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Spec me an electric toothbrush please
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mattyfezFull Member
Hello all!
Currently using manual toothbrush, always have.
But everyone I’ve spoken to who uses them swears by them.What’s good value in terms of ease of charging, long battery life and reasonably priced replacement heads?
Also I’ve tried them before and when you put some paste on the bristles, it tends to fly off in a random direction so I guess there’s some technique involved too?
Thanks!
joshvegasFree MemberPut it in your mouth before you turn it on.
Perhaps they aren’t for you….
cinnamon_girlFull MemberMy experience is that the toothbrush needs to be replaced after some 4 years max which of course bugs me no end. Replacement heads are expensive although there are cheap imitations to be had, haven’t tried any though. Have tended to buy Oral-B or Philips and definitely shop around.
Do you see a hygienist? They can help with technique and definitely worth doing if only to show you how to switch it on once it’s in your mouth!
mattyfezFull MemberJust looking for an e-brush as a daily ride really.
I’ve never realy used one before.
Happy with my hard tail but I don’t want to mess about with more battery charging etc.OnzadogFree MemberNot bring able to decide if Phillips or Oral-b were best, I had a cheap one of each. Use one in the morning and one in the evening. The only difference I’ve noticed is that the Phillips battery outlasts the Oral-b both in brushes per charge and number of charges before battery performance loss.
slackaliceFree MemberAs above, Philips or Oral-B. Personally I like the oral-b, my current one has a timer built in too. I tend to be a bit aggressive with a manual brush and damage the gum line so my hygienist recommended I use an electric one.
Don’t forget to floss or Pikster or Tee-Pee either 😬
mulacsFull MemberCheap oral b tends to be a bit gutless I have found. Now on a Philips and impressed with power and action. Like cg, they need to be replaced more frequently than you’d expect, oral b batteries go and Philips seal went and allowed water in. Replaced with another of the same however.
FuzzyWuzzyFull MemberI have one of the Oral-B models with a separate screen that has a timer and a smiley/frowny face (depending on how much pressure you use). Waste of money, think I changed the battery once in the screen and haven’t bothered since (must be 6 or 7 years old now), I imagine the ones that link to your phone are equally pointless. The toothbrush itself is good though – can’t really comment on battery life as mines always put back on a charger but it’s plenty powerful.
I did have a cheap Aldi one before before, it was OK but prefer the rotating action of the Oral-B
andy4dFull MemberI have used oral b for years and find replacement heads cheaper and a bit easier to find then Philips. Never pay full price whatever you buy as they are always on offer, avoid the all singing and dancing ones (unless that’s your thing) and like wise avoid the basic ones (slower motor) and go mid range, 2000 or 3000 are usually best bang for your buck IMO.
stumpy01Full MemberI bought a Colgate Omron branded electric toothbrush a few years ago, having had the normal Oral-B electric toothbrushes for a while. It was reduced to £60 or something & when i took it to the till it only came up as £30, so seemed like a no-brainer to give it a try.
The head doesn’t rotate like the Oral-B ones, but vibrates.Like this: LINK
It takes a while to get used to, as it can feel quite tickly/vibrate-y on your teeth to start with, but really does get your teeth clean.
They seem to be re-branded now as Colgate Proclinical & can be had for around £20 and a pack of 4 replacement heads is around £12 so not a great deal more than a half decent normal toothbrush.ceepersFull Memberthe professional view:
Oral B.
Pretty much any model. They came up with a great initial design, proved it worked better than a manual brush in the average punters hands then had to keep reinventing more bells and whistles to keep selling it. Dont spend £100 on a toothbrush.
Don’t be worried about how “high powered” a brush is. The stuff youre brushing away has the consistency of cream cheese so you don’t need to be heavy handed and if you are ( with elec or manual brush) you can cause gum recession and sensitive teeth
also see:link
thepuristFull MemberWe’ve gone from Philips to oral b and back to Philips. Oral b didn’t hold charge for long and the battery life got even worse fairly quickly, philips lasted much longer and I actually feel it does a better job on my teeth.
NobeerinthefridgeFree MemberAs ceepers says, forget power, you’re brushing teeth, not digging up a road.
Floss daily, oral b cheapest model, never any need for scale and polish any more, thankfully!.
ceepersFull MemberAlso:
Both the oral B and the Phillips have good evidence in trials to show they are better than brushing with a manual brush.
There’s no clear winner between the two brushes in the literature. It often seems like the winner depends on who’s sponsored the research :-/
That said, most dentists recommend the oral B (although oral b have given away a lot of free toothbrushes over the years.) The sonic action of the phillips might make your teeth “feel” cleaner
Finally, remember, it doesn’t matter which one you’ve got, you still need to use something else ( floss or little interdental brushes) to clean the gaps between the teeth or you will be leaving bugs behind and they will still cause problems. No electric brush cleans these areas effectively and nor does mouthwash
footflapsFull MemberI’ve been using Philips Sonicare for ages. Quite impressed by their newer models, changing the Li-ion battery is quite simple whereas the early ones were set in adhesive, making it very hard. Just changed the cell in my current one after maybe 4 years, will hopefully get a few more out of it now.
As for replacement heads, we just buy clones from Amazon, which are close enough to the originals but about 1/10 the price.
TiRedFull MemberCheapest Oral-B you can find.
This. And yes, turn it on when In the mouth. The only downside is that the cream cheese solution runs down the brush handle and eventually dries on the charging base, so you need to scrape it off once it’s dried every few weeks. Great design and a charge lasts a week for travel. I use the soft brushes.
lambchopFree MemberGet over to Amazon and type in Fairywill sonic toothbrush. They are cheap and clean fantastically. The rechargeable battery last month’s. I go to the dentist once a year and usually have to have my teeth cleaned with the dentist’s whizzy thing. Since using the fairywill there has been no need.
simons_nicolai-ukFree Memberthe professional view:
Oral B.
Pretty much any model. They came up with a great initial design, proved it worked better than a manual brush in the average punters hands then had to keep reinventing more bells and whistles to keep selling it. Dont spend £100 on a toothbrush.Don’t be worried about how “high powered” a brush is.
I’ve had Oral B toothbrushes for years. the ‘faster’/higher powered ones feel better in use to me, but that’s not getting expensive – no more than about £30. They were still using NiMH batteries in all but the very expensive ones until very recently. Last about 5 days.
Looks like there are now some Li-Ion models at a decent price – I’d buy this – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Oral-B-CrossAction-Toothbrush-Rechargeable-Including/dp/B00K2U5XFK?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1&psc=1
trumptonFree Memberbuy one these too. They are brilliant. I use one every day as I hate flossing and my dentist says my teeth are great. Use before brushing and spray the gum base and back and forth across all of the teeth areas exposed. Cleans under the gums too. Mine has lasted 2years so far. Removes all plaque that brushing or flossing cannot remove and cleans between the teeth.
CougarFull MemberWhatever Oral-B is on offer in the supermarket or TK Maxx, there’s always a couple of models up for like half price. They’re the DFS of the toothbrush world.
Don’t be swayed by paying a premium for fancy heads, they’re all the same basic mechanism and you can stick a 4D Super Mega Ultra Turbo head on a cheap body.
creakingdoorFree MemberOral B Pro600 is £22 in Tesco and lots of other outlets too atm, down from £50 (allegedly).
I’ve just bought my second one, the first lasted 10+ years. I only recharge it when it runs flat, it’s got a 2 minute timer and pulses every 30 seconds to tell you to move on – I do 2 minutes of squats at the same time. I don’t change the head as often as I should, but the new head feels much better than the old one.
Don’t bother with the OralB 9001 syncro-laser-ultrainfrananopicodeca-sonic-hyperdrive-GTi-xrayvision-turbodrivewithaddedlightspeed versions. Apparently they’re no better (who knew?).ThePinksterFull MemberI bought a replacement Oral B a couple of months ago from Asda – was 17 quid and had a timer that vibrates every 30 seconds so you know when you’ve done it enough. I generally split my mouth onto quarters, top left, top right, etc, and do 30 seconds on each one.
I’ve been using them for more year than I care to remember – have tried others but prefer the rotating head of the Oral B and the huge range and availability of different types of head.
EDIT – This is the one but appears to have doubled in price in the last couple of months.. Asda often seems to have them at a reduced price though so worth keeping an eye out or.
wobbliscottFree MemberMy gum and oral health improved massively when I started using an electric toothbrush and it wasn’t bad to begin with so I’m an advocate. I’ve only ever used OralB which seems to be what most dentists recommend…but they’re probably not the most impartial as most seem to be sponsored by OralB, but they’re good all the same. Avoid the gimmick features, like connection to WiFi and apps and all that nonsense…just go for a rechargeable one instead of a separate battery powered one, and one with the light that warns you that you are pressing too hard, which is very useful.
heads are silly expensive though but so are dentist bills so a bit of upfront investment saves you in the long run.
onewheelgoodFull MemberOral-B – I think they are all Li-Ion now, but definitely don’t buy one that isn’t as the battery will die after a couple of years. As above, I think the timer is worth having, but none of the other ‘features’ make any difference to how well they clean your teeth.
timmysFull MemberWhat’s the feeling on genuine Oral B heads (4 for £10) versus generic from eg. Amazon (24 for £10)
These are what I got last time;
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B017GAHLPI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1TiRedFull MemberBuy genuine. Research costs money. Higher quality in cheaper products is always money well spent.
We had a show of fake toothbrushes at work (GSK). Close up the bristles looks like they would cut your gums! There are a LOT of factories making tooth brushes in China and some have chosen to “borrow” branding for a little extra income. So buy branded and you know what you are getting.
tjmooreFull MemberMy few thoughts on the subject (I am not a dentist / hygienist).
+1 cheapest Oral-B. Don’t need any of the bells and whistles.
The main point is they just make you clean more thoroughly than a manual brush. They don’t clean everything though.
You still need to floss. Yes, you won’t floss. Hence hygienist 😏
Hygienist / dentists do have promotional interest in Oral-B products. Whether they get something in return I don’t know. Still worth getting a basic one though.
The term electric bugs me. They’re rechargeable battery with a charging dock, but when they ask if I use electric and I say battery the dentist lectures me to get electric 😄. I don’t call my phone electric though.
Also, Oral-B want you to chuck them when battery finally dies. It’s just a Ni-MH rechargeable in there. Waste.
And their adverts are some of the most irritating ever made.
wobbliscottFree MemberYou still need to floss. Yes, you won’t floss. Hence hygienist 😏
Nah, floss is old tech. Go for the stiff pipe-cleaner kind of brushes. Most gaps between teeth is too wide for floss to do a proper job, the pipe cleaner kind of cleaners, like Tepe, or the supermarket equivalent, fill the gap between the teeth and give them a proper clean…far more efficient than floss and cleaning between teeth, where brushes, even electric brushes, can’t reach is just as important. That is where bacteria breed and cause gum disease.
simons_nicolai-ukFree MemberYou still need to floss. Yes, you won’t floss. Hence hygienist
Strangely there’s actually no real evidence that flossing has value.
Should you floss or not? Study says benefits unproven http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-36962667icycleFree MemberGet on Amazon or eBay and find the cheapest Philips you can. They only last a couple of years, but I think my last one was only £29. The dentist always remarks on my good hygiene.
Oral has its place, but clean your teeth afterwards
granny_ringFull MemberLidl one hear, have no idea if it’s as good as the big names but better than brushing!
Water flossing though, that might be worth a look.
Any other/cheaper water flossers as well one one linked to up there?NobeerinthefridgeFree MemberWe had a show of fake toothbrushes at work (GSK). Close up the bristles looks like they would cut your gums!
3 of us have been using fakes for years, never any issues (also work for GSK 😁)
My teeth are too tight for interdentals, floss gets right down in between.
Tjmoore they are electric, they don’t work on fairy dust. You’re getting electric confused with mains, pedant fail! 😂
thepuristFull MemberIf you’re a TePe user try Stoddard Icon brushes – my hygeinest suggested I try them as the’re a bit stiffer than TePe so less likely to crumple as you stick them through the gaps. Cheap on Amazon too.
globaltiFree MemberOral B rotating for me; they are permanently half price at Boots. Start by flossing the front teeth then brush then finish off with one of those little bottle brush thingies to get the bits of food out from between the molars.
There’s a growing understanding that poor oral hygiene has a big impact on your mental and physical health as you age because you swallow bad bacteria and they get into your bloodstream if you have gingivitis.
trumptonFree Membergranny ring, I had a cheap water flosser and it broke after 6 months. The one linked up on my post has lasted me 2 years and is still going strong. Well worth and investment and I paid 50 pounds for mine.
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