A recess in the base of the brush handle allows the protuberance on the top of the provided charging stand to fit inside. The charger is white in color with a 1.2 metre (4 foot) cable hardwired into it. It’s possible to set the default colour of the indicator in the smartphone app – handy, if you have multiple iO brushes in the bathroom – while the pressure sensor makes its transition between blue, green and red, depending on whether you’re brushing too softly, brushing too firmly, or getting the pressure just right.

Brushing for the recommended minimum of 2 minutes twice a day achieves maximum plaque removal. Yet many people brush for as little as 45-70 seconds per day. If you’ve got a perfectly usable toothbrush already, it’s not worth the switch for this alone, it’s just a nice additional benefit. Clinical data suggest Oral-B brushes may have the edge in performance, but the reality is few brushes do a bad job if used correctly. So don’t base your decision on this alone.Expect about 18 days of use on a full charge of the iO4, assuming twice daily brushing, 2 minutes per time. You can change the cleaning mode before turning the brush on, or when in use. You need to press the lower of the 2 buttons on the handle to select each mode. But something you should be aware of is that the pacer is deactivated when using the app in real-time. You don’t get the pauses in the brush motor. Oral-B has decades of experience that have gone into making the iO4’s brushing results as good as they are.

Once powered off the iO5 doesn’t remember the last mode used. So, next time you use the brush you may need to cycle through the modes if you don’t want to use the default Daily Clean cycle.

The most affordable iO-series toothbrush is brilliant at cleaning and offers excellent value, too

PROTECT YOUR GUMS WITH iO PRESSURE SENSOR, Oral-B's only one to signal if you are applying the PERFECT PRESSURE for an effective and safe clean. FOR HEALTHIER GUMS IN JUST 1 WEEK remove 100% more plaque and even 2.5X in between teeth* with ORAL-B MOST ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY *vs a manual brush. For many years a large number of Oral-B brushes have alerted users if they were brushing too hard. They do this because too much force can lead to additional and unnecessary wear on the teeth and gums. Unlike some brushes, the iO5 doesn’t power off automatically. The pacing is different when using the app

Dentists recommend replacing your brush head every 3 months or sooner if it becomes worn for an optimal clean. And in case you were wondering, more premium iO models are not going to deliver any better cleaning results, the motor is configured in just the same way.But, like the iO9 and 10, the battery performance is a little inconsistent. At times, I’ve gotten only 14 days from the battery. I can’t explain why.