Braun ORAL B Vitality DUAL Clean (D 12 013 )

On my last visit to the dentist earlier this year I got a bit of a telling off about my cleaning technique as the dentist said that I had quite a lot of tartar (yuck!) around the back of my teeth. She suggested that if I could afford to do so I should switch from a manual toothbrush to an electrical one. As I generally find the whole scale and polish thing quite uncomfortable, but love the results, I decided to try using an electric toothbrush. I must admit I had always been put off by the price but at the time Boots had all electric toothbrushes in the Oral-B range on offer at half the normal retail price, which at around £15 made the cost quite reasonable. I hadn't realised quite how many different types of brushes there were and after spending some time reading the product descriptions opted for the Oral-B Vitality Dual Clean.

The Oral-B Vitality Dual Clean toothbrush has two revolving heads, a small circular one at the top and a longer rectangular shaped one below this. This means that it provides twice the cleaning action, removing much more plaque than an ordinary toothbrush. As I was looking for something specifically that would remove plaque and stop it hardening to tartar, this seemed like the ideal product to me.

Like many products of this nature the brush comes in moulded plastic packaging. Even after many years I have not mastered the art of opening these. After struggling for a few minutes to cut this open with a pair of scissors I made a small cut which I was then able to prise open with my hands. I am always wary of opening packaging in this way as the cut plastic is very sharp but as I have no better technique I have to do it this way. Any suggestions for better ways of opening this type of packaging are welcome!

The Oral B Vitality Dual clean consists of a rechargeable base and a removable brush head. This is great as it means the brushes are replaceable and reading the enclosed leaflet it appears that you aren't just restricted to using the dual clean brush head but also other compatible head types in the Oral-B range. Inside the back is one brush head and also a mains charger. It should be noted though that the mains charger has a two-pin plug, which fits into the shaving socket in the bathroom. If like me you don't have one of these in the bathroom you will need to invest in two to three pin converter plug.

The base itself is a white and pastel green colour. The green part, which covers most of the back of the base, has a series of semi-circles running across it, which makes it look quite stylish. The semi-circles are ridged though which means that dried toothpaste can accumulate in them so it has to be wiped down after every use.

The brush can be used with any normal toothpaste. I apply a small amount to the brush head and press down onto the button at the front of the brush. As the heads start to move I pass this over each tooth, giving each one a good clean at the front and back. I am careful not to apply too much pressure and also not to scrub, letting the revolving heads do the work. As they are working on my teeth they feel quite pleasant as I feel them massaging my gums as well. Each brush pulsates an impressive 7600 times a minute to remove plaque. This pulsating is combined with a rotating motion to sweep plaque away. I start by brushing the front of each tooth, then move onto the backs and finally onto the flats of the back teeth (chewing surfaces).

The brush has a two minute timer as this is the amount of time it is recommended by dentists to spend on cleaning teeth. Once the two minutes are up the brush stutters slightly. At this point you can stop by pressing down on the button again or continue brushing should you want to. I always thought that I brushed my teeth thoroughly and for two minutes when using a manual toothbrush but never really timed myself. It's amazing how long two minutes actually is and I have since realised that perhaps I wasn't brushing my teeth for long enough when using a manual toothbrush.

Once the two minutes is up my teeth feel super clean, like I've had them professionally cleaned at the dentists. Even after using this for nearly three months now I find myself running my tongue over my teeth and take delight at how smooth they are. Taking a good look at the gumline I am pleased to note that there is no visible tartar, which I think is really impressive because usually 3 months after using a manual toothbrush the stuff would have started to accumulate. This will certainly make the next visit to the dentists easier and the scale and polish should not be so uncomfortable. Hopefully I'll get some praise too although sadly I am too old for a sticker now!

The brush has a decent battery life - if you remember to charge it! To fully charge it you need to keep it plugged in for a good 16 hours and this should give you a weeks worth of brushing time at 4 minutes a day. I usually forget to place this on the charging station and find myself charging it up for 10 minutes to get another two minutes use out of it. I'm sure this is not good for the battery and I shall try to do better in the future!

It is recommended by dentists that the brush head be changed every three months. To remind you of this the brush head has light blue bristles which fade with time. By the time they have reached half way down it is time to replace the brush head. I still have a little way to go but am keeping an eye out for some offers on brush heads. These retail at around £10 for two so it's a little pricier than a manual toothbrush but not prohibitively so and in my opinion definitely worth the extra expense.

Overall I am super impressed with this brush and my days of using a manual brush are now over. If you've not tried an electric tooth brush I thoroughly recommend giving it a go. You won't look back - I promise!