Parts of a Toothbrush – Manual and Electric, Labeled

All 9 parts on the diagram

Show the list

Manual toothbrush 4

Bristles Thin strands set in the head in tufts, commonly made of nylon.
Head The end of the brush that the bristles are fastened in.
Handle The long part held in the hand.
Neck The narrow part that joins the head to the handle.

Electric toothbrush 5

Brush head The removable top piece that carries the bristles.
On/off button Pressed to start and stop the brush.
Charger base The handle stands on it to recharge its battery.
Shaft The metal pin that the brush head pushes onto.
Charge indicator A light that shows the battery is charging.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two independent sources use it. (1) Wikipedia, text only: Toothbrush (a head of tightly clustered bristles mounted on a handle; bristles commonly of nylon), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toothbrush, and Electric toothbrush (brush head, the battery sealed inside the handle, the charging base), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_toothbrush. (2) Indian Standard IS 3387:2004, Toothbrush (head, brush handle, tuft, the head and neck portion), https://archive.org/details/gov.in.is.3387.2004. (3) The Visual Dictionary Online, dental care (toothbrush: head, handle, bristle; electric: handle, toothbrush shaft, on-off switch), https://www.visualdictionaryonline.com/clothing-articles/personal-articles/dental-care_1.php. (4) How Products Are Made, Toothbrush (handle, head, bristles), http://www.madehow.com/Volume-2/Toothbrush.html. (5) Two unrelated makers' electric toothbrush manuals, for names only (brush head, handle, on/off button, charge indicator, charger base, metal shaft, brush head neck), https://archive.org/details/manualsbase-id-653949 and https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-7065576. Hints and detail lines are in our own words. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's product, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A toothbrush is a head of bristles on a handle. This drawing names four parts of a manual toothbrush, then five parts of an electric one taken off its charger.

Read the full guide

Manual first, then electric

On the manual brush the bristles stand in tufts on the head, and the thin neck joins the head to the handle. On the electric brush the brush head comes off: it pushes down onto a metal shaft on top of the handle. The battery is sealed inside the handle, which stands on the charger base to recharge. The charge indicator lights while it does.

A tuft is one bunch of bristles. The answer box takes either word.
Head on a manual brush, brush head on an electric one: the second comes off.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a toothbrush called?

A manual toothbrush has bristles, set in tufts on the head, a neck and a handle. An electric one has a removable brush head, a metal shaft, a handle with an on/off button and a charge indicator, and a charger base.

What is the neck of a toothbrush?

The narrow part between the head and the handle. On an electric toothbrush it is the thin stem of the brush head.

What are toothbrush bristles made of?

Most are nylon. Some brushes use bamboo viscose or boar bristle instead of nylon.

How does an electric toothbrush charge?

A power cord feeds the charging base, and the base charges the battery in the handle by inductive charging, with no metal contacts. The battery is sealed inside the handle to keep water out.