REVIEW – Brushing teeth is one of those must-do daily tasks. If you follow the guidelines, you will be doing this twice daily. Many studies have indicated that today’s electric toothbrushes do a superior job of cleaning versus manual brushes. Why? Because they brush more vigorously than you can do with your hand alone. Today, we’ll take a look at the Oclean Flow sonic electric toothbrush that uses sonic technology to deliver 38,000 strokes per minute to make your pearly whites sparkle. Let’s get brushing and see if sound can deliver a clean mouth!
What is it?
The Oclean Flow sonic electric toothbrush is a powered toothbrush that uses sonic technology to vibrate the brush head. This provides 38,000 strokes of cleaning movement per minute without the user having to move the brush beyond positioning.
What’s in the box?
- Oclean Flow sonic electric toothbrush handle
- One brush head
- USB-A to USB-C charging cord
- User manual
Hardware specs
- Motor frequency: >= 38,000 RPM
- Battery capacity: 2,500 mAh
- Charging method: USB-C
- Power input: 5V 1A/5W
- Charging duration: < 5 hours
- Standby time: > 180 days (at lowest intensity)
- Waterproof Rating: IPX7 (can be submerged up to 1 meter in water for 30 minutes)
- Operating modes: 5 Modes (Dawn, Dusk, Cleaning, Whitening, Gentle)
- Mode memory: Yes
- 2-minute timer: Yes
- 3-second gradual power-on: Yes
- Colors: White (tested), blue, red
Design and features
The Oclean Flow sonic electric toothbrush consists of two pieces – the control handle and the brush head. The model I was sent came with a single head. They do offer packages with four additional heads. As you can see, I was sent the white version. They also offer it in blue and red.
To use the brush, you position the front of the brush so it aligns with the front of the handle, and slip the head onto the blade. I find it interesting that the head has an alignment arrow but the handle does not. Weird. Still, it is obvious how to install the head.
The assembled unit is sized like, well, a toothbrush. If you look at the photo above, you can see the round power button just above my thumb. Below that, we see five symbols that also have LED lighting behind them. They indicate the cleaning mode, from top to bottom, morning, night, standard cleaning, whitening, gentle. Morning mode is designed for modest cleaning, to get overnight buildup off your teeth. Night mode is the most vigorous, designed to remove the day’s grime. Standard mode is a middle-of-the-road cleaning mode. Whitening mode is supposed to do a better job removing stains from smoking, drinking coffee, etcetera. Gentle mode reduces the power for those with a sensitive mouth.
When you press the power button, the brush ramps up over three seconds and the LED behind the mode illuminates dimly. In the photo below, you can see the power indicator, but the mode is nearly impossible to see. For the record, it was in the top, Morning, mode.
If you press the power button again within five seconds, the brush will change modes from top to bottom. Once five seconds have passed, the button turns the brush off. The Oclean Flow sonic electric toothbrush remembers the last mode used and turns on in that mode.
The power indicator is much easier to see. That ring flashes when charging and flashes red when the battery is nearly exhausted. In between full and empty, there is no battery charge level indicator.
The USB-C charging port is located on the bottom of the handle. It is covered with a sturdy rubber cover that snaps securely in place.
The bristles are made from soft nylon material.
In the photo above, you can see them vibrating.
Setup
Other than charging the handle and snapping on the head, there is no setup.
Performance
I’ve used an electric toothbrush for years. My wife has clung to a manual brush. Getting to review the Oclean Flow sonic electric toothbrush was an opportunity to bring my wife over to the power side, so she is the primary user of this toothbrush. I have to say, her initial impression was not favorable, she was jumping around the bathroom like a little kid that just tasted something they didn’t like. Why? She has a reasonably sensitive mouth, especially the roof of her mouth. If you have never tried a sonic toothbrush, the feeling of it, especially in sensitive areas can only be described as weird. The noise is weird. The tickle you feel is weird. The tingle that goes through the roof of your mouth is weird. She lasted less than 30-seconds on her first attempt. She backed down to the gentle mode and eventually ramped up to more vigorous modes as she became accustomed to the sensation.
This continued for about a week. But…she did say that after running her tongue along her teeth, her teeth did feel quite clean – perhaps cleaner than with her regular brush. Now that she has gotten used to the feeling, she regularly makes the full two-minute cleaning cycle and that her teeth do feel very clean.
Speaking of the two-minute cycle, general recommendations state that you should brush for a full two minutes – 30-seconds for each quadrant of your mouth (upper right, lower right, upper left, lower left). The Oclean Flow has a 30-second indicator where the brush briefly pauses at 30-second intervals so you know when to change quadrants. The pause is so brief that she missed it completely. Now that she has been using it for a while, she picks up the pause about half the time. It really needs to be a little longer. After two minutes, the brush turns off.
One thing she really likes is the design of the brush head. Its longer and narrow design let her reach the very back of her back teeth much more easily that her manual toothbrush.
The claimed battery life for the Oclean Flow sonic electric toothbrush is exceptional at about six months between charges, based on twice-daily use at the lowest intensity level. I had planned to turn the brush on and let it run until it dies. Since it turns off after two minutes, that wouldn’t work. We’ll just have to take that claim as most likely valid.
What I like
- Brush head design allows reaching back teeth
- Does a great job making teeth feel clean
- The unit is balanced nicely
- Good battery life and USB-C charging make travel easy
What I’d change
- Add a charge level indicator
- Make the mode lights brighter
- The 30-second indicator should be more definitive
- An included travel case would be nice
Final thoughts
For the record, that’s my hand holding the Oclean Flow sonic electric toothbrush.
Let’s face it, my wife was ready to toss the Oclean Flow in the trash after her first attempted use. A sonic toothbrush does feel weird and she didn’t like it. But with a little patience, she is now reaping the benefits of a powered toothbrush. She feels that her teeth are cleaner. She also feels that the brush has helped reduce some of the sensitivity in her mouth. Her next visit to the dentist will validate that.
There is little debate that powered toothbrushes do a better job than manual brushes. If you’re looking for a powered toothbrush that uses sonic tech and offers great battery life, the Oclean Flow sonic electric toothbrush is worth a look.
Price: $34.99
Where to buy: Oclean and Amazon and that includes four replacement heads
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Oclean.
