Just over a year ago, I was in Los Angeles, USA, for a summer holiday, and on a whim, I bought the Oral-B iO8 electric toothbrush, which I got to use upon returning to India. Many dentists, including the one I go to regularly, recommend electric toothbrushes over manual ones. A couple of months later, I wrote an article titled, 'When it comes to brushing your teeth, are you team manual or electric?' While conducting research for the article and speaking with dentists as well as consumers, I became firmly convinced that I am on the right team, which is Team Electric.

Over the past few weeks, I've been testing the Oral-B iO9 electric toothbrush, a significant upgrade from the iO8, which reaffirms my decision to be on Team Electric.

I have one major issue with the iO9, and I need to address it before I get into all the positives. The problem with the i09, i08, and several other electric toothbrushes is the cost of owning them. Yes, there are some Indian brands with cheaper alternatives, as I pointed out in my previous article, but the feature set that Oral-B provides with the i09 is unmatched. Sadly, though, it is priced out of reach of many consumers. The cost of the i09 is a whopping ₹16,499. Yes, it's discounted to ₹8,250 on Amazon (generally, you'll find a 25 to 50 percent discount), but even then, that's a steep asking cost. You will also need to keep purchasing replacement heads every three months, which can add up, setting you back by ₹1,299 for a pack of two.

If you can stomach that, then the i09 will be the best daily companion you didn't know you needed.

The i09 comes with a magnetic charging base, a travel case (note that Indian consumers will not receive the travel charging case), and a separate case to store two spare brush heads.

One of the unique features of the i09 is the ability to track the exact position of the toothbrush in your mouth. This is done using the in-built sensors in the handle. There is a smart ring right below the brush head that lights up in various colours to indicate the pressure being applied: white for low pressure, green for the right amount of pressure, and red for overpressure.

The i09 has 16 tracking zones (versus six on the i08). You can track the inner, outer and biting zones of each of the four sides of your teeth and the inner and outer of the upper front and lower front. With 16 tracking zones, you can obtain more granular data, allowing for focused improvements. It's clever, intuitive, and if you're serious, can really help you brush better.

The i09 is Bluetooth-enabled, which means you don't have to have the app open every time you brush your teeth. The data will be shared from the toothbrush to the app the next time it is open. The sad part is that when you don't want to take your smartphone with you to the bathroom, you'll miss out on the guided session and won't know which zones you've missed.

Now, I've used a few electric toothbrushes (this is the first one I'm reviewing), and none of them, with real-time tracking, is perfect. While the i09 is right up there with the best, there is one small issue. Sometimes, while brushing with my left hand (yes, I'm a leftie), the i09 thinks I'm brushing a different zone to the one I actually am. It happens rarely, but it is noticeable. On the upside, I never noticed any lag between my brushing and the app.

The i09 has seven different programmes: Daily Clean, Sensitive, Super Sensitive, Whitening, Gum Care, Intense, and Tongue Clean. I mostly used 'Daily Clean' while 'Intense' was a little too intense at times. I supplemented 'Daily Clean' with a 'Tongue Clean' for 30 seconds. To select, simply navigate through the modes on the interactive colour display. On the display, you can also see the battery percentage and the brushing time.

The toothbrush is IPX7 rated. That means it's waterproof and you can wash it thoroughly without worrying about any long-term damage.