Oral-B iO7 review: smart cleaning that comes at a price

There are a number of questions to ask yourself as you read this Oral-B iO7 review. Are you willing to buy a toothbrush that does a firmware update before it makes it anywhere near your mouth? Do you need a toothbrush that smiles at you when you’re doing a good job? And, in an ever-more expensive world, can you really justify a toothbrush with an RRP of £400/$450? 

Truthfully, the answer to all of these questions is probably a hard ‘no’ but, thankfully, regular half-price reductions mean that the Oral-B iO7 is much easier to recommend at less than £200/$250 if you want to kick start an oral health journey with the help of an app. 

The Oral-B iO7 is one of the brand’s flagship iO devices and, just like its more expensive sibling the Oral-B iO9 (which is sitting happily on our best electric toothbrush list), delivers an exceptionally premium-feeling cleaning experience. Where the iO9 has 9 modes, a colour display, and ‘3 surfaces AI tracking’, the iO7 has 5 modes, a black and white screen and still has all the app connectivity, AI, and pressure sensor technology that you actually really need. 'Need' obviously being quite a strong word here. Regardless, let’s brush up your knowledge on this ultra-smart device in our Oral-B iO7 review.   

Oral-B iO7 review: Price

Yes, the painful bit. Officially the Oral-B iO7 has an RRP of £400 which is what you’ll spend at the official Oral-B site or in places like Boots in the UK. Thankfully, there are a number of websites selling it at less than half price, and you don’t normally need to wait until Prime Day or Black Friday to nab a deal. Just keep an eye on the constantly updated widgets on this page to make sure you get the best price possible. £400 is, unsurprisingly, sitting at the top end of the RRP scale on the smart electric toothbrush front. Even Philips' most expensive offering, the T3 Award winning Sonicare 9900 Prestige, is around £300 at full price.

Another slight sore point is the replacement brush heads. Even if you have owned an Oral-B toothbrush before, the new iO heads mean that you’ll need to get specific heads for this particular brush. These come in two varieties, Ultimate Clean and Gentle Care for more sensitive teeth. One Ultimate Clean head comes in the box and replacements come in at a wince-worthy £30 for 2. 

However, if you subscribe on the Oral-B website, you can save 55% on your first and recurring orders if you set up a delivery every 3 months. This takes it down to a significantly more affordable £13.50 for two but still not an ideal regular investment. The brush itself will tell you when to replace the head which is useful but you might dread the notification. 

Oral-B iO7 review: Design & features 

Straight out of the box, the iO7 immediately impresses. It’s got a satisfying heft that feels premium and while it doesn’t have the same slim neck stylings of either the Philips range, or our new favourite budget upstart the Ordo Sonic+, the screen immediately turns on to greet you when you pick it up which is an irresistibly nice touch. The power button sits above the little display, while another button below is used to scroll through the five different settings on offer. There’s Daily Clean, Sensitive, Whiten, Gum Care, and Intense+ which is only a little more aggressive than Daily Clean which already delivers an intense experience as it goes through various vibrations. The Ultimate Clean head that came with our review model uses a combination of oscillating brushes as well as what Oral-B call micro-vibrations for a double pronged approach. 

Also in the box is a handy clamshell travel case as well as a covered stand for two brush heads, and the iO7 charger which uses a shaver socket. Unlike most chargers where the toothbrush slots into a base, you only need to place the iO7 on top of the pad where it connects snugly with strong magnets for an induction charge. It’s a secure enough fit but you’ll want to keep it out of harm's way to stop it being knocked off its plinth. While the battery lasts around two weeks, this feels like less of an issue than other electric toothbrushes because the battery percentage is displayed by a pleasingly watery animation after each brush. This entirely removes the ‘will it work today?’ charge lottery of so many other other electric toothbrushes.

One of the most important and useful features is the addition of a pressure sensor at the base of the head. Keep an eye on the light ring here and it’ll change from your chosen colour to green if you’re using the right amount of pressure, and red if you’re brushing too hard. It’s a brilliant way of making sure you’re following dentist instructions as we discovered we’ve been brushing a little too lightly clearly in fear of bleeding gums. If your gums do bleed - and they probably will initially - you can log it in the connected app so you can hopefully improve on this day to day. 

Oral-B iO7 review: Cleaning & performance 

But what’s it like in action? Your experience will differ depending on whether you want to use the connected app or if you just want to use the brush standalone. Both leave your teeth feeling absurdly clean but the gamified element will definitely appeal to some. Connect the Oral-B app via Bluetooth - an experience we found entirely painless with our iPhone and even synced to the Apple Health app at the same time - and you can see a ‘live’ representation of your teeth while you brush. Depicted as a series of pleasantly cartoonish spheres on screen, you can see which teeth you are brushing and the level of cleanliness they’re at. 

They start as little blue globes before becoming white and sparkly once you’ve paid them enough attention with the iO7. There’s also a timer on screen to make sure you get to the recommended two minutes. At the time of reviewing the iO9, we found the live tracking struggled but the app has clearly had significant upgrades and we found the on-screen action speedily mirrored our own efforts with the iO7. Get everything gleaming on screen and you’ll be rewarded with a smiley face on the brush and the app will tell you that you brushed like a pro. If you’re a connected fitness tech fan, you’ll find a lot to like here as you’re awarded a score and a series of graphs to look back on. You can even earn medals as you go, giving you that little serotonin boost with every tooth brush. 

But, truthfully, this is only if you can be bothered and don’t mind getting your phone covered in toothpaste and foam. Use the brush standalone and you’ll still get a timer - although it’s on the handle so not ideal to look at regularly. Thankfully the brush vibrates at 30 second intervals so you know when to move to the next quadrant of your mouth and when you've reached the two minute mark. This, combined with the excellent pressure sensor means you’ll really feel the difference on a day to day basis. The pressure sensor delivers a real welcome confidence that you aren’t brushing too hard and doing it for the right amount of time has genuinely winning smile results. The iO7 was a little awkward to get into hard to reach areas initially but we got used to wielding the brush after a few tries and were genuinely impressed with the clean feeling and whiteness of smile post brushing.

One downside though is that while it’s nice to be rewarded with a happy face on the display after brushing for two minutes, you might not be able to see it properly for the foam and saliva running down the brush. The intense nature of the brush means things get seriously foamy and it all makes its way happily to the handle and your hand. Everything is fine after a quick rinse but if you do get the black model, you’ll probably find yourself needing to do a little more active cleaning than with the white as everything will quickly be covered in that alien pink residue otherwise. 

Oral-B iO7 review: Verdict  

The iO7 delivers dentist fresh cleaning levels and an impressive connected app but it absolutely should for this price. The pressure sensor is the real winner here while the gamification of the app will certainly appeal to analytics lovers out there. 

The multiple settings are welcome - especially the whitening option - and the display is consistently helpful, especially when it comes to battery awareness and for everyone who loves a little digital pat on the head for doing well in the bathroom today. Find this at a sub £200 price point and you might have found your new favourite super-smart toothbrush.

Looking for something else? Check out our best cheap electric toothbrush deals page, and our guide to the best children's electric toothbrush guide.