Are Two Heads Better Than One? (Braun Oral B Vitality Dual Clean)

Member Name: rosebud2001

Product:	Braun Oral B Vitality Dual Clean
Date:	18/09/09 (182 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Dual action really does help prevent plaque build up, timer to ensure you brush for two minutes

Disadvantages: Battery life is poor, can be expensive to buy if you don't shop around

I have a thing about dual head toothbrushes, having got my first one several years ago, an Oral B battery operated one. Sadly I was finding it increasingly difficult to locate replacement brush heads for it, so when I was out shopping a couple of weeks ago and noticed Superdrug were selling Oral B Vitality electric toothbrushes for £9.99 I decided to see if the Dual Action version was included in the offer.

Upon seeing it was, I duly snapped it up and headed off home to liberate it from that godawful sealed shut clear thick plastic packaging that I feel is a blight on civilisation and needs industrial strength scissors to open.

~~What You Get~~

Included in the box is the toothbrush, electrical charging base and a spare head. The RRP is £29.99 so I got a bargain. The charging base is designed for use with a two pin shaver plug, so if you want to charge it elsewhere you will need to get a shaver plug adaptor but these can be picked up in the likes of Poundstretchers for about a pound.

~~The Brush~~

You need to charge the brush up overnight before use as the battery is a NiMh internal one and will not work from the box. Once it's charged you are ready to go.

As the name would suggest, the head for this brush consists of two parts and is designed to be more effective at cleaning by removing both plaque and stains, claiming it can help to naturally whiten your teeth.

When in use you really feel the head spinning - there are 7,600 brush head movements per minute, working away to help clean your teeth.

Additionally, there is a timer on the brush - after two minutes have elapsed the power will "stutter" to inform you the time has elapsed.

~~My Thoughts~~

After using the brush the first time I experienced slight bleeding on the gums. According to the user guide, this is normal and I also suspect the fact I used the timer feature and brushed for an exact two minutes would have acerbated this given I now know what I thought was two minutes in my head is probably closer to one!

The brush is relatively lightweight but is quite noisy - when the heads oscillate you can really hear them working away.

I did feel the brush was very effective at brushing however - my teeth have felt cleaner since I started to use the brush and I have felt less build up of plaque around my gums.

My one gripe however is battery life - it is supposed to give 30 minutes brushing time on one charge which sounds like a lot but if you are using it for 4 minutes to brush your teeth twice a day, you soon realise you are going to have to recharge this at least once a week.

I was dismayed however to find the battery had drained just 4 days after the initial charge up and whilst it has lasted for 6 days thereafter, I still think the battery life is poor.

The charging base isn't brilliant either - the length of flex isn't particularly long and whilst I suppose this has been designed for using with in a bathroom with a shaver plug socket, if you don't have one you will find yourself having to place the toothbrush charger somewhere very close to a plug socket - and you may well find that is on the floor. The brush can also be quite easily knocked off the charging base.

Oral B do suggest you let the battery run right down at least once every 6 months to extend the battery life too.

I do like this brush however, in spite of my complaints. I like the versatility it offers due to the fact you can use Precision Clean, Sensitive and ProBright heads with this brush as well as the Dual Clean ones. It should be noted however that the Oral B Vitality Sonic heads do not work with it, which is typical as my daughter has the Sonic brush.

Changing the heads is relatively easy - you just pull them out and put a new one on by slotting it on. Replacement heads are also easily available and are often on offer in supermarkets and drugstores. I picked up 4 replacement heads in Superdrug for £9.99 for instance. You may be able to get a better deal on eBay - it's always worth a look. As with a manual toothbrush, you should replace the head every 3 months.

Similarly, cleaning the brush is straightforward - just remove the head and rinse the brush head and handle separately under running water and leave to dry before reattaching the head.

Overall I am impressed with this brush and the results it has given. My teeth definitely feel cleaner, the build up of plaque has lessened significantly and I feel the brush is doing it's job. My only gripe is with the battery life, but this isn't a huge problem when weighed up against the advantages the brush offers.

I wouldn't pay full price for this brush but if you can pick it up for under £15, I would heartily recommend it.

Summary: Electic toothbrush from OralB that proves two heads really are better than one

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