I have always used a manual toothbrush, and have never had any problems with this. I'm proud to say that I've reached the grand old age of 33 and have not needed any fillings or dental work to date. On recent visits to the dentist, however, I have been advised of plaque building up in certain areas of my teeth, and she advised me to perhaps try an electric toothbrush.

==Why Oral B 2000?==
I chose the Oral B Professional Care for 2 reasons : firstly, the brand. Oral B has a great reputation and is one of the first brands that come to mind when thinking of dental accessories. I have relatives that use electric toothbrushes and flossers by Oral B and they have all been impressed.
The second reason I picked this toothbrush was the price - it was on a special promotional half price offer at Argos, reduced from £80 to £40. I wouldn't have paid the higher price for it as no matter how good the reputation as I think £80 for a toothbrush is too much to spend - especially when I've managed just fine up to press with my £1.99 manual brush!

==How it works and features==

The toothbrush needs to stand on its charger for about 12 hours prior to use, to ensure it's fully charged. A small button controls the head of brush which makes it oscillate, rotate and pulsate, in an aim to reduce twice as much plaque as a standard toothbrush. I was impressed by the way that it lets you know if you're pressing on too hard - it can be tempting to do so as I think it is more difficult to tell how much pressure you're applying with this instrument. It's just a very subtle buzz that can be heard/felt rather than an alarm type noise!

It also features a 2 minute timer to ensure that you're brushing your teeth for an adequate time. I found this a good feature although I didn't feel the need to make use of it. I can imagine it would be useful for a rushing younger generation or to anyone who finds brushing their teeth a chore.
A tiny, discreet light on the handle flashes red when the brushs is close to needing charging again. I found this to be a very helpful little extra as it gives warning, rather than the brush simply cutting out mid-use. As soon as the light comes on, I return the brush to its base overnight, then it is ready for use again in the morning. It does take up to 12 hours to fully re-charge but this gives a full 30 minutes of powerful use. That may not sound much, but 2 minutes per day, twice a day, equates to a full week of use without charging.

==Results==

I've been using this Oral B for about 6 weeks now and overall I am impressed with the results. After cleaning, my teeth feel much smoother under-tongue than they previously did - a similar feeling to visiting the dental hygienist, but without the pain or saliva filled mouth! The knowledge that my teeth are getting the best clean possible puts my mind at rest, plus at least the dentist will be pleased that I took her advice!
My teeth could possibly be a subtle shade lighter than they were too. Admittedly, this may be all in my mind due to the fact that they feel cleaner, it's difficult to tell, but it certainly does its job.

==Any negatives==

In my opinion, there are no major drawbacks. As to be expected with an electrical appliancxe, it does make some noise whilst in use. I don't find 2 minutes buzzing a huge problem though - living with 2 children, a dog and a cat means I'm used to a bit of background noise!
The only other tiny bug-bear is that it comes with 2 separate brush head - one standard and one for sensitive teeth. Personally, I would have found it more helpful if it had come with 2 standard heads as I won't use the other one. Likewise, I'm sure anyone with sensitive teeth would prefer 2 sensitive brush heads - I'm sure it's more unlikely someone will want one of each. I guess the main benefit of this is that, if the user is unsure of which type is best, they can test both and then buy the appropriate refills.

In summary, the toothbrush is effective, works well and has a good range of features. However, even though this was onn special offer when I bought it, I still feel it may have been unnecessary to spend £40 on this, when perhaps a lesser known brand of electric toothbrush could have given the same results at a fraction of the price.
Having said that, I will get my moneys worth out of this one, hence the value is good.