Buying electric toothbrush heads on Amazon

On Amazon, electric toothbrushes mostly come down to two brands: Philips Sonicare and Braun Oral-B. The toothbrushes themselves go on sale a few times a year; what keeps costing money is the brush heads. You generally swap one out about every three months, and once the color on the bristles fades, it's about time.

Philips heads snap on, and they fit pretty much any Sonicare handle sold today. There are a few types for cleaning, whitening and gum care. Model numbers start with HX, and the last digit is usually the number of heads in the pack.

With Oral-B, check your handle carefully. The iO series takes its own dedicated heads, which aren't compatible with the older round heads. Non-iO handles take round heads with model numbers starting with EB: EB50 is the multi-angle one, EB60 has soft bristles, and the number after the hyphen is the pack count.

It's best to buy heads sold by Amazon.co.jp itself or from the brand's official store. Heads are small and high-margin, so there are plenty of fakes and no-name compatible ones around. If the product name says "compatible" (互換), it isn't genuine. Before you order, take a quick look at "Ships from" (出荷元) and "Sold by" (販売元).

Multi-packs work out a bit cheaper per head, and heads are often discounted on Prime Day and Black Friday too, so you can stock up on six months' worth then.