: Functionality

The Oral-B iO Series 10 is packed full of powerful and genuinely useful features. Initially you're met with a color display and two buttons. This makes the controls super intuitive and clear when flitting between the seven cleaning modes. These are Daily Clean, Sensitive, Super Sensitive, Intense+, Whiten, Gum Care, and Tongue Clean.

The brush features a color light ring, which can be adjusted to personal preference with lots of color options. But this also works to help achieve the right pressure, displaying red if you push too hard and white if too lightly, with green remaining solid when you're using it just right. This model takes that further with the dock.

While the dock base is a great way to drop the toothbrush onto the magnetic top so it can wirelessly charge, it also has a display on the dock front. This can display the time and date, via a WiFi connection, as well as cleaning time as you go, or zone coverage using useful lights. All of this means you can monitor your brushing progress closely without the need to have your phone there with the app open. This is genuinely useful as most people don't maintain use of the app after the novelty wears off – this dock helps fix that issue by always offering feedback at a glance without the need to do anything. For us, this was a big appeal over the Series 9 model and helps to justify the extra cost.

Super impressive is the smart learning where the brush will automatically reduce the number of brush head movements – in Daily Clean, Sensitive and Intense modes – should you be brushing too hard regularly. This can better protect your gums and avoid damage to your teeth.

The dock is also packed with fast charging, capable of getting your brush back to fully juiced in just three hours.

By using the speckled dots on the brush handle there are no other grip areas added. This makes for easier cleaning with a single constant surface to wipe down or wash under the tap with ease. On the black model the white dots could be seen to look like toothpaste flecks at a glance, but on closer inspection these are clearly a design choice.

The app is a really powerful addition that allows you to see your mouth coverage in real time, changing color as you brush, so you can work towards total and even brushing. Once the virtual teeth are sparkling white you know you're done in that zone. 

You can change the 360-degree color ring on the brush with six options, or use the app to change between 11 optional color types. The app also offers rewards and tips to help you clean – all aiding in motivation to keep you using the brush to its fullest potential. 

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Oral-B iO Series 10 review: Performance

The Oral-B iO Series 10 uses a small round brush head which offers an oscillating action, as well as micro vibrations to give a deeper clean. This is as close to combining both oscillating and sonic toothbrush cleaning styles into one model as has been managed so far. The end result is super satisfying; we could actually feel the smooth finish on our teeth when we ran our tongue over them.

The various modes of this model are particularly useful when combined with the LED screen, as you can read the name of the mode along with the icon. Many other models don't offer this and it can sometimes leave you wondering just what each mode is for. The screen also offers the timer. Then, at the end of your brushing session there is a comical emoji style face that's either happy or upset with your effort, letting you know immediately if you've done enough. You even get a starry eyed smile if you brush longer than needed.

For ease of use the app helpfully lets you reorder the brushing modes. This is ideal because you will likely only use a few and won't have to cycle through all the others to hop between those you like to use regularly.

The handle itself is classed as water resistant, meaning it can be placed under the tap to wash off after use. You shouldn't need to worry about getting this wet, and it didn't prove a problem in testing when fully submerged.

The magnetic and wireless charging dock is fantastic. It couldn't be easier to place on top, where there is a slight nodule protruding in the center, as the brush aligns itself and holds in place to immediately begin charging.

It's also worth noting that for basic use this does a great job too, with a two minute overall timer coming on as standard. This will vibrate subtly every 30 or 20 seconds so you can move between zones for a well-balanced clean.

Everything in this model is noticeably quieter thanks to the iO Series 10 motor system which is a brushless magnetic drive. As such, this is one of the most quiet power models out there that still offers super powerful cleaning. It’s great for late night use, especially if your bathroom is near a bedroom where someone may already be sleeping. 

Oral-B iO Series 10 review: What’s good about it?

One really nice feature that the Oral-B iO Series 10 offers over the competition is smart restarts. That means when you finish brushing, your device will remember the mode you were using and start back up in that mode when you come to use it again. A seemingly small upgrade, but something that really adds to the effortless feel this model is all about.

The feedback on the dock's display and lights are also helpful, allowing you to ditch the smartphone app while still getting all the best benefits it offers. Wireless magnetic charging is also a big draw here for fast fill-ups, meaning you never really think about the battery life.

The quiet and powerful motor with micro vibrations manages to offer a clean that dentists would approve of, without waking whoever is in the house nearby.

Oral-B iO Series 10 review: What’s not so good about it?

The price of the Oral-B iO Series 10 will be a big problem for some, as it doesn't offer that much more over the far more affordable Series 9 option. This isn't just up front cost either; in committing to the iO series you are also going to need to update those brush heads. These are also more expensive, meaning your ongoing costs are going to be higher over the less premium models out there.

The case has a lovely slim design which is ideal for compact travel but it only holds one extra head. This may be a negative for some who want different types of heads on the go. There is that extra case for carrying these though, so we see this as well addressed by Oral-B. Also, the case charges using the proprietary charger, not using your phone charger cable, to get this juiced up on the go – so that’s another part to pack. But at least it's the same cable for both the dock and the travel case, unlike on the Series 9.

Should you buy the Oral-B iO Series 10?

If money is no object and you want the very best toothbrush that offers a dentist level clean every time you use it, the Oral-B iO Series 10 is the model for you. With a fantastic looking design that's super easy to use, and smart feedback via the brush, app and dock, this is one of the most intuitive smart toothbrushes. That quiet motor delivers a premium finish and thanks to fast charging you don't need to think about battery life. 

It's not cheap though and with most of the features (aside from the smart dock and quieter running) available with the Series 9, you may want to make a saving by going for the previous model instead.

If this product isn’t for you

Oral-B iO Series 9

The Oral-B iO Series 9 offers most of the best features that the 10 does but at a far more affordable price. You won't have that smart dock with visual feedback on your brushing, but since you can get that via the app anyway, it's a great option to save you money while still offering all those premium cleaning features that the best iO models deliver.

Philips Sonicare 9900 Prestige

The Philips Sonicare 9900 Prestige is a sonic vibrating smart toothbrush that is crammed with useful features. The cleaning result will be similar to the Series 10 but you can save a bit of money and may find positives here, like a larger travel case and more hard pressure feedback, which could appeal over the Series 10.