Oral-B Vs. Sonic Care

Both the Sonicare Elite 39500 Sonic Toothbrush (Sonicare) and the Braun Oral-B Professional Care Oral Care System (Oral-B) deliver good service. Both have two-year warranties and rechargeable batteries. Dentists and patients who reviewed these two electric toothbrushes praise both. In terms of dental hygiene, both give excellent service. However, both offer features that distinguish them in terms of being user friendly and family friendly.

• Personal preference takes careful thought

Performance

• Reviewers give high marks to both toothbrushes. Oscillations for both the Oral-B (40,000) and the Sonicare (30,000) are very adequate for cleaning the teeth, breaking up plaque and lowering bacterial count in the mouth. The Sonicare pauses for half a second, every 30 seconds, to allow the user to switch positions in the mouth. The Oral-B has a switch that turns it on indefinitely, but it has another switch that turns it on for two minutes. Two-minute timing is good for making sure one brushes the minimum time for a good cleaning.

Differences in the Grip

• Reviewers report the Sonicare is slightly larger and heavier than the Oral-B. Both are easy for an adult to use, but kids with small hands will be better served by the Oral-B. Reviewers say the Sonicare is stronger in structure and will survive a fall better than the Oral-B. The grip of a Sonicare handle is about the size of a D battery, while the Oral-B is slightly smaller than a C battery.

Cleaning the Brush Itself

• Those who reviewed the brushes gave high marks to the Sonicare over the Oral-B in one area: A user can wash every part of the Sonicare under the faucet. You can't do that with the Oral-B. The Sonicare handle, which holds the battery, is hermetically sealed. If someone should drop the Sonicare into the bathtub, for example, it will still work.

Oral B Requires More Care

• The top of the Oral B's handle has a metal actuator that is exposed. This drives the brush heads. This means that it's easy for debris to build up. The Oral-B's head can be cleaned under running water, but it cannot be immersed in water for cleaning. The Sonicare doesn't have an exposed metal actuator.

Other Comparative Features

• The brush heads of both are about the same size for both models. Both companies make different colored rings for the brush heads, so you can assign them to individuals. Swapping brush heads is about the same for both, although you can pop the Oral-B's head on and off. You must screw on a new brush head on the Sonicare. One important feature the Oral-B has is that it will shut off if you apply too much pressure. The Sonicare does not have this feature.

Durability Over Time

• Reports from reviewers say both electric toothbrushes can break down over time. The plastic brush heads will crack with use of toothpastes with whitening agents. In terms of battery life, both the Sonicare and Oral-B do equally well. Both companies say you can go almost two weeks on one charge, but most reviewers did not test the claim. Reviewers simply returned their brushes to their chargers after use, and report they've witnessed no drop of power in either brush.