For Christmas, my father and I received electric toothbrushes off my brother. The toothbrush in question was the Oral-B Professional Care 1000. No doubt it was on offer as the most we usually get from him is a hug but still, I was very happy with my present. I've never used an electric toothbrush before having always stuck with the old fashioned manual way of cleaning my teeth so rather embarrassingly, I couldn't wait to give it a go.

What does the product do?
Well the obvious answer is that it cleans your teeth but it always teaches you how to clean your teeth effectively. The brush promises to remove twice as much plaque as an ordinary toothbrush by rotating 8,800 times and pulsating 40,000 each minute. It teaches you how to use the appropriate pressure and how long you should be brushing your teeth for according to professional dentists and it does all this using lights and vibrations. It all sounded pretty space age to me.

Special features
Pressure Sensor
If you apply too much pressure when cleaning your teeth, you can damage your gum and shorten the life of your toothbrush. The toothbrush teaches you to brush your teeth gently but effectively by giving your warning signs like a red light coming on, the pulsation stopping and the sound that you hear changing whenever you push too hard. I have always brushed my teeth too hard so I thought that it would be difficult to stop but with all those warning signals, it didn't take long to get out of the habit.

Professional Timer
This works on the basis on splitting your mouth into four different sections so that's the top left, top right, bottom left and bottom right of your mouth. The toothbrush gives you thirty seconds to brush each section and when its time to move on to the next section, the toothbrush makes a short stuttering sound which you can't miss. Altogether that means you will have brushed your teeth for two minutes which is the dentist recommended time and in case you've lost track, a long stuttering sound signifies that you are all done. It even allows you to switch off the tooth brush for up to 30 seconds if you need to speak to someone and it will still remember where you were in the process when you turn it back on.

Rechargeable
The toothbrush comes with a rather handy charging station in which the toothbrush can stand. The unit is also where you store the device when it is not in use and it lets you know whether you are on full charge or if you are running on empty using lights. The end of the charger is a two prong plug to make it safer to use in the bathroom. I have an appropriate socket in my bathroom but my dad hasn't so he had to buy an adaptor and charge it elsewhere. When fully charged, the product should remain charged for 12 hours based on twice daily usage.

Appearance and Price
The main body of the toothbrush is white and it has a rubber baby blue section which enables you to get a good grip of the product. There is a red strip light along the back of the brush so that you can see it when you are brushing your teeth and the charger lights appear at the bottom. The toothbrush has a simple on/off button which even the biggest technophobe could grasp. The head of the toothbrush is small and round, and it is coloured white and blue bristles. The ones on the inside are shorter than the ones on the outside to ensure that the whole tooth is cleaned. The product comes with its charging station and two separate heads which are simply changed by pulling them off and then pushing them back on.

The price of the product varies widely and can range between £30 and £50 so make sure you shop around to get the best deal. The product is available from many different websites and also from many stores such as Argos and Boots.

Performance
The product warns that it may make your gums bleed slightly during the first few days as it will be removing plaque that may have been there for some time. If this continues, you are advised to consult your dentist. Mine did indeed bleed but as promised, this subsided within a few days so I had no problems there. All the pulsations, warning sounds and timing signals are confusing at first but it soon becomes simple and I've now realised that I haven't been brushing my teeth for long enough my whole life and I've been very lucky to get this far without a single filling.

The head of the toothbrush is so much smaller than the head of a manual toothbrush so you use a lot less toothpaste which I guess saves money in the long run. I had trouble in the beginning because when you switch the toothbrush on, it starts spinning and the toothpaste flies off! I've left to put the toothbrush in my mouth before switching it on now! My teeth feel incredibly smooth and are squeaky clean after use. I've noticed my teeth looking whiter and healthier, and my breath is very fresh after use. In fact, I think the best compliment that I can give this product is the fact that on a recent visit to my dentist, he said that he could tell that I had a very good brushing technique from looking at my tooth. What more could I ask for from a toothbrush?

Problems
I only have two little problems with this toothbrush. The first is universal to all electric toothbrushes and that is that it is difficult to get the whole brush inside the cheek and along the top back teeth without the pressure sensors going off. This isn't a big problem, just a slight annoyance. The second problem is that it really is quite noisy. When I am using it in the bathroom, it can sound like an angry bee and irritate my partner for two minutes. It also frightens my dog although she is pretty much scared of everything. Those are the only two bug bears I have about this toothbrush and neither would prevent me from continuing to use this product.

Conclusion
All in all, this is a really good toothbrush that has finally got me brushing my teeth in the correct way. They look whiter, feel smoother and appear healthier and even my dentist has complimented me on my teeth. The product is simple to use and it is easy the grasp the meaning of the signals. I can't see myself returning back to the old do it yourself toothbrush ever again.