“He needs to brush longer,” said my son’s dentist. Funny, I seem to get that from my dentist as well. What good could an electric toothbrush do that can’t be accomplished with a regular toothbrush? Today we look at the Oral-B Deep Sweep 1000 Electric Toothbrush.
Oral-B Deep Sweep 1000 Electric Toothbrush Features:
- Superior plaque removal: Triple action deep cleaning technology removes up to 100% more plaque than a regular manual toothbrush, even between teeth
- Advanced Triple Zone cleaning technology: 1) Moving power tip for hard-to-reach back teeth; 2) Shorter, stationary bristles for thorough surface cleaning; 3) Longer, sweeping bristles for deep between teeth
- Deep cleaning action: Provides 40,000 pulsations and 8,800 sweeps per minute
- Long-lasting battery: Battery lasts up to 7 days when brushing 2 minutes, twice a day
- Professional timer with quadrant prompt: A two-minute timer with 30-second intervals helps guide you through the four quadrants of the mouth, making it easy to track how long you’ve been brushing
- Base charging station: Also acts as toothbrush holder
- Charge-level display: Lets you gauge how full the battery charge is
- User-friendly intuitive design: Superior cleaning results with no change in brushing technique vs. a regular manual brush. With wide sweeping bristles that reach significantly more tooth surface than a standard manual brush, you can enjoy a comprehensive cleaning.
- Indicator® Bristles: Indicator bristles signal time to change brush head.
- Ergonomic Waterproof Handle: Waterproof handle has a non-slip grip for complete control
I do remember as a kid wanting one of these electric toothbrushes. I tried one as an adult but the novelty factor wore off pretty fast. I’m willing to give this another shot.
Comes with the charging dock and a brush head for starters.
There’s only one button to turn the brush on and off. That’s it!
The red light means it’s time for a charge!
The bottom of the toothbrush. Made in Germany. Brush heads appear to be made in China.
The brush docks with the inductive charger. No exposed electrical contacts.
The bottom of the dock.
A green light blinks to let you know the brush is charging. After a while, the light stops blinking when charged.
A view of the metal shaft. Note the flat portion of the shaft, and the unique keyed bits on the plastic part. This is undoubtedly to allow certain kinds of brush heads to be used.
Side views of the toothbrush top.
The actual head is made up of plastic.
Bottom view of the brush head. Note they key on the right side.
Overall, when assembled, the entire Oral-B Deep Sweep 1000 measures over 9 inches.
It seems every electric toothbrush head has it’s own unique characteristics. This one “sweeps” rapidly side to side.
After I charged it up, it was time to brush. Yes, it felt strange at first but the vibrating bristles gives a nice massage to the gums as well. Very soothing!
The other important feature is the brush timer. Oral-B suggests brushing in quadrants: Upper-right, upper left, lower right, lower left. After 30 seconds, the brush “stutters” (vibrate turns on-off-on) to remind you that 30 seconds has passed, and you can move on to the next quadrant. After four 30-second periods, the brush sutters about four times (buzz-buzz-buzz-buzz) to let you know two minutes have passed.
How did it feel? At first I was annoyed about having to brush so “long” until I realized I had brushing probably too little. My gums are left feeling renewed, like they just spent the day at the spa. Not a bit of grime left on my teeth, either. It’s like taking your teeth to the car wash.
The brush timer is perhaps the biggest benefit. Since using the Oral-B Deep Sweep 1000, I’ve been brushing for a solid 2 minutes each time. Sure I could probably use a stopwatch or look at a clock with a regular toothbrush, but using a toothbrush that keeps time is so much more convenient.
Update 01/22/15
I’ve actually stuck to using this toothbrush for nearly a year now. Still going strong.
Updates 04/23/15
Been nearly one year: Still performing great. And, I’m surprised I’m still using it. I’ve changed the heads periodically, of course. The only thing I’ve had to do is wipe down the charging base from time to time. It seems to collect moisture if I dock a wet handle. I try to prevent water and toothpaste stains from congealing on the base by wiping down the handle a bit when I’m done.
Source: The sample for this review is provided by Oral-B. Visit their site for more info.
Product Information
| Price: | MSRP $99 (about $65 street) |
| Manufacturer: | Oral-B |
| Requirements: |
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The review doesn’t say it, but it looks like, from one of the pictures, that this brush only works on 110v. That makes it pretty useless if you travel. I used to use an Oral-B but quickly returned to manual brushing when the batteries didn’t last through trips to China and Europe.
Requirements:
Teeth
Smart mouth!
You mentioned the cost ~$65 high for a tooth brush. I disagree. My last electric toothbrush I bought was an Oral-B. I bought it a year or so before I moved out of my parents house. I think I paid about $100 in 1997/8. It has been working great till about a few weeks ago. It no longer holds a charge for more than 1 or 2 brushing sessions. It’s time to replace it. But I think I got my 16-17 years worth of use out of it.
And yes I cleaned it, and replaced the heads. Yuck.
Yes, no 220v that I could see.
And I had no idea these toothbrushes could last more than a few years, let alone nearly two decades. Impressive!
I was in Europe for a few months last year. I bought/brought a 220v to 110v converter and a U.S. power strip to use my American electronics. Worked out pretty well.
Hmm…I may just try this.
IMHO, my recommendation for proper brushing is, get disclosing tablet or rinse to see hidden or missed plaque build up. Many times, we brush teeth by habit thus missing many spots in conjunction with incorrect brushing technique.
Do it few times and you will notice that you may need to change angle of bristles or stroke etc to completely remove plaque build up.
Electric brushes may help some people with motor skill issue or rheumatoid arthritis( which can also be assisted using deflated tennis ball) patients but in general, you can get great use out of soft bristle tooth brush. 🙂
I gave up and switched to a electric toothbrush when my dentist told me he was shocked by how much cleaner his teeth where when he used one for the first time! My hygienist has been a lot more complimentary about my brushing since then. Just watch out for the price of the heads. They aren’t cheap.
I am surprised that the charger works only with 110V. Is it a common flaw if all OralB brushes/chargers? I checked my Sonicare HealthyWhite, and it has universal 110V-240V charger.
While it’s true that these can last a decade or longer before the battery stops holding enough of a charge, I replaced my 10yo one on the advice of my hygienist because she said the newer ones have much higher revolutions/sweeps per min and do a much better job. So after getting a similar model for a holiday gift and using for a month, at my next visit she said she could already see a big improvement in my gum health.
A couple of FYIs:
– I got 3 replacement heads for ~$16 on Amazon, and hear that Cosco has large count replacement packs even cheaper.
– If you are replacing an old one, remember that the battery may be NiCad so don’t just toss in the household trash! You can pop the bottom off the handle to remove the battery for hazardous waste recycling.
Costco for the Win on heads. Thats where I always got mine.
I ended up getting this unit on Amazon for about $50
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ARTK9FA/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I will see how it does compared to my old one. Which I put in the recycle last night. Sniff so long my loyal tooth brush god speed.
My husband has this toothbrush and he really likes it. I think he’s had it for about 3 years and it’s still going strong. I’ve got the 5000 model which I really like. It is more expensive but I find the extra features encourage me to brush regularly.
We both use the deep sweep head. I have tried the regular and floss head before but found that I prefer the deep sweep.