'E by gum......... I need to get an electric toothbrush. (Braun Oral-B Vitality)

Name: rune_tune

Hello doyoo user, You have to be logged in to use these functions... Login or register Close window

Send message to member

Product:	Braun Oral-B Vitality
Date:	10.04.08 (234 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great price for the quality of clean

Disadvantages: Short cable to the charger. Some Limited features

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth......

~ ~ The Dentist says..... ~ ~

Okay, my dental hygiene isn't so bad that I've lost my two front teeth. In fact, I've been very lucky as an adult to have little wrong with my teeth (one treatment over 25 years).
And in that time, I've generally only gone for a standard hand held toothbrush! But, I've begun to notice the old gums are now struggling a little, and after a chat with my dentist, I decided it was time just to invest in an electric form of brush.

Again, I had a chat with the dentist to see what he recommended, and while they would recommend the best you can afford, they have no qualms about the cheaper end of the market, so I began to hunt around to see what I could find.

I was walking through our local Wilkinson's store when I came across this brush on special offer, reduced down from £11-95 to £4-99. I had a look at it and decided to go for it, since it was an Oral B Product and so a brand name I knew.

I also noticed it had a two pin plug, which means you either have to use a shaver point in the bathroom if you have one for the base charger, or like me - grab a 65 pence adapter for the standard 3 pin socket.

~ ~ So what can an electric toothbrush actually do? ~ ~

Well the first thing I was told was it would help a lot with my gums, allowing them to be a lot healthier, with a 60 to 70% reduction in gingivitis (inflammation of the gums).

Generally it is claimed that an electric toothbrush can clean better than a manual one, giving you cleaner teeth, helps to reduce staining on the teeth, and that does seem to be a very valid claim.

The brush has a non-slip grip handle, which is easy to hold and I do have arthritis, and found this was an added bonus for me, since I now find it easier to hold due to the design of the handle and the fact I don't need to grip it as much as I did when manually cleaning. For that reason alone I wish I had done the swap from manual to electric some time ago.

The actual head removes plaque effectively, and according to the literature that came with it, has 7,600 movements per minute!
The brush head also changes colour by losing its colour to show when a replacement is needed.

The brush head is interchangeable between different types. This allows you to have the Flexisoft (the one it is supplied with). The Flexisoft head is designed to surround each tooth for complete access with the bristles, allowing an in-depth clean.

The ProBright brush head (which you would need to buy separately and mine cost £8-95 for a pack of 4) features a special polishing cup that is designed to help naturally whiten the teeth as you clean them.

The charge is supposed to last up to 20 minutes, and so far that does seem to be about the correct figure so I usually get 3 or 4 days of cleaning out of the brush before having to charge again.

You get a base charger unit (as I've said though, it does only come with a two pin plug, so either a new plug or an adaptor is needed).

~ ~ Getting to grips with the brush ~ ~

Once you've opened the packaging, you find you have all you need to get started. However, as with most electrical goods, you are told to charge for about 12 to 14 hours before first using the Brush, which is what I did.

The basis of charging is to simply pop the base of the Brush onto a single round pin, and this then charges the brush. There are no noticeable electrical pins that make any kind of connection, so I am not too sure quite how the charge process works, because the brush also doesn't have a separate battery compartment. I assume it is somehow achieved by a coil system of some kind, but I'm not too bothered as to what makes it tick - All I know is, mine did after it was charged, and so far has continued to do so.

The recommendation is also that you allow the brush to fully discharge about every 6 months, to then fully charge again. This is also another fairly standard recommendation on rechargeable items, so no surprises to read it.

My complaint is the electrical cable does seem very short to me. I suppose its designed to be for a Shaver Power Point in the bathroom, so they assume that would be near a shelf or other place to put the charger, but it doesn't really give you any leeway when using a standard socket. It just about does the job, but I would have preferred just a little more length on there.

It would also be nice to have a small warning light to tell you it is charging because you have no indication when you do put it in the base charger if it is working or not. But minor complaints which don't affect the actual brushes ability to do its job, but it would be nice to add these touches.

~ ~ The Cleaning ~ ~

So, the brush is now fully charged and ready to go - How does it do?

The first change I noticed was the difference between my old manual brush and this thing going off in my mouth! It was actually quite a shock to begin with, and it's hard to try and explain just how different the experience is. I wouldn't say it was unpleasant because it wasn't, just quite a different feeling.
Once I got over the initial shock, it was a nice smooth feeling I was left with. I could actually feel a difference on the surface of my teeth, even after the first clean. It takes a little getting used to using the toothpaste as the brush whistles about, but I guess everyone has their own way of ensuring the toothpaste is really getting used, not just 'moved' around the mouth ahead of the brush as it rotates.

My gums and teeth began to show an improvement within a week, and while some people might get some initial bleeding when changing from a manual brush, I didn't really find it a problem, and within a month I knew my mouth was in far better shape than it had ever been!

The brush head pops off nicely to then allow good cleaning of the head and main body once you've cleaned your teeth. There is a recommended routine to clean the toothbrush once you've finished cleaning your teeth, and its easy enough to get into the habit of doing it the Braun way.

~ ~ General thoughts ~ ~

When Electric Toothbrushes first came out there is no doubt they were expensive! I think the cheapest I saw was around £50-00, but today you can pick up a battery operated brush from a pound! And electric rechargeable ones like this for as little as £5-00 upwards.

Well, it isn't the most expensive brush out there, and so you don't get some of the features they would otherwise give, like a pressure sensor or a timer, although other versions of this particular make do have these options, again well priced so if you want, its worth looking around and seeing what you can find.

But because it is an Oral B product, it does allow you to use different heads on it, which is great if you want to try and get the teeth a little whiter for example.
Even without the ProBright heads, this does clean your teeth over time and help remove staining that a manual toothbrush fails to do.
As I've said, the rubberised body is easy to hold, and has a nice ergonomic design to it.
The buttons are fairly easy to use (although I did switch it off a couple of times when I first used it by mistake but not now I've got used to it).
The speed is nice and constant. It is only a single speed setting (some other models do have 2 or more speeds).

Once your brushed your teeth, there is no doubt you're mouth feels fresher and cleaner than it does from a manual clean.
You should change the brush on these every 3 months - or when the colour on the brush shows sign of change. I must admit, I change mine between 3 to 6 months, depending on how the colour is looking on the bristles. Some heads seem to last better than others.

~ ~ Final thoughts ~ ~

I would hope everyone has some desire to ensure they maintain as good a dental practice as is possible, and if you're looking to delve into the Electric Toothbrush market; this is an ideal starting point.

The one downside is its lack of features some of the other more expensive models can offer, as well as the short charger cable that is an annoyance rather than a real problem.
Cost - I've seen it from £8-99 to £11-95 in various department stores. Most notable have been Wilkinsons and Boots.

Replacement head cost - Again a pack of 4 can often been seen in most department stores for around £8-95, however it is well worth checking out online (like Ebay) where I got 12 replacement heads for under £10-00.
I've got no complaints about this brush, and my teeth and gums are certainly a happier place now I use this.

*My review also on Ciao*

Summary: Not the all singing all dancing brush you can get, but it still manages to clean your tooth well.

Processing/Quality:
Reliability:
Ease of use:
Cleaning/Maintenance:
Quality: