Oral-B Professional Care Deluxe Electric Toothbrush -
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Product Reviews of Oral-B Professional Care Deluxe Electric Toothbrush -
Product Review: A good alternative to their inexepensive brushes
Summary: 4 Stars
I've been using this for about four months. I think it's better than the Sonicare I tried, but which you prefer is going to be an individual choice.
I've used manual toothbrushes for most of my life, but about nine months ago my dental hygenist prompted me to try an electric as a potential time-saver.
I first went with an inexpensive Oral-B which ran on AA batteries, and found it was a bit easier to use than a manual. The small round brusheads are easier to fit behind my back teeth, and electric toothbrushes in general seem to stimulate the gums a bit more. The big advantage for me is that it's faster; I used to brush for 3-4 minutes with a manual, and I find 2 minutes with an Oral-B seems to work just as well.
I didn't find it was earth-shakingly different, though. Since my dental hygiene before switching was "near-perfect" (I get checkups every three months and only rarely does my hygenist have to do anything at all) neither I nor my dentist have noticed any differences. I'm not convinced that electric brushes in general are more effective than a properly-used manual.
The cheap Oral-B brushes are... really cheap, and I think they're overpriced given how often they fail. If you want to spend $50-$100 a year replacing toothbrushes, that's certainly one way to do it. I tried two of them, and both of them failed in different ways within 3 months.
I next tried a top-of-the-line Sonicare; a local store offered a 30-day money-back guarantee so I figured it was worth a try (they don't sell any non-cheap Oral-B products or I would've done that instead). Yes, it was probably built well... and heavy, and the handle was immense compared to the Oral-B. I found it very awkward to use, and I don't think it was doing a very good job of cleaning because I noticed substantially more gunk from flossing than before I started using it.
I don't mean to complain about the Sonicare or claim it's a bad product. My point is that there *are* differences, and you may very well find one electric works better than another. My hygenist mentioned that some people greatly prefer the Sonicare brushes, and they can't be that bad all around because many people are successfully using them. They just didn't work for me (more accurately, I should say the one I tried didn't work).
The 8850 is built quite a bit better than the cheap Oral-B brushes and it should definitely last longer. It's certainly more waterproof (I had problems with water getting into the housing of the others). The size fits my hand well, and it seems just as easy to use as their others. I also like the variable-speed feature, though I wish there were a way to set it once rather than having to reset it every time I use it.
Plan on securing the base to a wall. If it's sitting on a sink or shelf it'll probably need cleaning more often, and it's pretty easy to knock over. Also note that the tongue cleaner or vibrating pick attachment don't quite fit in the attachment holder; it's apparently meant for brushes only, which could be a minor irritation if you use them regularly.
The timer feature might be useful, but that depends greatly on how you brush. I don't use quadrants, instead I brush my lower teeth (doing the fronts, then the tops, then the backs), then the uppers. Thus the 30 second timer doesn't help me very much, and I could never quite figure out what the 2-minute timer was for--what happens when the two minutes are up and I haven't finished the backs of my upper teeth yet?
I've never needed to use anything other than the ultrasoft heads, and since I usually brush 4-5 times a day I prefer using the most gentle brush I can find. (The general advice is that stiffer brushes don't clean any better anyway.) The other attachments (tongue scraper, vibrating pick) seem OK, but I prefer using floss, a manual gum stimulator, and a plain tongue scraper instead.
The pick replacements are very expensive and, in my opinion, just aren't a viable alternative to floss. Some people prefer using a vibrating tongue scraper because they don't stimulate the gag reflex as much.
The Oral-B head replacements in general are expensive, and they really do need replacement every three months (mine start visibly fraying around that time). It's worth taking that into account when looking at prices, because they're a substantial investment. And shop around, occasionally they can be found for much less than the usual retail prices.
If you haven't used an electric (or an Oral-B) before, I'd suggest trying one of the cheap/disposable electric brushes first... and you may want to try two or three different brands so you can get a feel for which style you prefer. Money-back guarantees are important here, because some people seem to really dislike certain types of brushes.
If you've used and like the cheap Oral-Bs and want something that will last for more than a month, the 8850 would be a good alternative. I'm not convinced the uber-3D cleaning action (or whatever they're calling it this week) really works any better than their others... but it probably doesn't hurt, and the two-year warranty on the 8850 is a win.
Product Review: A year after purchasing..
Summary: 4 Stars
... and I'm still using it. When I bought it here on amazon, like others I didn't get the right item, and it didn't come with the tongue freshener and the interdental cleaner. I complained to amazon, who then told me to take my complaint to the manufacturer. well, I did and they gave me 3 different complimentary brush heads. They also told me that they don't carry the tongue freshener anymore. Oh well, I have a regular tongue cleaner anyway. The 2 minute timer is pretty nice even though I don't pay attention to it at all. The pressure censor doesn't seem to work because no matter how hard I press, nothing happens. The battery life is great, still works like I just bought it... I only have to charge it once every 2-3 weeks. Overall, I'm still very happy for purchasing this product.Product Review: As Good As Any
Summary: 5 Stars
Oral B electric toothbrushes are the best according to my research with the internet,as well as the opinions of my dentist and periodontist(also accepted is the fact electric brushes clean the best).I prefer the more expensive Triumph models because of the extra features,but the company representative says this model cleans as well as the Triumph models.Product Review: Awesome!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the first time I have used an "electric" toothbrush in about 30 years. I had no idea what I was in for. I bought this on the recommendation of my dentist. Wow. It takes less time to clean my teeth than the old fashioned manual method and my teeth are much cleaner. What really amazes me is when I have it turned on and it is in my mouth, I can barely feel it. It is almost like brushing a feather up against my teeth. I totally recommend it!Product Review: Be Carefull with Purchasing Oral B
Summary: 1 Stars
I bought this professional care deluxe toothbrush because it was considered one of the higher end Oral B toothbrushes and it came with many attachments. What I didn't expect was that the unit did not hold up well at all. After 1 year the metal piece where you attach the cleaning heads became stuck and stopped working. When I called the customer service representative I was told that my unit could not be serviced because the problem resided in the base unit which they said could not be opened and fixed. Therefore even though I was in the warranty period they would not be able to service my unit nor give me a new one to replace the one I had. They absolutely refused to honor the two year warranty that comes with all their toothbrushes. The only thing they offered was a coupon for $10 off a new toothbrush. I'd say that's misleading and I would never have bought the unit with that kind warranty. As far as how the unit operated during the year I had it I found the toothbrush only worked well with the dual-action brushhead (very hard to find replacements), and all the other accessories are a waste of time and money. The tongue cleaner does nothing and the smaller head I found did not hold enough toothpaste to clean the entire mouth very well. I also found the charging very slow and the flashing blue light would be very annoying. Also the base and toothbrush would get very dirty if you did not clean it regularly. My final comment is I will never buy another Oral B toothbrush again based on how it cleaned my teeth and the poor customer service when it stopped working under warranty. I'm back to spending another $80 on another brand which I'll review after I've tried it for some time.