Review (5/5): Amazing clean feeling right out of the box!
I'll be the first to admit that I really don't like going to the dentist all that much, so any upper hand I can get in the oral hygiene arena I'll be sure to take. After years of all the different types of cross action / criss cross / gum massaging varities out there I decided to take the plunge and go electric. I'd rather test the waters before plunging head on into pool though, so I started with a Crest Spinbrush Pro, probably the most ho-hum electric brush on the market. After getting comfortable and then quickly tired with it, in addition to reading some articles about how it can actually be worse than a regular toothbrush if not used properly, I decided my feet were wet enough so I jumped in an bought the Oral B Sonic Complete toothbrush.
I really could not be happier with my purchase, not only does the thing work right out of the box, they've included three seperate brusheads (9 months worth!), a travel case, the rechargeable base station with built-in storage, Rembrandt Whitening toothpaste, and the Oral-B Hummingbird flosser to try out as well!
On to the cleaning though, right? That is the most important part after all. Well I must admit that the first time you set it to "Clean", the strongest of the 3 settings, it's a bit of shock to your teeth. Your whole mouth is literally humming as the brush does it's work. The medium setting, "Soft", is probably the best choice for those who need to get used to the toothbrush and is also recommended for using on your tongue. There's a "Massage" setting to use on your gums as well. You're warned in the instructions that the brush may cause your gums to bleed the first couple times you use it, but as the Crest electric brush always seemed to have a habit of making my gums bleed I was pretty pleasantly surprised when this one didn't make them bleed much at all. After my first brushing my mouth did feel more vibrant although that could've been because my teeth were still vibrating from the sonic pulses. Seriously though I did enjoy the feeling and it was much more refreshing a feeling of clean than I've experienced with other toothbrushes that I've used.
Apparently Oral-B has taken notice to some of the user's complaints as well as the toothbrush now comes in an easy to open cardboard box. I had the whole thing unpacked and setup in under 5 minutes easily. I will probably end up leaving the brush on the charging station, although as one other reviewer pointed out, NiCad batteries like the one used in the toothbrush can lose capacity over time if exposed to a constant charge. But I'm guessing that the difference should be pretty neglible over the life of the device and I would assume that a replacement battery for the unit itself could be purchased if necessary.
Oral-B also recommends removing the brush head from the device, running the brush head under water while wiping dry the device itself. Although this seems a little tedious and it's hard to imagine everyone doing this, I made it a habit fresh out of the box and store the brush head that I'm using in one of the three compartments in the charger/storage unit.
All in all it's an extremely pleasant brushing experience, you get a feeling of a wonderfully clean mouth, and to tell you the truth I almost feel like brushing my teeth four or five times a day just to get to play with my toothbrush. Also, if you can purchase it in time to get the rebate like I did, it drops the price down to a very respectable $80 for the starting kit. A 5* purchase from Amazon without a doubt!