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Oral-B Professional Care 600
by kevin121
There are very few sights more pitiful than someone attempting to brush their teeth with an electric toothbrush that no longer works. That someone was me for a few days recently, once my existing Oral B electric toothbrush had expired.
How difficult can it be to choose a new toothbrush? A quick glance on the internet and I ... found the market in electric toothbrushes has grown since I bought my now lifeless Vitality.
Fortunately, wading through all the chaff stopped the instant I spied this toothbrush on the Superdrug website. I could of course saved some time and effort and simply bought another Vitality Precision toothbrush. For around £18 it isn't a bad toothbrush but then it isn't in a fetching pink colour like this one.
Aside from its pinkness, the Professional Care 600 pretty much covered all my bases and more importantly my teeth. I wanted one that's easy to use and clean, which is lightweight, and as suitable for going away as it is at home. Oh, and I was inclined to opt for one which uses the same Precision Clean brush head as the Vitality which I like and am comfortable using. Not much to ask then...
In the box I got...
.. the Professional care 600 handle, a Precision Clean brush head, a standard Oral B charging base unit to recharge the battery and the travel case.
~ Featureless? ~
If you want a toothbrush which comes complete with its own UV sanitiser unit, or feel you need feedback as to how well you're brushing your teeth via a wireless 'smart guide' then you will surely find this too basic. It suits me just fine though. It's at the lower end of what Oral B call a "£2.9 billion brushing market" meaning they could reasonably have got away with little or no frills, but credit to them they didn't entirely scrimp.
Like my old Vitality brush this pauses after two minutes, which is apparently the recommended time for brushing ones teeth. Unlike my old brush it also stutters slightly every 30 seconds, the idea being that you give each quarter of your mouth the same level of attention before moving on. This is an improvement for me as I'm sure I used to spend too much time focussing on just a few areas once the whirring of the brush head started me contemplating life and I lost track of time. Even better than using a manual brush as I'm sure back in the day I probably not only cleaned for far shorter than recommended but a good deal harder too, generally causing more damage to my teeth and gums.
Not content with one light on the handle which flashes green when it's charging, the Professional Care 600 has a second light which will flash red when the battery needs recharging. Much simpler than that of the guesswork needed to use the Vitality which simply got slower and less powerful until it ground to a halt, annoyingly nearly always mid use.
Don't be fooled by the name though. The 600 stands for, frankly, nothing. Neither do the others in the range from the 500 up to the 3000 aside from the higher the number the more frivolous features you can expect to find. The important part to note when choosing any electric brush is how fast it rotates and pulsates (yes, really). This is one step up from the Professional Care 500 toothbrush - the only difference is that this one rotates 8,800 times per minute compared to 7,600 times for the PC 500 model and pulsates a staggering 20,000 times. As for the Vitality, the Person Who Names Toothbrushes at Oral B must have a good sense of irony as there isn't even the tiniest flicker of a pulsation at all. It does stand its ground with the 500 on rotations though so all is right with the world.
~ Ease of use ~
Straight out of the box and I encountered my biggest bugbear with it. Or rather lack of. Not the fact that this brush should be charged for 17 hours prior to first using it, (which seems excessive unless you have the teeth of an enormous crocodile) but that nowhere on the tiny accompanying leaflet does it state how long it should be charged for initially. I only found that out some time after from the Oral B website. Fortunately they redeemed themselves by selling this already partly charged up, so after only a few hours it was good to go.
The charging unit is the small, no-frills one used for all their entry level brushes. It's easy to keep clean and compact enough to travel with. Some of the fancier brushes have a charger which can store four brushes. Ideal for a family at home maybe but not for travelling light. Perhaps my bathroom is hopelessly outdated, but we don't have a shaver socket at home. Not an issue generally but the charger is a 2 pin variety so if this is your first electric toothbrush you will also need to have a suitable adaptor.
The brush (the front half is pink with the back being white) is not so much easy to use but effortless, as teeth brushing should be. There are no confusing choices to make like which cleaning mode to use, just brush and go.
The power button needs a fairly firm finger to switch on or off, but that's fine as perhaps there's less chance of it going off accidentally when it's packed in my luggage.
The ridges above and beneath the power button are enough to get a good grip but also easy to keep free of toothpaste. It wasn't until I bought this one that I realised how icky the ridges of my Vitality brush were by comparison.
The handle is lightweight although the weight seems more distributed towards the base rather than evenly like my Vitality. Not a problem in use but the design which is fractionally bottom heavy makes this easier to balance than the Vitality if it wasn't kept on the charger.
The Precision clean brush head is predominantly white with disappointingly dark blue bristles. Disappointing because it clashes dreadfully with the lovely pinkness beneath it. The bristles, as they wear, go a lighter blue indicating the need to replace the head, roughly every three months. Looks aside, I really like this particular brush head. Thanks to it being small and round I can reach my back teeth far easier than the heads normally seen on manual brushes. It cleans my teeth well and the bristles are neither too hard to go near my gums or feel like they're scraping the enamel. I imagine this would be ideal for younger people still wearing braces too. If that doesn't suit you, then all the other Oral B brush heads can be used with this except the Sonic and Pulsonic ranges. These are twice the size and personally, not to my liking.
Overall, this toothbrush is so easy to use that my little pinkie resolutely refuses to have anything to do with it, and sticks out as if I'm a posh bird drinking a cup of tea.
~ Do I like it? ~
Blue is the colour...
.. of the bristles on the Precision Clean brush head (try saying that when you're tipsy!), which is the only real issue I have with this Professional Care package. While the colour blends nicely with the Vitality brush as it may well do with others, it doesn't really gel with mine. With each new brush head Oral B provide a little band in different colours to slip onto the brush head where it joins the brush. These are in case a couple - or an entire family - want to use just the one brush. In theory a good idea but in practice it proves fiddly and easy to forget to change the tiny bands. I don't know why Oral B can't simply make the bristles in a range of colours.
Nevertheless it still looks rather more modern than the Vitality toothbrush and whether its charging, on my windowsill or in its travel case it takes up no room at all.
It feels...
..lightweight enough to use only holding it with three fingers and thumb (something I never cracked with a manual toothbrush). Neither does it feel cheap or tacky unless you equate pink with tack. An improvement would be to substitute the 2 pin charger for a 3 pin plug for the UK market but this is common with Philips toothbrushes as well.
More importantly, my teeth feel as if they've been thoroughly cleaned without my being too overzealous. Oral B state on the box that this will remove "up to" 100% more plaque than a regular manual toothbrush. Having used it for a few weeks now, I'm more inclined to think it's nearer the 100% than, say 5%. Aside from the plaque removal, I don't feel that I'm doing any long term damage by brushing too vigorously either.
What I do dislike is the cost of the replaceable heads. A pack of 4 generally costs around £16 in Boots and around £10 online if you were to shop at the Oral B store on Amazon.
Niggles aside, yes I like it.
~ Overall ~
I wanted a decent electric toothbrush which I could use at home with minimal fuss and this Professional Care fits the bill nicely. It's small enough to be travel friendly although I haven't been on holiday since buying it. Despite never having any problems with my old Vitality toothbrush switching on inadvertently in transit when I took it away, the travel case will no doubt prove more useful than having to find space in my toiletries bag like I usually do.
Having used an electric toothbrush for around four years now, I wouldn't go back to manually brushing. Ultimately though - and aside from your choice of toothpaste - dental care boils down to how long you brush for, how thorough you are and the kind of head on your toothbrush. Fancier toothbrushes - and some reach the dizzy heights of £200 - have other features which seem frivolous to me. Who really needs a bulky storage unit built into the charger base for four brush heads, or wants to check an lcd display when they're running late for work?
This is ideal for me and so it comes highly recommended. For those who have an issue with the pink colour, there is the standard PC 600 which might be more to your liking for a similar price but sans travel case.
Currently sold at various retailers for £24.95 which is half price, and in my opinion a steal.
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Oral-B Vitality Precision Clean
by Lydsabug
I had always wanted an electric toothbrush but really didnt bother until my hygienist recommended it, she said it prevents over pressing on the gums and resulting damage when they start to recede. Also, they are great for cleaning in between the teeth, when a normal toothbrush may not actually reach. After my check up, i was paying and I ... noticed they were on sale a t the back of reception and bought one. Apparently they were on offer at £25 but i did see this one a little cheaper in Boots a little while later.
The packaging looks good, with the toothbrush visible on the right hand side and all the promotional information to the left, for some reason, im always impressed with blue and white boxes and this didnt disappoint with its shiny white teeth on the front. I wanted those teeth and here was my chance to dazzle the world......I went home to commence the cleaning routine.
This toothbrush is able to oscilate over 7,600 times a minute and thats impressive in itself, spinning that fast is sure to tackle any build up of plaque and blast it off my teeth without a second thought. I was worried at first that this may in fact hurt if it hit the gums in any kind of manner that they werent used to but this was not the case, because of the speed, it made the brush sort of 'bounce' over them but cleaned them really well. I was impressed with the claims of reducing the plaque by up to 2 times the standard rate of a manula toothbrush and this would only be proven by my next visit to the dentist, so hereby cant comment yet on that.
The toothbrush came out of the packing with a little persuasion, as always with the hard plastic casing, it takes a lot of pulling and cutting with a good pair of scissors. It fits the hand well, bigger than my normal toothbrush but felt solid and of good quality, nothing less than i would expect from Oral B really. The battery is sealed into the brush and this provided the weight behind the brush (always a good thing when something feels weighty!). There is a stand in the box for the toothbrush to stand on to charge and this plugs into the shaver adaptor so can only really be charged in the bathroom unless you get an adaptor plug. The fot is good, the toothbrush doesnts wobble and there is a slight buzzing noise when its charging, this could in fact by my socket as I feel as if the noise comes from the wall!!
The toothbrush has a head that is easily removed for changing and the one its fitted with is the Precision clean on, which seems pretty big at first glance. Well i say big but its not as wide as my normal toothbrush but seems to sit higher on the shaft of the toothbrush. There is another brush head for interdental cleaning which is the bit i particularly like about this item, it feels like you have a really good tooth cleaning experience.
Now im not too sure whether to wet the head prior to putting the toothpaste on or not but let me tell you that for me, this doesnt work.. I pressed the on button which is situated half ay down the handle of the brush and off felw the paste, had I used my brain I should have put this into my mouth first and then prssed but i really wanted to see it working. On other occasions when i have done just that and placed it onto the teeth, it produces too much fluid in the mouth and makes cleaning unpleasant as its dripping down my chin and if Im not careful, my clothes too.
Trying this without water first is better for me and the only downide there would be that I need to use a little more paste than normal to cover my whole set of 'pearlies'. I usually just cup my hand for rinsing water and swill as it doesnt work to try and rinse with the brush, water flying everywhere and a right old mess in the bathroom.
When using this toothbrush, there is a buzzing noise which isnt too loud and the brush glides over the teeth. There are bristles on the brush that change colour after about 3 mnths use (although they seemed to fade sooner with mine) to remind you to change the head, these are easily bought at most chemists and supermarkets and you can choose the best to suit you. The dentist recommends that we brush our teeth for 2 minutes each time x 2 a day and this toothbrush has a built in timer to pulsate when you have reached that time, it doesnt switch off but is just a reminder so if you havent finished, you can continue. Great for when you think you have been brushing for an age only to realise there is still time left.
My toothbrush lasts for around 4 days before it needs recharging, pretty good in my book. It takes about 15-30 minutes to get a good charge into the unit but i always leave my charging through the day after the morning brush.
There are plenty of other brushes on the market that are more expensive and I know a lot of them offer a few more perks but this for me is ideal. You can have a brushing head for each member of the family but i wouldnt do this as when you are brushing all sorts of saliva and paste tend to run down the handle.....not particularly nice for the next person even though its easily washed.
Great little toothbrush at a good price. My teeth always feel lovely when I have brushed with this ans I could certainly give Donny Osmond a run for his money!
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