Review: How to really love your gums with Oral-B

I’m a working mum and although I like to think I’m organised, most weekday mornings are a mad rush to get myself, hubby and little one out of the house.  We all brush our teeth as part of our morning and evening routine but giving them their full 2 minutes of attention isn’t always the case.

One thing my parents always said to me was “look after your teeth, you only get one set!”. I’ve always kept this in mind, very rarely skipping a morning or evening brushing.  When I was pregnant I was particularly aware of how sensitive my gums were and found that my gums bled, so I needed to be gentle when I brushed.  Using a normal toothbrush made it quite hard as I had to gauge it correctly to make sure I was applying just the right amount of pressure to clean my teeth properly at the same time.

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been trying out the Oral-B Triumph 5000 with SmartGuide power brush and new Pro-Expert Premium Gum Protection toothpaste.  Recommended by Dentists, the Triumph 5000 with SmartGuide has the British Dental Health Foundation Platinum endorsement.

The Oral-B Triumph 5000 electric toothbrush comes with a little digital box called a SmartGuide.  It clearly shows you the time you have spent brushing each of the four sections of teeth.  The excuse to brush for any shorter than this is thrown out the window as you now naturally pay extra attention to what you are actually doing when brushing.

All-in-One Mum Product Testing

There are 3 brush heads provided; Oral-B FlossAction, ProBright and Sensitive.  I used the Oral-B FlossAction brush head as I have a thin metal bar behind my six front bottom teeth from when I had braces as a teenager.  The bar is great for keeping my teeth straight and also excellent at attracting food which isn’t so wonderful.  

Using a pea-sized amount of the Pro-Expert Premium Gum Protection toothpaste, I turned on the brush once it was in my mouth, otherwise I’d have toothpaste splatter on my walls and on me!   The SmartGuide sprang into action, starting the count to 30 seconds per each segment.  The toothpaste had a 'just come from the dentist' clean taste to it which I really liked.  I used the Deep Clean mode as I felt like my teeth could do with a good scrub.  The beep of the toothbrush, stopping of the brush head, flashing on SmartGuide meant that I knew when to move to the next area I had to brush.

My gums bled for the first day or two but have since stopped and I’m using the Daily Clean mode.  My teeth, especially in the hard to reach places and behind my lower teeth bracket felt cleaner than they had in weeks and stayed feeling like that for a large part of my day too.  This really made me more confident at work when I meet clients as well and most importantly, in my social groups.

The great thing about having something visual showing your brushing time is that I can use it with my young daughter, too.  We brush our teeth at the same time and it encourages her to spend the right amount of time giving her pearly whites a good once over.  She finds it fun so brushing her teeth has become less of a chore and is now an exciting part of her daily routine.

The brush is great for…

• Everyday use! – Daily Clean mode
• Getting a bit of an extra clean – Deep Clean mode
• Sensitive areas – Sensitive mode
• Giving your teeth a really good polish – Whitening mode
• Treating your gums to a gentle massage – Massage mode

With 40,000 pulsations and 8,800 oscillating movements, you can chose any of these modes by pressing the mode button just below the on/off switch on the Oral-B Triumph 5000.  An indicator on the brush head lets you know when it needs replacing so that you can keep optimum performance.  

My (rather poor!) video gives a bit of an idea of what the brush looks like in action.  I would have used it on myself but I'm sure you wouldn't want to see me with a mouth full of toothpaste and talking at the same time.

Is it worth the price?

One of the things that I have learnt in my (just over) three decades is the importance of a good toothbrush…or so I thought until now!  With an RRP of £199.99, the Oral-B Triumph 5000 with SmartGuide is pricey but I feel that it is worth every penny.  The different brush modes mean that you can get the perfect clean according to what you need and more importantly, what your teeth and gums need too.  The plaque removal outstrips a regular manual brush as it removes up to 100% more than regular brushing.  I'm actually looking forward to being pregnant again one day just so that I can try the different settings to see and feel the difference from the first time round when I used a regular brush.

The travel case means that you won’t have your toothbrush coming to life, sometimes causing embarrassing stares and comments, when you are travelling and you can take an extra 2 heads with you.  There are also a number of other brush heads in the Oral-B range that are compatible with it so you have a wide selection to choose from.

The Oral-B Triumph 5000 with SmartGuide and Pro-Expert Premium Gum Protection toothpaste (RRP £3.99 for the toothpaste) are available online and at most major retailers.

Happy brushing!

Ally x

Oral-B:  http://www.oralb.co.uk

Note: This post is an entry for Mumsnet Blogger Network Challenge sponsored by Oral-B, promoting healthy gums. Get tips and advice on www.oralb-loveyourgums.com.  I was sent the Oral-B Triumph 5000 and SmartGuide as well as the Pro-Expert Premium Gum Protection toothpaste to provide my honest and unbiased views and opinions on.