What a Toothbrush Pressure Sensor Does, and the Kinds There Are

Makers describe four approaches. A warning light (usually red) when you press too hard. A haptic signal: the handle vibrates, pulses or makes a sound, and on some Oral-B models the motor slows. A multi-signal sensor, which this site calls smart: a light plus vibration, a three-state light that also shows too soft and just right (Oral-B's iO), or, on Philips' Prestige 9900, SenseIQ, which Philips says adjusts the brushing automatically as pressure and motion change. And some makers list a pressure sensor without saying how it signals.

No maker in this catalog publishes the force threshold its sensor uses, so two sensors cannot be compared on sensitivity. None claims a sensor prevents gum recession or any other condition, and this site doesn't either. What a sensor does is give you a signal you would otherwise not get; whether that changes how you brush is up to you.

People who were told by a dentist that they brush too hard are the obvious audience. A light you can see in a mirror is easier to notice than a vibration you might mistake for the motor's normal feel.