I used this oscillating electric toothbrush with swinging bristles every day for a week and it left me with pristine teeth… yet I’m still a little confused

I didn’t suffer with braces for two years to not take dental hygiene seriously. I want my thirteen-year-old self to know that I’m going to take care of my teeth so they last me until I’m in my 90s (well, that’s the goal, I guess).

That’s why I’m trying to find the best electric toothbrushes. I’ve tested a few now, from AI-enabled smart brushes that told me I was brushing too hard in a creepy child voice, to a completely circular brush made from corn. Now I’ve put the Laifen Wave toothbrush to the test.

So how does it hold up? Well, it does its primary job really well: it cleans teeth. Objectively, yeah, it’s a good toothbrush. But I had a few little disagreements with it that prevented me from rewarding it with the coveted 4-star score. Find out the details in this Laifen Wave toothbrush review.

Laifen Wave toothbrush review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? An electric toothbrush with a very wide swing
• What does it cost? $79 / £101
• Who is it for? Beyond people with teeth, I’m not sure — it has an app, so not smart home skeptics, but the app doesn’t do much, so not smart home addicts either
• What does it do well? With some adjustments, it cleans really well
• What do we wish it did better? I wish said adjustments didn’t need an app

Laifen Wave toothbrush review: Specs

Laifen Wave toothbrush review: Price & availability

The Laifen Wave toothbrush in aluminum is $79 from Amazon U.S. and £101 from Amazon U.K., which is an import from the E.U. (Laifen does not seem to have a U.K.-specific section of its website).

Various colors cost different amounts — the aluminum (which I tested) is the aforementioned $79. Plastic and stainless steel are $69 and $99 respectively.

This price is pretty good for an electric toothbrush with app connectivity. I tested the Oclean X Ultra S, which is $129. Some of the priciest Oral-B and Philips brushes, like the Genius X and the Sonicare ExpertClean 7500, are both $199. Phillips does have a budget option, the Sonicare 4100 at just $49.

My favorite toothbrush is the Suri brush, which is $125 with the UV charging case and $76 without. It doesn’t have any app controls, but it is made of sustainable materials.

Laifen Wave toothbrush review: Design & features

The Laifen Wave is a pretty compact toothbrush. It’s just 5 ½ inches tall, which means it’s easy to control in my hand. The body is quite weighty, which got a little laborious towards the end of my testing. I am very weak, I’ll give you that, but I actually felt like I was working out my bicep during brushing.

The Wave doesn’t come with a travel case, but you can buy one for an extra $19 on Amazon. It doesn’t seem to be a charging case (unlike Suri and Oclean) and is not compatible with the plastic model of the Wave.

The toothbrush I tested came with 6 brush heads; four white and two purple. White is gum cleaning and purple is whitening. I used the purple brushes for most of my testing as the bristles felt stronger; the white bristles are pretty slack, and I wouldn’t recommend them unless you have gum issues (obviously check with your dentist if you do). The white heads feel like brushes ideal for those with very sensitive gums.

I love that the Wave is IPX7 rated, which means the brush can be submerged in up to 3.3 feet of water. The Suri brush is IPX7 rated too. This durability rating is very reassuring, meaning the Wave can get splashed or submerged in the bathroom and will live to see another day.

The Laifen Wave also has app compatibility, which I’ll discuss in the ‘App’ section fully. However, this app doesn’t have as much usability as the Oclean app I’ve used in the past.

Unlike the Suri brush I was testing last week, the Laifen Wave is not recyclable and does not have recyclable brush heads. Or, if they are recyclable, Laifen keeps awfully quiet about it. I do like that the brush heads have replacement indicator bristles (only the purple heads) that change color when they should be changed. However, I don’t like that I’m just trashing them.

My biggest complaint with the Wave is that it emits a very eerie, high-pitched modulating humming sound during standby. I was in my bathroom, as one often is, and I suddenly became aware of a strange sound. I investigated for minutes before realizing the hum was coming from none other than my toothbrush. Very strange. Do not like.

Laifen Wave toothbrush review: App

Yes, surprise surprise, there’s an app. While this one doesn’t show brushing reports, it does give you the opportunity to change the brush head swing intensity. As I’ll discuss thoroughly in the section below, the default ‘swing’ speed/power is pretty intense, so this was a welcome change.

There are no extra features like brushing reports or 3D graphics of your mouth, like you’d see on Oral-B, Phillips, and Oclean’s apps. The app feels a little… understated. Yes, I like being able to change my power intensity settings, but I think this could have been a button on-brush and Laifen skip the app altogether.

I adjusted the swing to minimal and this was much more pleasant on my gums. It behaved like a normal toothbrush again. Why do I have to download another app to my phone to change this, though? Why can’t I long press/double press the power button to alter swing speed?

I’m wary of products that rely so heavily on apps for basic functions. If someone doesn’t have a phone, or doesn’t have enough storage, or has an older device, they might find themselves unable to use their tech.

Laifen Wave toothbrush review: Cleaning performance

Before I get into the cleaning analysis, I’ll mention that Laifen’s claim of 52dB operating volume is completely correct. I tested mine using the DecibelX app and was very happy to see that the toothbrush is actually as quiet as the brand claims.

With default settings, I did not like this toothbrush at all. The toothbrush swings from side to side (literally like it’s shaking its head, if that helps you visualize) with quite severe intensity (60° oscillations at 66,000 vibrations a minute, to be exact). This swing meant that the plastic top of the brush hit my gums often, and actually made my gums hurt. They did not hurt before I used this toothbrush.

Laifen claims that the side-to-side oscillation is a dentist recommended movement, but I would say it needs some adjustment for each person. For people with smaller teeth (I guess that must be me?), the default oscillation is too much.

Once I downloaded the app, I changed the swing from ‘6’ to ‘1’ and had a much more pleasant cleaning experience. With the swing setting on minimum, I did really like using this toothbrush. It’s a shame that Laifen ships the brush with the most aggressive swing — why not ship with 3, and let users choose between 1-6? I fear the swing intensity might put other users off.

To test the plaque-cleaning efficiency, I chewed a purple disclosing tablet. Alert: picture of my teeth incoming. Sorry in advance.

While my teeth aren’t massively plaquey in the first place (I’ll say that’s down to using the Laifen Wave in the morning before these evening shots), the Laifen Wave did a really good job of brushing all that plaque away in just 2 minutes.

As you can see, the only plaque left is between my two front teeth. I always floss here after brushing anyway, so once I’d done that there was no plaque left at all.

I was pretty impressed with this cleaning performance, but I just wish the brush had a softer default swing. Or, even better, a non-app way to change this swing setting.

Laifen Wave toothbrush review: Battery

Laifen claims the battery lasts for 30 days, which is 10 days less than the Oclean X Ultra S and the Suri brush. However, 30 days is around double the battery life of industry leaders Oral-B and Phillips, so it’s still very impressive.

There’s a little indicator on the front of the brush that shows you how much battery is remaining, too.

Laifen Wave toothbrush review: How does it compare?

The Laifen Wave is a good toothbrush, but I do think there are better ones out there. If you’re hungering for a smart toothbrush, I’d recommend Oral-B’s $199 Genius X due to its cleaning reports, or the Oclean X Ultra S for its 3D teeth graphic.

However, if, like me, you’re kind of over all the app-reliant smart tech encroaching into every facet of your life, then I’d recommend the sustainable Suri toothbrush. This toothbrush is completely recyclable, and the company recycles the cornstarch brush heads for free. Plus, it looks beautiful, and feels so nice in the hand.

Laifen Wave toothbrush review: Verdict

I do not think the Laifen Wave is a bad toothbrush at all. I just think there are better brushes out there. For those who love smart AI everything, there are brushes with apps that do more than simply change speed and swing intensity, like Oclean and Oral-B.

For those who are less keen on their toothbrush being app-reliant, there are brushes that are customizable without any sort of mobile app, like the Suri brush. The Laifen Wave is a kind of strange in between: it needs an app to be customizable, but the app doesn’t really do anything. So I’m not sure where this brush falls in the world of smart tech.

While I enjoyed testing this brush (once I’d figured out that the high-pitched noise in my bathroom wasn’t just me going crazy, and I’d changed the swing speed), I’m excited to go back to my beloved Suri.