Confessions of a former electric toothbrush virgin 


Review of the Braun Oral-B electric toothbrush I recently purchased from Amazon.co.uk. 

After being recommended to buy an electric toothbrush by my dentist because of gum problems caused by over brushing, I decided to invest in a Braun Oral-B 7500 DLX from Amazon. As this was my first experience of using an electric toothbrush, I can't really compare it to any other models, but it does seem to do a pretty good job. Whilst I wouldn't say that my teeth feel dramatically cleaner than with manual brushing, the Oral-B does seem to be better at getting into all the nooks and crannies, and my teeth did look noticeably whiter even after just a few days of usage.

The unit itself feels solid and easy to handle, thanks to the rubber grips, and is an dark blue colour with attractive 'sparkly bits' moulded into the plastic (unlike the one in the photo). Whilst it takes a bit of getting used to guiding a vibrating stick around your mouth, with a bit of practice you can easily locate the brush head over each tooth in turn as the instructions recommend. A timer function causes the unit to emit a brief judder every 30 seconds as a reminder to move onto the next part of your mouth, with a final double dose at the end of the two minute cycle before starting all over again. This is a great feature and I was amazed at how quickly the two minutes are up - I must have been brushing my teeth for way too long before! The only slight gripe I had was with the placement of the on/off button, which doubles up as the speed control, as several times I accidentally pressed it with my thumb. However, once I got used to holding the unit properly with my thumb over the moulded rubber grip this wasn't a problem.

As a former electric toothbrush virgin, I would highly recommend the Braun Oral-B 7500 DLX to anyone who is thinking of taking the plunge into battery assisted oral hygiene. Although forty quid is a lot of money to spend on a toothbrush, I was very satisfied with the results, and it makes toothbrushing a brief and almost completely effortless experience (no more excuses for sneaking off to bed without brushing my teeth first!). Although it's too early to tell if it makes any difference to my gums, I don't think I'll be going back to using a manual toothbrush in a hurry.

Now, if only Braun made an electric flosser then I could REALLY impress my dentist...

Rating: 5 out of 5 

Posted on Tuesday - January 18, 2005 at 04:26 PM            

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