Let us compare Oral B vs Sonicare 2019: Why Oral B or Sonicare electric toothbrush? People starts with these 2 brands first because these 2 are the main players and dominating figures when comes to manufacturing of quality electric toothbrushes with features to desire for such as:
- Tongue cleaning mode for helping reduce the risk of bad breath
- 360-Degree Smart Ring with 12 colors to choose from that light up when you brush too hard ( exclusive feature by Oral B)
- Smart Guide with timer By Oral-B that shows you how long have you spent brushing one area of the mouth
- Illuminated Display by Sonicare that shows which cleaning mode you are in. At the touch of the button you can change from one cleaning method to another without taking the brush out of your mouth.
- Easy-Start Feature by Sonicare that easier the move from manual to electric toothbrush. You start brushing at the lower speed and within days as you get used too, the brush change to a higher speed day by day until it reach a full power.
- UV Sanitizer by Sonicare for sanitizing brush heads.
- Bluetooth Connectivity that when connected to Oral B or Sonicare app track how long and often you brush your teeth.
- Timers and Pacers to help you brush at the recommended dentist 2 minute brushing time for healthy teeth
Notice: Most of these features are new and therefore they have been incorporated into the premium models of these 2 brands.
Top Models
History
Braun Oral B
Run by Braun and owned by the Procter and Gamble is the Oral B brand targeting at producing electric toothbrushes that are gently on teeth, reducing the risk of developing tooth decay and gum recession.
Braun Oral B has quality models for both adults and kids that are differentiated by key features and price range.
They have Oral-B:
- Genius series 8000, 9000, 10,000 (Check the Oral B 8000 Vs 9000 Vs 8900 Vs 9900 Vs 10,000 )
- Smartseries 4000, 5000, 6500, 7000 (Check the Oral B 6500 vs 9000 Differences and Similarities)
- Pro series 600, 2 2000, 3 3000
- Vitality
- Oral B Stages Kids electric toothbrush for 3 to 12 years old and
- Oral B teens electric toothbrush for teenagers
Philips Sonicare
Owned by Philips is the Sonicare electric toothbrush brand aimed at producing toothbrushes that produce motion. You guide the brush and let it do its work.
Like Braun Oral B, Philips Sonicare also has models dedicated for both adults and kids differentiated by features and various price.
They have Sonicare:
- Diamondclean: Old generation and the New Smart Series (Check the Philips Sonicare 9300 vs 9500 vs 9700 Diamondclean Smart)
- Flexcare
- Healthy white
- Series 2 and 3
- Plaque control
- Gum health
- Protectiveclean (Check the Philips Sonicare 4300 vs 5100 vs 6100 Protectiveclean)
- Easyclean and
- Essence
Key Differences
- Brushing Technology
- Cleaning Modes
- Pressure Sensor
- Brush heads
- Fun Apps for Brushing
Brushing Technology
Oral B and Sonicare use different brushing technologies. While, Oral B uses rotary technology (oscillating, rotating and pulsating motion), the Philips Sonicare on the other hand uses sonic technology.
The Sonic technology by Philips Sonicare uses vibration and side to side cleaning action to remove dental plaque by scrubbing and sweeping away plaque just like the manual toothbrush. The only difference when compared to the manual toothbrush is that with Sonicare your job is to direct the brush to do its job. Not using your personal energy to scrub or brush your teeth. The shape and size of the brush head is more less the same as that of the manual toothbrush.
When the brush is vibrating, it stimulates fluids production that helps looses tooth plaque in hard to reach areas.
The rotary technology by the Oral B on the other hand uses either 2D (oscillating, rotating) or 3D cleaning action (oscillating, rotating and pulsating motion).
The Oral B electric toothbrush comes with a small, round brush heads that offer tooth to tooth cleaning effect. The brush moves left, right, up and down remove up to 100% plaque than the manual toothbrush.
Cleaning Modes
When comes to cleaning modes (the methods in which your teeth and gums get cleaned); Oral-B offers more modes than Philips Sonicare even to the cheaper version.
With the Oral B you can get from one to four cleaning modes on cheaper models, and 5 to 6 modes on premium version (daily clean, gum care, whitening, sensitive, tongue cleaner, and deep clean). However, when comes to the Sonicare, you can find from 1 to 2 modes on most Philips Sonicare toothbrushes and five modes on premium models like the Sonicare Diamondclean.
Pressure Sensor
Both mid to high end Sonicare and Oral B electric toothbrushes include a pressure sensor that alerts you when you brush your teeth too hard. This is to remind you not to apply any pressure while brushing your teeth, just guide the brush to do its work. Brushing your teeth too hard leads to tooth cavities and gum recession.
Recently, Sonicare also has incorporated this important feature in its new range Sonicare Diamondclean Smart and Philips Sonicare Protectiveclean toothbrushes
Brush Heads
Another thing that also differentiates between Oral B and Philips Sonicare is the shape and size of their toothbrush heads.
- The Oral B brush heads
are small and round with soft bristles. The brushes include indicative blue bristles that fadeaway with time to pale blue to remind you to buy/change brush head. Basically, you are advised to change a brush head after every three months of use. - The Philips Sonicare brush heads, on the other hand, are like manual toothbrush heads in shape and size.
Fun App for Brushing
Fun apps for brushing are included in Both Oral B and Sonicare kids toothbrushes for children. Oral B has what they call ‘Magic timer app’, and Philips has ‘Sonicare for kids app’. The aim of these apps is to make kids
The apps offer tutorials on how to brush teeth and gums properly without scrubbing or applying too much pressure. The apps also track the brushing habit (how long and often they brush their teeth) and add it on
You basically download the app from Google store, install it on your Smartphone or tablet and connect with the toothbrush. This is where the difference occurs.
- You connect the Oral B magic timer app through your phone by scanning the toothbrush or the packaging that comes with it using Smartphone camera. While,
- You connect Sonicare for kids app via Bluetooth.
- With Bluetooth connectivity you get real time experience, brushing progress is being tracked how it occurs in real time. While with the Oral B, the moment you put the app on, it starts recording, sometimes a kid has not even started brushing their teeth or even switching the brush on.
Which Offers the Best Electric Toothbrush?
We have analyzed the key difference that differentiate between the Oral B and Philips Sonicare toothbrushes to give you a clear idea on how these two brands differ from each other.
Now which one is better is
- Battery life: On
full charge, Sonicare battery last up to three weeks with the Oral B batteries goes up to 2 weeks time maximum. Making the Sonicare best option for travelers. - Price: In terms of price, Oral B toothbrushes offer good value for money, they are quite cheap compared to the Sonicare brushes.
- Automatic power
off: Philips Sonicare toothbrushes stop automatically when the brushing cycle is complete, be it after 2 minutes or 3 depends on the cleaning mode selected, while the Oral B toothbrushes most of them continue brushing until you switch it off manually. - Noise: Sonicare brushes are much quieter despite the fact that they produce strong vibrations than the Oral-B’s. Oral B brushes are a bit louder.
- UV Sanitizer: Some of the Sonicare models include a UV Sanitizer for sanitizing the brush head. Oral-B toothbrushes lack this feature even the premium ones.
- Charge from a USB port on your computer: With the premium Sonicare models like the Diamondclean, you have the ability to recharge your brush via a USB port on your computer. This is not possible with any of the Oral-B’s models.
- Warranty: While Philips Sonicare offers 2 years warranty,
the Oral B, on the other hand, offers up to 3 years warranty. You just only need to remember to register your brush on the Oral B website immediately after buying it. The warranty covers a replacement for a broken toothbrush or the one that has stopped working - Replacement heads: To replace the Oral B brush heads is much cheaper than replacing Sonicare brush heads. And, It is
dentist recommendation that you have to replace your brush head after every three months to avoid the risk of getting teeth decay. - Charging: Sonicare brushes offer more global support of 110 to 240 volts, while Oral B supports 220 to 240 which make it hard to travel with across the world. In either case, you still need a 2 to 3 pin adaptor to connect it to a power socket.
- Waterproof: All models from these 2 brands are waterproof meaning you can use your brush in
shower , and you can rinse it after using it. However, each brand advice against submerging your toothbrush on water - Refund: If you are not happy with your toothbrush, you can get your money back within 30 days by Philips and 60 days by Oral-B. Just ask for a refund within this given time frame by each brand.
Which one appeals to you, Oral B or Sonicare? Follow your heart desire based on your budget, needs and wants.
Here is our 5 best Oral B electric toothbrush 2019.
Things to Consider When Using an Oral B or Philips Sonicare Electric Toothbrush!
Clean Both Your Teeth, Gums and Tongue
When brushing our teeth, we often times find ourselves concentrating in cleaning the teeth and forget about the gums and our tongues. Bacteria don’t reside on teeth only; they also hide in gums and tongues causing gum disease (https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/gum-disease/) and bad breath (https://www.webmd.com/oral-health/guide/bad-breath#1).
When brushing your teeth remember to also clean the gums and your tongue. This makes an important point as to whether you should consider investing in toothbrushes that offers gum and tongue cleaning mode or not. If because of the budget you failed to invest in these key modes, remember you can always buy a tongue cleaner sold separately by other brands at later times when budget allows.
Also you advised to hold your brush at 45 degree. This will help not only to clean the teeth properly but also to clean the gum line.
Brushing Is Not an Alternative to Flossing
No doubt electric toothbrushes do a good job in removing plaque even in hard to reach areas than manual toothbrush. However, food particles sometimes get stuck in a way that a brush only cannot remove them. You need to invest in flossing sticks or a water flosser to help gets rid of all unwanted food particles stacked on your teeth.
Keep Your Brush Clean and Dry
You will hear or read stories about electric toothbrushes and their handles getting mold. This happens often if you do not clean and keep your brush and its handle dry.
Brushes by Philips and Braun Oral B are all water proof. Make a habit of rinsing your brush and its handle on water immediately after finishing brushing your teeth but don’t submerge it on water.
After rinsing, wipe or dry the handle and brush with a clean towel or tissue.
Take Care of the Battery
It is true that you can leave your brush to charge overnight and sometimes it takes up to 24 hours for a battery to be full charged.
Most battery will flash red when needs recharging, then green when charging and no flash when the battery is full. Make sure the battery is full charged if possible and use it until the charge run out.
Most of the brush stays with the charger between 5 and 16 days for Oral B and up to 21 days for Philips Sonicare. Read the product instructions manual to see what you are getting.
Do not fall into the habit of topping up the battery here and then. Charging the battery on daily basis or often is not a good idea. This will wear your battery very quickly and bad enough there is no replacement for worn out batteries.
Brushing Modes and Variant Brush Heads Are There For a Reason
Whether you want to remove plaque, clean sensitive teeth, gums or tongue or just whiten your teeth, there is a cleaning mode for each and brush head to go with.
For instance to achieve best teeth whitening results; you are advised to use a whitening mode and 3D white brush head.
What this mean is that you need to assess your needs before deciding which toothbrush to go for. Do not decide basing on budget only as you get what you pay for. And you are going to stay with that brush for 3 to 5 years.
If budget is an issue, remember there is always good deals going on daily basis and especially on Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas (Check these electric toothbrush deals here)