Oral-B iO Series 10 in the test: Clean like a professional

The fight against plaque, commonly known as dental plaque, like the fight against house dust, can never be won – the enemy regroups every day and wants to be kept at bay. If you have the right tools at hand, your life will be easier. Even with the seemingly simple task of brushing your teeth, you can do a lot wrong: insufficient brushing movements, too much or too little pressure, areas being missed, etc.

With the iO Series 10, Oral-B has developed an electric toothbrush that takes you by the hand and ensures that everything runs smoothly. Oral-B has long been offering toothbrushes that are linked to the in-house app and show the brushing progress in real time. To do this, however, you have to place your smartphone within sight of the sink every time. The iO Series 10 can also be used with the app, which uses 3D tracking to provide a live insight into what is happening in the mouth: you can track the brushing sequence outside, inside and on the chewing surfaces of the teeth in six segments. But what’s exciting at first can become annoying after a while: Not everyone likes to carry their cell phone into the bathroom all the time.

Smart charging station iO Sense offers live coaching

With the iO Sense charging station, you can use live coaching, as Oral-B calls the function, even without a smartphone: The iO Sense not only charges the handpiece wirelessly via induction, it is also paired with the iO Series 10 via Bluetooth and turns on as soon as you lift it. In standby, the station shows the time; after activation, it counts the time that you have already brushed your teeth. In addition, six LED strips are implemented on top of the flat, round housing, which refer to six areas in the mouth – like the 3D tracking in the app.

The toothbrush uses a position sensor and an AI-supported algorithm to detect where the brush head is in the mouth. This way you can work your way through the entire set of teeth. If the corresponding strip starts flashing white, everything in this area (outside, inside, chewing surfaces) has been sufficiently cleaned and you can move on to the next segment. The pressure control also provides important assistance: If you press too hard, both an LED ring on the toothbrush and the iO Sense turn red. If the pressure is too weak, the ring turns white; if everything is working correctly, it shines green.

The dentist is satisfied

We quickly got used to the system and have been using the technology successfully for over four months: our dentist is very satisfied, as is the dental cleaning assistant. The live coaching works well. Of course, the detection doesn’t always work 100 percent, so you sometimes end up cleaning for longer than perhaps necessary. But that’s still better than too short.

For personal fine-tuning, Oral-B offers different brush heads for the iO Series (also for very sensitive teeth or braces), which should be changed every three months. You don’t have to remember the date, the toothbrush will notify you as soon as it needs to be replaced.

Comprehensive app

Despite the intelligent station, the app is not without work, on the contrary: it evaluates the cleaning results in detail and allows deeper insights into your personal cleaning routine. You can track whether you have really covered all areas well or whether there is room for improvement – pressure control and cleaning time are also listed. This way you can also see how cleaning behavior has developed over time.

The app also offers different programs: If you are struggling with problems such as bad breath or bleeding gums, wear braces or want to whiten your teeth, you can specify this in the app. This then creates a plan with the appropriate settings, which is transferred to the toothbrush.

Round brush head effectively removes plaque

As with all models in the iO Series, Oral-B does not rely on sound, but rather works with a magnetic round brush head that cleans thoroughly in fast oscillating-rotating movements with micro-vibrations. Unlike a sonic toothbrush with an elongated head, each tooth is cleaned individually – the brush head surrounds the tooth and penetrates easily into gaps. Plaque is effectively removed.

On the handpiece you can select one of the seven programs that are displayed with symbols on the small color display: Daily Cleaning, Sensitive, Super Sensitive, Gum Protection, Intensive Cleaning, Whitening, Tongue Cleaning. Also nice: After cleaning, a smiley shows how well you did a job – the aim is to make him smile.

A 2-minute timer can also be activated in the app. If you work with live coaching on iO Sense or in the app, that doesn’t make much sense. We have been cleaning with the visual feedback since the start of the test and have been cleaning for over two minutes every time. On vacation, however, when the charging station is left at home and you cannot place the cell phone safely, the timer makes sense. Speaking of which: Our test device came with a travel case, which is also used for charging thanks to the USB-C port.

Conclusion: Good investment in dental health

The Oral-B iO Series 10 is an expensive purchase even with the price reduction. But with the iO Sense it offers great added value: the smart charging station provides live feedback on the cleaning progress so that no area is neglected. The round brush head typical of Oral-B cleans teeth and spaces thoroughly. Another plus point is the app, which offers lots of setting options and information. However, the iO Series 10 can only be paired with a toothbrush.

The iO Series 10 is available with various accessories, although prices can vary greatly depending on the retailer. It is therefore worth consulting a price comparison before buying.

Oral-B calls his website Currently around 355 euros for the Luxe Edition with travel case, although there is a 25 percent discount with a discount code until December 2nd, 2024 – that only adds up to around 266 euros on the bill.