You're a pink toothbrush, I'm a blue toothbrush. (Braun Oral-B Plaque Remover D7511 - 1)

Member Name: Newfloridian

Product:	Braun Oral-B Plaque Remover D7511 - 1
Date:	24/10/03 (483 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Does the job admirably

Disadvantages: Replacement heads are expensive

The BRAUN Oral-B 3D Excel D17511 Electric Rechargeable Toothbrush

Recently our electric toothbrush died. It had been feeling its age for a few months - the rechargeable battery not holding its charge for long, the motor getting rough, bits coming off the wall holder. I looked back through the records and found that I had bought it (Braun called it the Oral-B Ultra back then) over three years ago for £ 54.99. Mind you, for the use we have had out of it (the pair of us scrubbing two or three times a day) and the travel it has done (several trips to America and continental Europe) we felt that it did not owe us anything and deserved to be pensioned off. It was not unexpected either as we had used a previous model which also suffered from recharge fatigue after four years of regular use.

A trip to the out of town shopping mall (where you can find the likes of Currys, Comet, Miller Brothers as well as House of Fraser together) found a profusion of new models to compare - and indeed Braun seemed to offer at least half a dozen. From the description and specifications on the box, our original model was still available in a slightly updated form as the Oral-B 3D. There are also two 'up market' models in the 3D Excel range, one of which I bought.

MY NEW TOOTHBRUSH

The box gives you snippets of information and specifications in four languages (English, Italian, Spanish and Portguese). The brush itself is made in Germany. Small pictures demonstrate "Pulsation", "Oscillation","3D Action","Flexisoft Bristles","Interdental Tips" and "Polished Feeling" . The first five of these also feature on the boxes of the other models. "Polished Feeling" is not explained further in the literature but I'm not sure I fully understand (or even want to contemplate) what Braun means when it says "cleans so deep, your teeth feel professionally cleaned"!

This Bra
un machine features a slim hand set that holds a rechargeable battery and a timer
mechanism (about two minutes) that takes the guesswork out of how long you should brush for. When switched on the head carries out movements in two planes. It oscillates (backwards and forwards around its axis) and pulsates (inwards and outwards) at high speed. The on-off switch controls the speed setting (in the sequence 'on-fast-slow-off') by repeated pressing. On high speed the specifications claim 7600 oscillations and 40,000 pulsations a minute. The low speed pulsates at 30,000 a minute.

This model comes equipped with one FlexiSoft® brush head and a series of coloured rings that can be clipped on to its base for identification purposes. The brush head is small and on slender neck. This makes reaching all surfaces of the teeth very easy - even round the back of the molars. The tips of the bristles are rounded to prevent gum abrasion. They are also flexible to prevent damage by too hard pressure.

The hand set fits into a wall mountable bracket that contains the recharging inducer that plugs into a standard shaver socket. There is a small green LED which indicates when recharging is taking place. A full recharge lasts two of us between a week and ten days brushing twice a day. We have had no problem recharging using a plug adapter on the lower voltages abroad.

The bristles have blue stripes which slowly lose colour with use. With twice a day use they last about two to three months. However, brushing is very economical on toothpaste (you can only fit a small bead onto the brush head). The older brush heads still fit this new unit. If you look carefully you might find the following replacement heads on offer: EB17 Flexisoft®; EB17 Extra soft; EB10 Kids (smaller brush head with Disney designs); IP Interspace; Ortho (designed for cleaning orthodontic appliances)

MY OLD TOOTHBRUSH

So have I noticed any differences between these two
Braun toothbrushes in use? Well yes: a few, but they are quite subtle. The handset is a little more bulky than the old one (but feels more balanced in my male-sized hand). It also features a blue wrap-around pad which Braun calls its non-slip Control grip. It is less noisy in use although this could be a reflection of the winding down of the old one.

Of course, the new base unit would not fit the wall plate of the old one but fortunately the fixing holes matched up with the plugs in the wall. The charging unit projects out from the wall by an inch or so more than the old one. This unit does not have storage facilities for the brush heads.

CONCLUSIONS

Why buy an electric toothbrush when surveys repeatedly show that a not insignificant proportion of the population don't even own a manual one let alone use one regularly?

There is no doubt that your teeth feel cleaner, your mouth fresher with the regular use of an electric toothbrush. This is true of all makes and I believe the choice of model is one of personal preference. I like the Braun for its shape and size. Used occasionally with Braun's interdental bottle brushes it provides the complete dental care kit. It even gets the kids into the regular brushing habit. Indeed the family's teeth have been declared "A1" by our dentist and hygienist since we started using it.

In the end we bought ours from Currys (£29.95) - but as indicated above Braun products are freely available these days in most department stores, electrical chains and supermarkets.

The brush heads are quite expensive (around £7 for two), although you can often come across special offers. We have seen a pack of three at Tesco for £9 and a pack of four at Sainsbury for £14 plus 800 Nectar points. Paradoxically the cheapest we ever bought (at just under £2 each) was in Prague, Czech Republic.

ALTERNATIVE MODELS

The Oral-B 3D Excell 17525 (£59.95) has the same
handle and operational specifications. It comes with a charging unit that provides storage space for four brush heads and a pack of three heads is provided.

The Oral-B 3D 15511 (£29.01) is a single speed machine (20,000 pulsations a minute) - also with storage space in the wall unit.

There are various battery operated Braun brushes at prices down to about £15.

Summary: