Precision Clean Oral-B Vitality Rechargeable Electric Toothbrush
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Customer Reviews of Precision Clean Oral-B Vitality Rechargeable Electric Toothbrush
Customer Review: A great toothbrush at a frugal price
Summary: 5 Stars
There's brushing, and then there's brushing. Brushing is the good one. Proper brushing removes stuff from your teeth that, if not regularly removed, can eventually lead to things like plaque build up to gingivitis and eventually even to things like pyorrhea. Pyorrhea is one of the most horrible things that I have ever seen. Proper brushing is an important part of your oral health regime (along with regular dental check-ups and flossing, etc.). I'm not a dentist, so I'm just reiterating what my dentist has told me every six months for the past 39 years.
As such, choosing a good toothbrush is a very important part of preventative maintenance. From a frugal living perspective, it always makes sense to practice preventative maintenance (especially with things like dentistry that is generally quite expensive - especially with major surgery). I have used Braun Oral-B electric toothbrushes for about five years or so and they were recommended to me by my dentist. I have been one of the `fortunate ones' who seems to have been born with good teeth (my teeth are straight and I have never worn braces, I have also only ever had one cavity and it happened way back when I was thirteen years old).
The toothbrush that I currently use is the Braun Oral-B Vitality Precision Clean electric toothbrush. There are a few important reasons why I love using it:
1. It feels great as you use it. It kind of tickles as it rotates upon your gums and it feels feels like it is giving them a really good massage (although I have never fallen asleep while brushing my teeth, I have nodded off a few times).
2. Your teeth feel really clean after you use it. It's not quite the `I just left the dentist's office' clean, but it gets you pretty close to it. It seems very effective at getting into those `hard to reach' areas. I can feel a significant difference between when I use this brush and when I use a manual one (which seems to be only when I go camping).
3. The toothbrush has a built-in timer. Apparently the optimal amount of time that you should be brushing is about two minutes. Many people do not brush anywhere near this amount of time. This brush makes it easy by including a built-in timer that gently pulsates the brush to let you know when two minutes are done.
The other factor to consider, cost-wise, is the cost of the replacement tips. I replace mine about every two to three months and the cost anywhere from between $3-$5 a piece depending on where you buy them and how many you buy in the package. I feel that, despite being more expensive than a regular manual toothbrush, this this ongoing cost is well worth it. I will never use a manual brush again (unless I am camping).
There are millions of different electric toothbrushes. I am not an electric toothbrush aficionado or a dentist or a dental hygienist. I am just a frugal thirty-nine year old, with his first child on the way any day now, that knows that brushing your teeth well is very important, that this brush is less expensive than many, and that I feel that it does a terrific job of cleaning my teeth and massaging my gums. Another frugal living idea brought to you by [...].
Customer Review: Vitality > SmartSeries 5000
Summary: 4 Stars
* excellent no-frills electric toothbrush *
I had previously purchased the Oral-B SmartSeries 5000 and was stunned by its inadequacies. See 2 star review for more information. I shipped it back to the company for a full refund and purchased this inexpensive Vitality toothbrush to retain the benefits of this approach, which seemed possible given the same brushheads are used. It really does live up to the reviews and is quite good. The speed is not so fast that it is unusable, and it works well for sensitive teeth, whereas with the SmartSeries 5000 could only be used on its slowest speed. The Vitality single-speed is more towards a sensitive setting on the more expensive brush, yet for me it is perfect. Two speeds would be nice, though the default is just about right already.
What amazes me about these products is that they do not come with mounting kits or cord management assistance, and thus it must be assumed everyone has a huge sink to store such items on. I do not. In addition, there is a real risk of having this charging base fall into a sink of water, at which point electrocution is possible. That would seem incentive enough to get better control over how to use these devices. I rigged up my own system (see photos above, upper-left*) not only to hide the toothbrush from sight, also because of the potential for the charging base to fall into the sink. It just seems like there is no common sense about how people use these devices and what those (millions?) who get them have to deal with as a result of the gap between what is offered and how it is required to be used in daily functioning. Instead of a million people having to do a DIY project to get the cords and brushheads and charging base configured safely and effectively, why is Oral-B not doing this and shipping the things as part of the package?
That said, for a compromise toothbrush it is excellent. I wanted the higher quality product with brushhead holder, and potentially better functioning. This did not exist. And thus the Vitality is a good intermediate investment, until better technology arrives in these products, specifically a new battery - not the existing NiCads which need charging every 5 days or so. So too, a 4-part circular electroluminescent or LED indicator on or near the base of the brushholder for timing the brushing of each quadrant of the mouth, visible in the mirror. (See image for mockup). Perhaps a soft audible beep every 15 seconds would be most effective for timing brushing, with a way to turn this functioning on and off.
Customer Review: First time with an Electric Toothbrush
Summary: 4 Stars
I love this thing! Just used it for the first time! I think I followed the direction correctly. Minimal wrist pressure, just let the weight of the thing do it's own work, like shaving with a DE blade. My mouth feels so fresh! Like I just came out of a dentist (without the rubber taste if applicable). My teeth feel and seem very clean, definitely a nicer feeling than after using my old manual brush. If anyone is wondering like I was, it did not tickle. Much :P. The two minute timer is great! It was starting to feel like forever, I must only brush my teeth for 30 seconds or something! But very clearly I felt and heard the three pulses telling me my two minute recommendation was finished. The charging base is pretty cool simply because of the whole no-metallic parts thing, but you still can't drop the charging base in the sink. You know, electrical chords and such. Charges in 16 hours, which I know, sounds like forever to run it for 2 minutes, but this isn't an RC car you are waiting to play with.
And if you are waiting to play with a toothbrush, you have other issues. Plug it in when you get it, and by the time you are getting ready to go to bed, or getting ready in the morning, it will be good to go!
PROS:
-GREAT, clean feeling
-Nifty charging base
-long chord if needed
-FANTASTIC price for the brush and replacement heads!
-Easy to use
-BIG findable button, but has resistance so you won't accidentally press it.
-Stands up on it's own. I don't have to worry about germs and stuff on my toothbrush!
-Nifty in general.
-Toothpaste doesn't spin off it in any way. Benefit of vibrating instead of spinning heads.
-Washable handle
CONS:
-colors? Designs? Fun? -1/4 star. trivial, I know, but I like my personalization options.
-Compared to manual toothbrushes, the head of this doesn't quite contour or fit in your jaw like a manual does. Requires a bit of maneuvering, but I was always stretching my cheeks out brushing anyway, and apparently that's bad! -1/4 star
-Base is not magnetic. You COULD jiggle this thing out of place and onto the floor, which, as someone who grew up with a litterbox in his bathroom, really disturbs me when a toothbrush falls.
-Doesn't tan you.
Customer Review: Very good, but the pro-health is better
Summary: 4 Stars
I've been brushing my teeth wih oral-b for over 10 years now, and they are all similar to the vitality model. I've always used the least expensive model since I see no difference from the expensive ones, unless you are looking for "extras", like timer, lcd screen, etc. The vitality is a very good brush. I use the round head instead of the elongated. I rather brush my teeth with oral-b than any other eletric brush on the market. The sonic kind hurts my gum and it tickles a lot as well. Oral-B, and their entry level eletric brushes are the way to go. I can't brush my teeth with regular toothbrush anymore. Brush heads are cheaper on ebay but I found out they don't last as long as those you buy at grocery stores around $20 for 3. I buy the precision clean brush in bulk on ebay for around $1 each. They last a good 2 months. The ones at walmart/amazon and such last 3 months or more. The bad thing about the vitality rechargeable and all the older oral-b I own is that you need to recharge it after 3-4 days of 2-3 daily brushings. I think this is annoying. I didn't want to leave the brush recharging after every use. So I bought the ORAL-B Pro-Health that uses two AA batteries. It is simply AMAZING. The quality is the same as the rechargeables, but it is even better. The batteries lasts forever on the pro-health. I put 2 rechargeable AA (2000 MA) and the thing kept going and going without a noticeable lack of power for a good 2 months. It is the best. The vitality rechargeable brush gets very slow after 3-4 days. Not with the pro-health. Buy the pro-health. It is the way to go if you like this kind of ORAL-B design. Another thing is ORAL-B equipment lasts forever. I only have one eletric brush where the original rechargeable battery died on me. And since they are the entry level brushes, I just buy another one of the same. No need to buy another battery.
Again, go with the ORAL-B PRO-HEALTH eletric toothbrush.
Customer Review: Fantastic first electric toothbrush for the money!
Summary: 5 Stars
After being scolded by the dentist one-too-many times that I wasn't brushing in circular motions and that I haven't been giving my wisdom teeth enough attention, I recently decided to jump onto the electric toothbrush bandwagon, but at the same time, I had no desire to spend half a truck payment on one with "sonic" cleaning or five-way floss/torture heads. Over the past month, I've found that this Oral-B Vitality, which is actually manufactured by Braun and bears a small Braun logo, cannot be beat for the money! It does just what I need it to, has a nifty compact recharging station with no exposed metal contacts, and my mouth hasn't ever felt cleaner.
The only two very minor cons that I think people should be aware of are related to battery life and the two-minute timer. It's probably true that the battery will last 20 minutes between charges, but I've found in daily use that if I don't hang it back on the recharging station after every other use, the bristles spin a bit slower than they do when the battery is fully charged. Not a huge deal, but my time is precious in the morning and I want maximum RPMs, so I prefer not to completely empty the battery beyond the manufacturer's recommendation to do so periodically. Also, I can see the two-minute timer being great for those who have a bad habit of not brushing long enough, but I find personally that I typically brush for about 2-1/2 minutes, even if I'm trying to rush, so it would be nice to have a way to turn the two-minute timer off. The timer isn't a light or a beep, but rather the toothbrush "revs" its engine down and back up a few times once two minutes have elapsed, which makes brushing ineffective over the course of those one to two seconds of revving and thus again wastes precious seconds. Again, not a huge deal, but a way to turn it off would be nice. Otherwise, this toothbrush can't be beat!