Customer Reviews

Oral-B Vitality Sonic Rechargeable Electric Toothbrush

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

This product attempts to bring sonic toothbrush technology to the sub-$20 price bracket. It does not entirely suceed, and though nicely designed, it is not very effective at its job.

The Sonic toothbrush as invented by Philips uses a high speed pulsing (> 30,000 rpm) to use fluid below the gumline to help vibrate dirt and plack off the teeth. This process is gentle, effective, and leaves the teeth feeling and looking very clean. I've used these brushes and they are great.

The downside to this marvel is that Philips charges roughly $80-$130 for their Sonicare brushes. Oral B has their own latecomer Sonic Complete model (which costs about $100) and a number of lower cost designs that use a more conventional oscillating mechanical head to clean teeth.

The problem here is the corners Oral B cut to bring you a $20 sonic brush. The brush vibrates at a much lower speed (20,000 rpm) and though it uses the same brush head as the more expensive Sonic Complete, it does not clean teeth anywhere near as well as a faster sonic brush. The 1/3 speed difference evidently is very significant in the ability of the brush to get the ol chompers clean.

If you want a sonic brush, spend more money than this. If you want a cheaper brush that is fairly effective at cleaning your teeth, try the Oral B Vitality Dual Action ($18) or the Oral B Cross Action Power Max ($12).

The dual power head action of these designs, though not sonic, is a reasonable compromise in getting teeth clean while also keeping price low. The Vitality Sonic just spins its wheels without doing much.

The design and function of the Vitality Sonic is ergonomic and reasonably high quality, but for a low cost cleaning solution, buy something else, and if you want the high-tech sonic experience, then spend more.

I am surprised by the number of negative reviews for the Vitality Sonic. It seems a large number of people do not get the concept. Sonic toothbrushes are not the same thing as mechanical brushes where you just hold the handle and your teeth get brushed by some sort of wiggling/rotating mechanism. With a sonic brush you have to move your hands just like with a regular brush, only your teeth get a lot cleaner because of the ultrasonic vibrations. It is also interesting how many people expect to get the same level of cleaning out of this item as ones costing three or four times as much. That is clearly unreasonable. The Vitality does a very good job for the money, and it gets your teeth far cleaner than manual brushing ever could. Couple that with a very nice design, rechargeable battery, two year warranty, and a one year "satisfaction" guarantee, and you see that this is a great buy. Not to mention that this brush is a high quality item made in Germany, not China.

I bought this brush at my CVS a while back, and it seemed like a good deal...16 bucks for a "sonic toothbrush." I figured the bristles didn't move too much because it WAS sonic, and it didn't seem too bad. I just kind of settled for it since I'd never really used a sonic toothbrush before. However, i just recently picked up 2 new Sonicares. A 5500 for my mom as a gift, and an xtreme3000 for myself. HUGE DIFFERENCE!!! This is the feeling eveyone has been talking about! A real sonic toothbrush. I went back to check out my old Vitality and it felt like someone taped a toothbrush to a vibrating pager. THATS HOW MUCH BETTER SONICARE IS. If you can't afford a good sonicare, the xtreme3000 sells for less than 30 bucks at Wal*mart, and it gets the job done. Even though it's not as good as the 5500, it's EXPONENTIALLY better than this vibrating stick.

i picked this sonic toothbrush from local brooks. just for the curiosity. it is very cheap compare to other sonic toothbrush.

it felt strange at first. since i own other oral-b oscillating toothbrushes and there were pretty good the scrubbing teeth. the sonic toothbrush does not seem to move much, i think, how could it clean my teeth. after a couple days, it start to think of it as a manual toothbrush, i used it scrubbing back and forth at my teeth... and it felt very c l e a n afterward.

the trick is to think of it as regular toothbrush. move it back at forth, gently and lightly. i use this in conjunction with waterpik and my teeth felt like i just saw a dental hygienist getting my teeth cleaned. it is far superior than the oscillating type, even the expensive ones.

the battery does not last very long. so you have to travel with the charger. but you can't beat the price at this quality. - 5 stars.

Other reviewers have said that the $100 one is better. I won't dispute that, but for a person trying out an electric toothbrush or just wanting something better than their manual, this one works great.

As background, I have had problems with my teeth for years; if the plaque builds up, my gums bleed when I brush my teeth. So I got this electric toothbrush. It works. My teeth are cleaner, my gums don't bleed, and it's much easier to brush for the full 2 minutes each time. (I also like the way the bristles change color to tell you when the head needs to be replaced.)

My only quibble is that I'll need to replace the head more often than my manual toothbrush, but given the more effective brushing it probably balances out.

Sure, I could buy the expensive one. I don't doubt that it works better. But for people who *don't* have $100+ to throw on a new toothbrush, this is a very viable alternative.

I have used a SoniCare brush for many years and agree that it is a very fine piece of equipment. Unfortunately it is also exorbitantly priced.

I purchased this OralB unit about two months ago just to check it out. What I have found is that I tend to "look forward to brushing" a lot more with this unit than the SCare. It offers a more gentle and less "frenetic brushing experience".

I now use this unit in the morning and the SCare at night, and actually brush two times a day a lot more than I used to...... which for me means the OralB is worth more than i paid for it.

I have had the Oral-B sonic complete toothbrush for the last two years. I saw this and decided to try it, looking for a smaller, more portable alternative for travel. I was extremely disappointed. This toothbrush is only slightly better than old-school manual toothbrushes. No better than the disposable electric toothbrushes. This is not "ultra sonic" more like "ultra weak". If anyone with the sonic complete is thinking of this, it feels as if you're using the low or "massage" setting.Seriously though, i know it is probably not fair to compare it to the Sonic Complete which is 3-4x more expensive. But this brush is 1/3-1/4 the strength. The reason i bought it even though i had reservations about "you get what you pay for" is that since the Sonic complete is 2-3 years old, and Oral-B had come out with several other high end toothbrushes, that maybe the cost of technology had come down.
I'd pass on this if i were to do it over.

I would like to begin this review by addressing a couple of issues stated by other reviewers. The first issue is the continual comparison I keep seeing of this toothbrush compared to the $80 or $90 dollar models. This type of unbalanced comparison is something that does not make any sense. It is obvious to any intelligent person that a $20 toothbrush will never perform as well as an $80 dollar model you ignorant fools!!

The second biggest complaint I have read by other reviewers is that all this toothbrush does is vibrate, and there is no rotating or side-to-side movement. This is a true statement, but let me pass along that all sonic toothbrushes (Just Vibrate) no matter if they cost $20 dollars, or $120. FACT: There is no sonic toothbrush produced that rotates or moves side to side, the negative reviewers should have done their homework on this issue you ignorant fools!!

Now I will move on with the actual toothbrush review. I have been using this toothbrush for two months and the performance is very good. The bush cleans my teeth very well and is gentle enough not to bother my gums. I would also say that this toothbrush is designed nicely as it feels good and balanced while being used. Additionally, it holds a charge for 5 days, which is very nice. I have no complaints whatsoever about this toothbrush and it is certainly worth the 20 bucks I paid for it...

I'm sure this isn't as good as a SonicCare, or one of the other brands that cost upwards of $100. But, for the under $20 price tag, I love it. The battery life is great, and this brush helps me to not brush my teeth so vigorously (which I am prone to do with a "normal" brush). I love it!

i agree with the above reviewer. if you want a sonic technology you are better off getting $100 SONIC toothbrush. i have used couple of oral b toothbrushes. that include the double spinning one and cross action, the problem i always had was the battery they would not last long. now i don't seem to have problem with this one because i just brush and it goes right back to my charger.

i have been using oral b vitality for a month and i have to say i am pretty happy with the result. i brush around 3-4 mins and it feels clean and i could tell the difference b/w the ordinary toothbrushes and the alkaline battery powered onces. even though it will obviously not give you the same sonic technology for $20, i think for me it is worth to spend couple of extra dollars and get better cleaning than ordinary toothbrushes.