Two of our kids got Oral B electric toothbrushes and we’ve been testing them out for quite a while. You can read about my review on the Oral B Triumph (which is AMAZING, really!) here. My youngest son- a reluctant brusher- has been dentally-transformed by the Triumph, and we love it!
It’s my daughter who got the Oral B Pulsonic (in the photo above, it’s to the left). She has braces. She had to get braces because they were medically necessary– her teeth were so mangled and snaggly that she was going to have dental and jaw problems if we didn’t straighten her teeth. She’s always had problems with her teeth (as a baby, she suffered a lot of agony– we all did– when she was teething), but due to excellent hygiene and a lot of time spent on brushing and flossing, she has never had any cavities. We’ve put a lot of time, effort, and money into her mouth. But like I said in my previous toothbrush review– I had terrible tooth problems as a kid and I don’t want my children to suffer like I did.
Honestly, I always thought electric toothbrushes were too fancy and not thrifty, that they were a fad. I have changed my mind. The Oral B series (which is approved by the othodontist) is high-quality. The kids love them. And what’s better is that these toothbrushes make brushing less of a chore, especially for the younger kids (which means lower dental care bills because the kids are finally brushing properly). Plus, if you are a Frugal Hack like me, you can buy one or two electric toothbrushes, and have everyone in the family share! Just get everyone their own toothbrush attachments. This is more affordable than buying an electric toothbrush for every single person in the family.
OK, on to the review of this particular toothbrush.
With her lengthy background in dental care and hygiene, I consider my daughter a dental care expert. (And who knows, maybe she’ll grow up to be a dentist or something!). So her opinion about the Oral B Pulsonic means a lot to me. So she gave a lot of input into this review.
The Oral B Pulsonic is a “basic” electric toothbrush, nice and easy for older children and adults, with no complicated settings/buttons/directions. It’s practically plug and play. Also, it’s RECHARGEABLE- very important in this house! You have no idea how many gadgets clutter our home, eating dozens of batteries at every corner, GRR! The Pulsonic has a combination stand/charger that sits neatly on the bathroom shelf. It doesn’t take up much space at all- these features are probably the nicest, in my opinion. It’s lightweight and slim like a “manual” toothbrush, and easy to grasp. There are two brushing modes, one with a “pulse” action (and from where the “Pulsonic” comes). A “sensitive” mode is for gently cleaning gums.
There’s also an automatic timer for brushing times. The Pulsonic pauses every 30 seconds, making it easy to count how long you have been brushing. I love these electric toothbrushes with timers, I have to say. It’s difficult to keep track of the time, especially when doing something as tedious and monotonous as tooth brushing. The timers are GREAT for the kids who always tend to under-guess their toothbrushing times.
The “precision” brush head has small bristles that are excellent for getting into little nooks and crannies in the teeth and also for cleaning under braces wires and around the braces themselves.
Doesn’t she look happy with her new toothbrush?
Here’s a quick summary of the Oral B Pulsonic features:
- Requires no batteries (rechargeable)
- Has two brushing modes (“clean” and “sensitive”)
- Pauses automatically every thirty seconds (to move to a different section of your mouth or to time yourself)
- The Pulsonic tremor feature helps to scour teeth with more thoroughness than regular toothbrush
- Has the smaller-bristled, alternate “precision brush head” for getting into nooks and crannies
- Has “sensitive mode” for cleaning gums
- It has a quiet motor (I just hate being reminded of the dentist’s drills, don’t you??)
- Easy-to-grip and hold
- Comes with a self-standing case and stores easily
- You can buy replacement brushes easily
- Overall, is more thorough than a regular, “manual” toothbrush
The Oral B Pulsonic sells for around $70 at Amazon (although it’s on sale right now and there’s a $15 rebate offer from the manufacturer). It’s $70 at Walgreens with free shipping. The four-pack brush head replacement set is $16.75 at Amazon. Like I said, if you just buy one or two for the whole family to share, each person having his/her own brush heads, you can be frugal in this way. I have found that the kids really brush better and longer with the electric toothbrushes. Yay for Oral B!! You can read more about the Oral B Pulsonic at their website, here.
Tue, Feb 17, 2009
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