A travel essential could cause some serious harm if it's stowed the wrong way
Anyone who’s racked up miles flying the friendly skies probably knows the drill—many things just aren’t allowed in checked luggage. Some are more obvious than others. Fireworks? That’s a big no. But other items are more surprising, like certain cordless flat irons and curling irons. Those are also a no-go.
TSA updates these rules regularly, and they’ve recently added another surprising item to the be-careful list. The problem is that it’s a very common item from your medicine cabinet that most people don’t travel without. Read on to find out what it is and the better way to travel with it.
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What personal hygiene device is TSA cautioning travelers about?
TSA recently took to social media to warn airplane passengers about the humble electric toothbrush. “Traveling with your electric toothbrush or other items that buzz? If they have an installed lithium battery you should pack them in your carry-on bag,” the agency warned on X, adding, “Any spare or uninstalled lithium batteries must be placed in a carry-on bag.”
The TSA got even cheekier on Instagram, with a post that read, “No caps … you really can pack your electric toothbrush. Tooth be told, you should place any item with a lithium metal or lithium-ion battery in a carry-on bag. We’re happy we could fill you in on this sparkling PSA from TSA.”
Why should you not put certain types of electric toothbrushes in checked bags?
The risk all comes down to the batteries. Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries—the kind found in laptops, phones and vapes—can overheat and catch fire if they get damaged or short-circuit. And once they are ignited, the resulting fire can be hard to extinguish. Lithium-metal batteries, which are non-rechargeable, can also catch fire, but they’re generally lower energy, so they pose less of a risk.
Most devices containing lithium metal and lithium-ion batteries are allowed in checked luggage as long as they are powered off and protected from accidental activation (which can be hard with easy-to-switch-on electronic toothbrushes). But most airlines strongly recommend keeping any items with these types of batteries in your carry-on anyway.
Why? If batteries start smoking or catch fire in the cabin, the potentially catastrophic issue can be addressed quickly. The same situation in the cargo hold could go unnoticed until it’s too late and prove disastrous. The FAA points out that “flight crews are trained to recognize and respond to lithium battery fires in the cabin,” and passengers need to “notify flight crew immediately if their lithium battery or device is overheating, expanding, smoking or burning.”
Should you be worried about batteries on flights?
Serious issues involving batteries aren’t as rare as you might think, so it’s always better to err on the side of caution with a portable power source. In early September, the FAA was so concerned about incidents—there have been at least 50 involving smoke, fire or extreme heat so far in 2025, according to Reuters—that the agency issued a safety alert, warning airlines that batteries posed a risk even in overhead bins. In July, a flight from Chicago to Portland, Oregon, was diverted because a passenger’s laptop started smoking. Then in August, an overheating cellphone injured a passenger and damaged the cabin floor of an American Airlines plane.
Which common brands of electric toothbrushes contain these batteries?
Many electric toothbrushes use single-use lithium-metal batteries, and the higher-risk rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are found in many popular models, including:
- Philips Sonicare
- Oral-B
- Colgate
- Waterpik
- Fairywill
- AquaSonic
- Quip
- Burst Oral Care
What other lithium-powered devices shouldn’t you check?
Toothbrushes are just the tip of the iceberg, since many everyday gadgets also contain lithium batteries. Some common examples are:
- Laptops
- Tablets
- Smartphones
- External hard drives
- Cameras and camcorders
- Power banks and portable chargers
- Vapes and e-cigarettes
- Drones
- Rechargeable shavers
- Smartwatches and fitness trackers
- Bluetooth speakers and headphones
- Spare lithium batteries of any size
You should always pack these items in your carry-on bag, since it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
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