Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Reviewing....a toothbrush? Yup! I am!

A few weeks ago I got an email asking if I would be willing to review a toothbrush. Obviously not a run of the mill little plastic brush if the company is seeking a review. *shrugs* I review books and movies professionally, so why not a toothbrush?  Sure!

The Oral-B® Professional™ Precision 5000 is a technological marvel. When we got it in the mail I opened it up and thought I'd just put it together really quickly and play around with it. And wow was there a lot to play with. Seriously - it has a docking station. And a wifi sync display you can stick on your wall or the mirror. The thing is loaded.


So let me explain a little bit about the toothbrush and what sets it apart first. The head of the toothbrush spins and vibrates at a really high pace. So much so that it can be startling the first time you use. (Oh and there are instructions included that explain how and when to use the toothpaste and turn the brush on. Don't take it for granted. If you try to turn the brush on before the toothbrush is in your mouth, you will launch toothpaste into every crevice in your bathroom - and no one wants that. So  you put the paste on, put the brush in your mouth, and THEN turn it on.)

When you turn it on, you will notice that it's not your typical back and forth vibration or spinning head. It does a little bit of all of that. The flossing head allows you to actually FEEL the bristles getting between your teeth. Oh and my favorite (or most annoying depending on the mood of the day) feature is the pressure guard. If you press too hard on the toothbrush, a red indicator light comes on. I had no idea that all of these years I've been shoving that toothbrush so hard against my teeth I'm surprised I haven't worn them to nubs. I've learned how to lighten up and let the brush do the work on its own without me forcing it.

The toothbrush has five settings and when you turn it on, a timer counts down on the display I mentioned to you. We have it stuck to the top of our mirror and not only does the time count down for you (or up if you prefer)  it also has a circle graphic to show you how far through the process you are.

Everyone knows you're supposed to brush your teeth for a recommended two full minutes but this brush goes one step further. The catalog, included with the brush, explains the four major areas of the teeth and the 'daily cleaning mode' will assist you in making sure all of them get clean. At thirty seconds, the brush pauses and beeps, giving you an indication to move to the next area. It's pretty cool.


There are five modes on the toothbrush: Daily Cleaning, Deep Cleaning, Sensitive, Whitening and Massage. All of these are pretty spectacular. The second day I owned the toothbrush we went to the store and picked up a set of replacement heads so my husband could use the toothbrush as well. (It comes with this awesome little display container on the charging station that allows you to line up several brush heads. A lot of thought went into the design on this brush let me tell ya.) After a few days, he noticed that his teeth were cleaner all the time - not just after he brushed. One day he noticed that the plaque around his teeth appeared to be crumbling. Sure enough when he went to the dentist a few days later and he asked, the dentist told him that the plaque on his teeth appeared to be breaking up and chipping away. He's utterly delighted with this toothbrush now and quite frankly, so am I.

My toothbrushing habits prior to this were rushed and barely even basic. I didn't realize how little I was brushing my teeth until I got this brush. Now I look forward to brushing my teeth at night before bed. I'm enjoying using it. The power of the brush is fantastic and with the added timer and display unit, it's completely on you if you don't care for your teeth well.

Two thumbs way up on this one. I never thought a toothbrush would actually change my dental care habits, but this one did. Totally. And my husband's too. Great investment in your dental hygiene and, I would imagine, really good preventative care investment!

You can check out more on the toothbrush at any one of these places: http://www.oralb.com, http://www.twitter.com/oralb,http://www.facebook.com/oralb   and between now and December 31, 2012, you can get a $20 rebate on it. Find out more at the website above.

Note: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Modern Mom on behalf of Oral-B and received a product sample to facilitate my review.