A few years ago - in my quest to find an electric toothbrush per my dentist's instructions led me to stand in front of the products meticulously comparing one vs. another, did it do this that and the other, price point, etc. Oral B won for 1 reason, price and I had a coupon at Costco and their replacement heads were cheaper. That was a few years ago. I was under the impression that all electric toothbrushes were created equally. Although my teeth's health improved, there are still issues. My last cleaning was very intense at the dentist.
My Oral B is almost dead - it's been 2 years, the battery will hold for a couple of days, but not over a week like it used to. The search for the next toothbrush started.
Surprisingly, I didn't have a hard choice with picking Sonicare. I see the demo/advertising whatever at my dentist. I also knew I wasn't happy with OralB - because my teeth didn't feel clean, and I knew that it was definitely not getting into all the contours of my mouth.
My first use with my Sonicare
I felt like a light bulb exploded in my head. It was ridiculous how clean my teeth felt, as if I just had them cleaned and polished at my dentist. How is that possible with only 1 session? Was my Oral B that bad? Maybe this was a fluke. A few more days went by, my teeth stayed with that smooth clean feeling. It's been a few weeks and I'm hooked.
What's so different about it - the brush head for one. Oral B has a circular head, it spins with use. With the Sonicare, it oscillates back and forth, mimicking real tooth brushing motion. There are contours of the brush so it gets between the teeth. The bristles are stiff to clean my teeth but gentle enough to get into the gums w/o causing bleeding. Oral B brush heads were rough and painful.
This product is great for small mouths, hard to reach areas/crevices and for sensitive teeth.
I like that it has options for sensitive and regular or whitening. I like that it's timed so I know I'm doing the right amount. The toothbrush will shut itself off after 2 minutes. It'll be good for kids too, so they're not doing a swipe and say they're done.
I'm very impressed with this product, very glad I got it and can't wait until my next dentist appointment. I've had it for a few weeks and notice not only are my teeth cleaner, but they are truly whiter.
UPDATE:
I've had it for a few months - went for my cleaning and my dental hygienist noticed my teeth/gums were improving. She asked me what I did differently and told her I switched toothbrushes. HA!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE my toothbrush!
UPDATE 10/6/2010:
Went for my cleaning yesterday - OMG! Can we say miracle? The dental hygienist was super happy to see my gums are getting healthier, when they do the measurements I've been getting mostly 4's (1's are ideal, 5's are no good), but this time, they were at mostly 2's with a couple of 3's!! My gums/teeth and mouth are overall getting better with each visit. My dentist is happy with my progress - so am I!! the least amount of dental work, the happier I'll be.
I've written multiple Amazon reviews for Sonicare toothbrushes that I've purchased (been a user for almost 20 years) and I've had nothing but good results and solid service from Phillips.
My only caution is to check the price before purchasing. You can do better than the $169 price currently listed.
We (our family of six) have had sonicare tooth brushes for over the past 5 years. My husband and I usually buy the new model for us and give our four boys the old one with a new tooth brush head. What I especially love about this new model is that you can sanitize it. Also even if you don't get the sanitizer it will not get as dicustingly gunky like the old ones. The old ones have places for bacteria to hide up inside the tooth brush head. This new model does not! I am usually the one cleaning the tooth brushes and it can be gross when you turn the old tooth brushes upside down & run hot water in them. All kinds of snot comes out! Also my dentist always recommends sonicare. We hope to buy four more new tooth brushes for our four boys when we can afford it!
I never gave much thought to owning a toothbrush that cost more than $7. I'd always used manual brushes until about 10 years ago when a cousin recommended a Crest SpinBrush Pro, Soft Bristles (Colors May Vary). I remember the difference being night and day from the manual to the mechanical; my teeth felt twice as clean as they ever had. Well, if the SpinBrush made my teeth feel twice as clean, the Sonicare makes them feel almost brand new.
As stated above, normally I'm not spending more than $7, thus it would take some extraordinary circumstances. Well, while on vacation and staying at my mother-in-law's place (you read that correctly, a vacation and staying at the in-laws while they were there! They're awesome people! I'm lucky that way.), my mother in law informed us about the Philips Sonicare Essence Power Toothbrush that she purchased. She raved about it but I'd heard plenty of people (dentists included) rave about various pricey products that I made do without. Then she let us use her travel set with our own brand new heads (Obviously!). Well, folks, the proof is in the pudding or brushing, I should say. 10 minutes after I'd brushed that first time I was on Amazon here looking up prices! It was/is the most amazing feeling when you finish brushing with these Sonicares. My teeth felt like they do when I leave the dentist after a cleaning! And that's how they feel every day now! For a month straight my teeth have felt continually cleaner and have been getting whiter! I love this thing and will never be without a Sonicare!
Concerns & Why I ordered the Healthy White version over the Essence:
I'm environmentally conscious. Thus the size of the replacement heads for the Essence seemed like a waste to me. There was way too much plastic in the heads that I didn't feel good about. The heads for the newer models (Healthy White included) are significantly smaller; see also planet friendlier.
My other concern was/is the gap between the head and the actual handle of the brush. Yes, there is a gap where things (bacteria etc) may "grow". This system comes with a built in UV Sanitizer that takes only minutes. I honestly don't know how long it takes (except to say that it's under 10 minutes) because I simply start it when I'm done and it's ready for the next time.
The Advanced Features were the other reasons I ordered this version. This product, in whitening mode, gives you Four 30-second intervals and at the end of the fourth interval it gives you two 15-second intervals to concentrate on the teeth you want whitened (usually everything that can be seen during your smile). I LOVE THE TIMER! The intervals make me 100% more efficient than I was.
Money is tight and we had to make some serious adjustments to be able to afford such a device (including cutting a few extras out of our vacation) but we have not regretted it once! This device has already saved us a couple whitening treatments and will probably save us a few extra dentist bills down the line. Do yourself a favor and make room for this in your budget. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! - Sonicare - Power Toothbrushes - Philips Sonicare - Toothbrush'
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