My last toothbrush was an Oral-B 3D toothbrush that was 5 years old and in need of replacing. So I decided to be kind to my teeth and get the best that technology could offer.
CONTENDERS I started looking for a new one before Christmas. There were two contenders, both top of the range offerings from the two market leaders: Braun's Oral-B TriumphProfessional Care 9900 with SmartGuide (rrp £140) and the PhilipsSonicare Flexcare 9600 HX6982 with UV Sanitiser (rrp £180). I thought about buying the SonicareFlexcare but I was put off by their brush heads, which are larger size and cost 50% more than Braun's, and the amount of toothbrushing foam that other users have reported. I decided that either would give my teeth a great clean and went with the cheaper Oral-B.
PRICE Now those RRP prices were scary! But I bought mine for £65 including p&p from www.howtobrushyourteeth.co.uk (it's currently £64.55 + £6 p&p, while the Flexcare with UV Sanitiser is £94 or £75 without UV Sanitiser plus £6.50 p&p). I also saw it at half-price at Boots for £69.WHAT YOU GET
Plastic travel case for toothbrush and 2 brush heads
Well written instructions
FIRST IMPRESSIONS My first impression of the toothbrush was its solid build. There's an on/off button, mode switching button, a battery charge display and a grippy surface on the front and back of the handle. It weighs 175g (compared to 130g for my previous Braun Oral-B 3D toothbrush) so the extra weight took a little to get used to. The FlossAction brush head felt a lot larger and seem to have stiffer bristles than the FlexiSoft brush head but again I got used to them after a while. Like any electric toothbrush, it can tip over but this model helps by being slightly bigger at the bottom.The travel charger and base station slot together neatly. There's room to store four brush heads with a lid to keep them clean and the lid has ventilation holes to allow the heads to dry out.
USING THE TOOTHBRUSH The toothbrush itself is nearly identical to the previous Triumph that didn't have the SmartGuide. The only difference seems to be a fourth 'Polish' mode that whitens teeth in a claimed 21-days using the ProBright brush head but without any whitening gels. The other three modes are the default 'Clean' mode for general brushing, 'Sensitive' mode for sensitive areas and 'Massage' mode to stimulate the gums.
I don't like the way you choose the mode. It's fine using the 'Polish' mode with the ProBright brush head because the toothbrush recognises that brush head and very conveniently automatically selects 'Polish' mode. But if you want to use the 'Sensitive' or 'Massage' modes, you have to put the toothpaste on and have the toothbrush in your mouth before pressing the on button (to prevent splatter) and then switch through the modes until you get the mode you want. It'd be much more user-friendly if you could select the mode before pressing turning it on. Luckily for me, I always use the default 'Clean' mode with the FlossAction brush head with great results.
The toothbrush defaults to the Professional Timer setting where it indicates when you should move to another quadrant by pausing briefly every 30 seconds and has a longer pause after 2 minutes. I brush my teeth for 4 minutes so those pauses would get very annoying so it's good that you can turn the quadrant pauses off with the 2-Minute Timer setting (but not the 2-minute pause). You can also choose to set the timer to count up or down.
After brushing, I rinse the brush head under a tap whilst still on for a few seconds, turn it off, rinse the rest of the handle and wipe it dry. Easy.
Just remember that you still need to floss despite the FlossAction name as it's a bit of a gimmick; it's good but not that good!. Plus there are lots of other brush heads that can be used with this toothbrush if that's what you need, e.g. one with softer bristles.
RESULTS This toothbrush left my teeth feeling really clean. During the first week or so, my gums were bleeding a bit but now they're fine. It cleans so well that at a check up after using it for 2 months, my dentist was impressed by the state of my teeth and gums. He found only a little bit of plaque and that probably formed in the 5 months before I got the Triumph, which stopped it getting worse.
THE SMARTGUIDE The toothbrush's unique selling point is the wireless SmartGuide that displays information to the user. Braun found people couldn't read it on the previous Triumph model because when you're using it, you hold the handle and obscure the display!
It displays:
Selected brushing mode.
2-minute timer (recommended brushing time by dentists).
Quadrant display to show when to move onto another part of the mouth.
Pressure warning if you're brushing too hard.
Brush head replacement indicator (if you're using FlossAction or ProBright/PowerPolisher brush heads that the toothbrush can recognise because they have a Smart chip inside).
Clock when you're not brushing.
Low battery power indicator for the toothbrush.
Low battery power indicator for the SmartGuide.
One feature of the SmartGuide that I liked was the pressure indicator. I found it very useful during the first couple of weeks to show when I was brushing too hard while I was getting used to the new toothbrush. I now use it occasionally to check my brushing technique is still okay.
BATTERY CHARGE Braun claims a charge will last 2 weeks of brushing twice a day for 2-minutes each, i.e. 56 minutes. I can back up their claim because on the two occasions I've made a count, I got 57 and 63 minutes. But I've noticed that the speed of the brushing action at the end of the charge is noticeably slower than on a full charge. Another thing that happens when the battery is run flat is the toothbrush loses the timer settings I've chosen to stop it pausing every 30 seconds. As a result, I recharge it whenever half the charge has been used up.
BRUSH HEAD LIFE AND COST I'm not using the SmartGuide to tell me when to replace the brush head (just like I didn't use the blue indicator strips on the FlexiSoft brush head), especially since I don't normally have the SmartGuide with me in the bathroom. It's been two months since I bought the Triumph and I've cut off a couple of fraying bristles, but the FlossAction brush head is still going strong so I think it could last at least 4 months, maybe 6 months.
To save money, don't bother buying singles or twin-packs because that would make them £5 per brush head, even triple-packs go for £12 on ebay. I bought a pack of 4 FlossAction brush heads from Boots at a sale price of £10.65 in December, instead of about their usual £15.99 price. Boots sales are a great time to stock up on brush heads. To tell how expensive they are, a triple-pack of Philips Sonicare Flexcare brush heads cost £13.57 at Amazon or £16.66 on ebay.
GUARANTEES AND WARRANTY The toothbrush comes with two money-back guarantees: there's the widely known '30-Day Challenge' available worldwide but there's also the UK-only '24 Month Performance Guarantee'. You can say fairer than that! Plus there's a 2-year warranty in case it stops working.
OTHER FEATURES I LIKED Travel case - a nice durable plastic container for the toothbrush and two brush heads. Travel charger - the charger disconnects from the base station and is small enough for travel. Radio deactivation - this special setting stops the toothbrush from sending radio transmission, allowing it to be used in sensitive areas like hospitals or airplanes.
VERDICT Overall this is the best electric toothbrush I've used. There's no way I would pay £100 for a toothbrush, let alone the recommended retail price of £140, but the £65 I paid is a very fair price. That's what my Value for Money rating is based on.
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