Advance power or Average power? (Braun Oral-B Advance Power 400)

Member Name: fergusa

Product:	Braun Oral-B Advance Power 400
Date:	23/06/09 (110 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Low Price, easy to use.

Disadvantages: Not as powerful as it could be.

When my husband's electric toothbrush stopped working I thought I'd get him a cheaper one to use till we're a bit more flush and can upgrade to a replacement of his current one.

Unfortunately, it appears that with electric toothbrushes you get what you pay for.

I purchased this Braun model for £15 from Boots, it looked very similar to his old Braun and after taking out of the packaging (why is that plastic packaging so hard to get into?) I was quite pleased.

It's not quite as heavy as his old one but perfectly acceptable for the money, it has slightly rubbery parts to the handle which help to grip the brush. The brush is about the same length as a standard brush and about an inch think. The charger unit is compact and lightweight.

I charged it for the required 16 hours and handed it over. Well, hubby wasn't impressed, not as fast or effective as the old one apparently, also it makes a very high pitched whining sound which irritated him. He is adamant that his teeth do not feel as clean as they did using his old model.

On the plus side it is very easy to use - one button to turn on and another for off. Also it uses the same heads as my toothbrush (and his old one) so no wasting of expensive attachments.

The bristles have a blue indicator which tells you when to replace. This is quite helpful but there is no indication of when the battery is running low, this means you're usually half way through brushing when it packs up. Also, when charging there is no light to indicate that it is charging correctly or that it has finished charging.

The guidance is to brush for 2 minutes twice a day, you do not need to brush in an up and down motion yourself, just move the brush along each tooth spending a few seconds on each, using it this way the charge lasts for approximately one week. OK as long as you remember to recharge, the instructions say to replace on the charger after use which would stop this but it feels like a waste of electricity to me.

Replacement heads cost £15 for 4 new heads from Boots, which is about average for these products. The heads last me around 3 months each.

So, overall it's OK for the money but not anywhere near as good as Braun's higher powered versions. I'll be upgrading as soon as I've got some spare cash.

Summary: Average quality, but one of the cheaper models on the market.

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