Review (3/5): Seems to work okay, but not a lot of care's been put into it
I've been using this brush for about 6 weeks, and haven't had a dental checkup in the meantime, so it's a bit hard to know how well it's really been working.
But here are a few observations:
- It feels cheap. Maybe it's just that I'm used to the solid heft of my trusty Sonicare toothbrush, but this Oral-B toothbrush feels like something you'd get at Safeway for $49.95, not $99.95.
- The polishing brush does seem to do a pretty thorough job. The main brush (whatever it's called) also seems rather decent.
- The tongue cleaner is worse than useless. A cheapie Walgreens manual tongue scraper does a much better job.
- So, too, does the interdental-stimulator / toothpick thingy seem pretty useless. Manual flossing is just as fast and seems much more thorough. And dental floss is about half a penny per 'serving', whereas the replacement Oral-B things are much more expensive.
- The base is so top-heavy, I've accidentally knocked it over twice, hurling the toothbrush to the floor (ouch!). Thankfully, the toothbrush still seems to work fine, but as you can guess, I finally wised up and screwed the base to the wall. I never had such a problem with the Sonicare.
- No carrying case? Not even any friggin' cap for the toothbrush? This basically makes it a total pain to cleanly transport this brush to work or on a trip or anywhere else. ALL the Sonicares (and their replacement brushheads) come with a simple, effective plastic cover. What was Oral-B thinking?!
In fairness, this toothbrush probably merits a 3.5, and if I get a great bill-of-health from my dentist at my next checkup, I'll revise this review to a 4. But in the meantime, I'm certainly disappointed that Oral-B has given a bargain-bin treatment to a premium-priced product.