Over a year ago, during a regular check-up, my dentist suggested I get an electric tooth-brush. I chose to ignore his advice. What did I need an electric toothbrush for? I have been using a manual toothbrush for 46 years and that was working just fine thank you very much. (I do have a tendency to react that way about everything new: Why would I want an IPod? What on earth would I do with a Kindle?etc...)

This year my dentist suggested (again) that I should acquire an electric toothbrush. It came with a long lecture about the sad state of my inflamed gums the essence of which was (and I am shortening this for your sake): You will lose all your teeth by the time you're 60 if you do not buy an electric toothbrush NOW! He also said, bless him, that it was absolutely pointless buying an expensive one and that a £15 toothbrush would do the job perfectly.

With my arm firmly twisted, I proceeded to Boots and embarked on my new mission in life i.e. sorting out my bleeding gums (quite literally) and avoiding premature toothlessness.

Boots must have known I was coming as most electric toothbrushes were half-price to celebrate ....the Olympics! Yes, this last bit of information left me somewhat baffled as I could not quite see the link but I decided to join in the Olympic spirit and after carefully perusing the range of toothbrushes on offer for about 30 seconds I settled on the Oral-B Vitality Dual Clean Electric Toothbrush attractively priced at £17.99 instead of 34.99.

Once home I plugged in my toothbrush to charge (European plug here so you will need a shaver plug in the bathroom or an adaptor) and proceeded to wait 16 hours for it to charge fully as per the instruction booklet.

After about 4 hours of breathless anticipation, I could not take it any longer and I just had to try it.
So now this is the bit where I have to admit that my dentist was right and I was wrong. I was an instant convert! After brushing my teeth for just 2 minutes ( and there is a little timer keeping track for you) my teeth felt amazingly clean and smooth and I could not stop looking at them in the mirror as I felt they were a lot shinier than normal.

I have now been using the toothbrush for 2 weeks and the difference it has made is quite amazing. My gums used to bleed quite badly when I was brushing my teeth. Biting into an apple was not something I would ever consider anymore and I even bled biting into a banana (although I never confessed to this one to my dentist). The bleeding has now completely stopped and I have successfully submitted my teeth to the apple test.

I find it very easy to use and clean. I charge it once a week although I feel that battery life would probably exceed a week .
The head is meant to last about 4 months and although the replacements seem quite expensive at about £ 16.50 for 4, I will look out for special offers.

I would give my electric toothbrush 5 stars as I find it has made a huge difference in a short time although I suspect most other models would have been equally good .
Now, who thinks I should get a Kindle ??