Looking to replace the head on your Oral-B electric toothbrush? Like-for-like may not be the way to go. For one thing, Oral-B has its own wide range of toothbrush heads, some designed to give you a good all-round clean, others designed to cover more specific needs. If you’re looking to get a deep clean in between your teeth or remove any signs of staining, then you could be better off switching to a different head.

What’s more, Oral-B isn’t the only brand making toothbrush heads. A small industry has grown up producing compatible toothbrush heads, and even some supermarkets and high-street chemists have got in on the act. These heads tend to be cheaper than the official heads, while providing a usable alternative.

To help you make the right choice, we’ve looked at, purchased and tested the best heads, both from Oral-B and other brands.

Toothbrush heads tend to split into two broad groups. On the one hand, Oral-B manufactures several lines of general-purpose heads, designed to deliver a good, all-round clean that will cover most people’s needs. These are the heads most of the alternative manufacturers clone when they’re making their own toothbrush heads. Pick one of these heads if you’re looking to replace your existing head, or if you’re looking for a cheaper option.

Oral-B’s other toothbrush heads are designed for more specific dental needs. Maybe you have sensitive teeth and soft gums that need more gentle treatment. Perhaps you’re looking for whiter teeth, or a toothbrush head that will help you tackle gum disease. If so, it may be worth spending the small extra on these heads, to make sure you’re using the right tool for the job.

Not quite. Most Oral-B heads will work with any Oral-B toothbrush in its Vitality, Pro, Smart and Genius lines. However, they’re not compatible with toothbrushes in the more advanced and premium iO series. For these you’ll need specific – and more expensive – iO brush heads. At the moment, no other manufacturers beyond Oral-B produce iO-compatible heads.

A quick search on Amazon will turn up dozens of third-party heads, or heads manufactured by another company, rather than Oral-B. You’ll also find replacement heads sold through some UK supermarkets and high-street chemists. The quality varies and, based on research, the heads don’t always last as long. We’ve picked out the best alternative heads based on our testing and experience, but without running comprehensive long-term tests it’s difficult to say how durable or long-lasting these are.

It’s worth noting that you’ll see some incredible deals on “genuine” Oral-B toothbrush heads on eBay and other online marketplaces. Regard some of these with caution, as there are a lot of cheap knock-offs around masquerading as Oral-B heads. Buying third-party heads is fine if you know what you’re getting, but you should make sure you get the product that you pay for.

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Price: From £15 for 6 | Buy now from Amazon

The Cross Action is the standard head supplied with many of Oral-B’s biggest-selling brushes, and it’s a great all-round head that should suit most people. Clusters of white bristles alternate with slightly longer green or blue bristles, angled so that, while the head surrounds each tooth as it cleans, the bristles can get in between the teeth and clear any plaque or debris. In practice, the Cross Action scores well on every count, giving the enamel the right squeaky-clean finish while providing a slightly deeper clean than the Precision Clean or Sensitive heads. Meanwhile, as the heads wear out, the green bristles steadily turn yellow. If you don’t know which head to buy, buy this one.

Price: From £14.50 for 6 | Buy now from Amazon

The Precision Clean is Oral-B’s other general-purpose brush head, with a more traditional design and several clusters of bristles that clean in and around the surface of your teeth. This head is particularly good at removing any trace of food or plaque from the front, back or crown, and is arguably a little gentler and more effective than the Cross Action when it comes to cleaning along the gumline. The clean isn’t quite as deep between the teeth, but it’s still not bad at all. If you’re looking for a head that’s as good for the gums as it is your gnashers, go straight for the Precision Clean.

Price: From £11 for 4 | Buy now from Amazon

Oral-B says that the Floss Action is its top brush head for interdental cleaning, thanks to the four soft plastic Micropulse bristles that loosen plaque between the teeth and make it easier to remove through further brushing. Based on our testing, it’s effective, leaving your teeth feeling like they’ve had a really deep clean, and leaving less plaque and other stuff to be picked up by a teepee brush or water flosser. The downside is that the sensation can be slightly uncomfortable, at least at first. It’s a bit of a marmite brush head, but if you have issues with gum disease or cleaning in between your teeth, it’s definitely one worth trying.

Price: From £11 for 4 | Buy now from Amazon

No prizes for guessing what the 3D White is supposed to do. In the middle of its bristles lies a soft-plastic polishing cap, designed to remove surface stains and whiten the teeth. It’s pretty good at dealing with tea and coffee stains, though you should partner it with a bicarbonate or other whitening toothpaste, and it’s still effective at cleaning along the gumline, on the crown and in between the teeth. The Cross Action gives a deeper clean, but if you smoke or drink a lot of coffee and want to keep your pearly whites, well, pearly white, the 3D White can help.

Price: From £10 for 4 | Buy now from Amazon

If you have soft gums and find your existing head uncomfortable or you’re prone to using too much pressure while you brush, Oral-B’s Sensitive Clean head could be the answer. It mixes regular bristles with softer ultra-thin bristles, designed to go easier on your gums. The obvious issue here might be that you get a less intensive clean elsewhere, but in practice teeth still feel sparkly clean after a two-minute session, and the head feels gentler as it trails across the gumline, particularly if you have any tender patches.

Price: From £10 for 16 | Buy now from Amazon

There’s no shortage of Chinese budget brands selling Oral-B replacement heads, but KHBD stands out from the crowd for two reasons. First, its build quality is better than the average. Compare its heads with the Oral-B originals and there’s some difference in the materials or the substance and density of the bristles, but the heads hold up well in daily use and deliver a decent clean. Second, it makes replacements for Oral-B’s specialist brush heads, including the Precision Clean, FlossAction, CrossAction and Sensitive Clean. The “Cross” head isn’t particularly convincing, but the other three are pretty good. We suspect the Oral-B heads will last longer and give a better overall brush, but if you’re keen to save some money, these KHBD heads will do the job.

Price: From £5.69 for 4 | Buy now from Amazon

Don’t get too excited about the recyclability of these brush heads. While you can return them to the manufacturer you do so at your own expense, and otherwise they’re recyclable through Terracycle’s network, which can also handle most other brush heads.

A better reason to buy them is that they're well-made heads in the Precision Clean style and that they use a Binchotan Charcoal bristle. Some believe these do a better job of removing stains than conventional fibre bristles, while also having antibacterial properties. These heads don’t have the activated powder charcoal of some manual charcoal toothbrushes, which may be a good thing given concerns that they’re too abrasive on the teeth if used long term. However, they feel solid, don’t fray easily and give a good, effective clean.

Price: From £3.49 for 4 | Buy now from Amazon

These Milos Oral-B compatible heads make the list because they’re cheap and cheerful where some other heads are cheap and nasty. They’re basically clones of the Precision Clean, but with some differences in the design and the substance of the bristles. Where Oral-B varies the shape of the bristle clusters and the materials, the bristles here feel much the same across the head. Despite this, they still do a solid job of cleaning along the gumline and around your teeth, with much the same level of comfort as the real deal. We suspect they won’t last as long, but at under £1 a head you can’t really expect otherwise.

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