If Inspector Gadget owned an electric toothbrush, the Braun Oral B 5000 Triumph would surely be his weapon of choice.
The Inspector Gadget of toothbrushes
I make my living surrounded my motherboards, CAT 5e cables and heat sinks, I’m not one to be turned off by a little gadgetry but this device had me scratching my head for a wee while at all the modes, options, brushes and monitoring solutions.
Say what?
It basically consists of two units. A toothbrush (that comes with a ‘docking station’ for charging) and a ‘SmartGuide’ which sits somewhere near the toothbrush unit.
When I initially unboxed the product, I read the instructions for the ‘SmartGuide’ and got so bogged down by them, I decided that I’d simply ignore that part of the system and concentrate on using the toothbrush. After a few weeks had passed, curiosity got the better of me and I unpacked the ‘SmartGuide’ and installed it alongside the toothbrush.
The SmartGuide, doing what it does best… flashing at me.
Having never owned an electric toothbrush before, the actual brush itself has been a revelation from day one . My previous experience (of trying my mother’s!) had been brush heads that were WAY too big and clunky to reach the back of my mouth which left my teeth feeling thoroughly uncleansed.
The brush heads that click onto the Braun Oral B Triumph systems fit each tooth perfectly but are still small enough to reach right back to those pesky wisdom teeth without putting your jaw into spasm.
It comes with a variety of brushes for all your brushing/polishing needs.
I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ve no real use for half the brushes that you can purchase to integrate into this system… after three months, I’ve decided that for my requirements, the Oral-B Precision Clean Brush Heads do everything I need although it’s nice to have the option to incorporate special polishing cups and floss-action heads into your routine if you require.
On the subject of flossing and despite owning brush heads that claim to offer this action, having an electric toothbrush with all these bells and whistles hasn’t replaced the manual action of a piece of flossing thread successfully.
I visited my dentist after having used the Braun system for 3 months and interestingly, the only area that hadn’t shown any signs of improvement were the gaps between my teeth. It’s a breeding ground for bacteria and picking up one of these all singing/all dancing electric toothbrushes doesn’t replace the need for daily flossing.
Well designed and nicely weighted handle with display
But hold on there for a moment… because did you notice what I said? The “only” area not to have shown improvement!
I’ve been visiting my dentist for about 12 years now and she always makes my visits sweeter by making me feel better about my mouth being the plaque attractor that it is. “Some people just have more ridges on their teeth to attract it!” she says whilst I sit there worrying that she must think I never brush my teeth at all.
When I visited the dentist last week, I asked her specifically to tell me if there were any noticeable improvements to my last visit. She consulted the computer and worked her way around my mouth, noting various numbers to her auxiliary who plugged them in to the system (lots of 2’s and one 3 incase that means anything to you!)
Apparently, my gums had improved in most areas except for that one number 3 which I could feel was slightly inflamed just with my tongue. She noted that there was an overall significant improvement on last time (5 months previously) and that she had been a little concerned at their deterioration following the birth of my daughter. Apparently, we’re back on track!
Not only that but she also made a little joke that the scale and polish was going to take her half the time it usually does as the ‘flat surfaces’ were looking really clear of plaque compared to normal. To be honest, I could have told her that!
OK, so the Braun Oral B Triumph 5000 has passed the dentist test with flying colours as far as I’m concerned. It’s obviously brushing my teeth more effectively than a manual toothbrush ever did though as I said earlier, it doesn’t replace a good old-fashioned floss which is just as important as tooth brushing!
The system all set up!
But back to this SmartGuide for a minute… afterall, this is one of the Braun’s USPs. We’re talking about a toothbrush that costs £160+ when it isn’t on special offer. It’s USP needs to make it worth that doesn’t it?
Sweeping aside all the special modes for deep cleaning, sensitive cleaning, polishing, tea-making and everything else it offers… the SmartGuide gives me one major advantage…
It makes me brush my teeth for a full 2 minutes night and morning. It’s like a nag. I switch on the toothbrush… and 10 seconds later I’m ready to move on to the next section of my mouth.
“NO!” says the SmartGuide. Well, it doesn’t actually *say* ‘no’ – that would be REALLY clever! What it does, is flash at me. It shows me the quadrant of my mouth that this brush needs to stay in for the next x-amount of seconds. I look back down at the sink… surely it’s time nowwwwwwwww…
“NO!” (flashes the SmartGuide)…
The simple truth is that without the SmartGuide, I’d be finished with my teeth brushing approximately a full minute earlier than with it. And that ain’t good news for my teeth.
The Braun Oral B Triumph 5000 Electric Toothbrush (with naggy SmartGuide) is available online at Boots priced at £163.39… but wait!
You can get it from Amazon for £79.99. And that my friends, is what I would be happy to call a bargain.
I bought this toothbrush when it first came out, managed to get it on a half price offer and then through years worth of Boots points at it and got it for free. Simply, I love it.
Friends think it’s a bit gimmicky with the smart guide but hey, just like you said it’s making me brush my teeth for the full amount of time too! Well worth it in my eyes.
I saw this on offer at about £60 before Christmas last year and was sooo tempted to buy it but I thought I’d wait until I get my braces off first.
Sorry to butt in, but it is actually well worth it to have an electric toothbrush when you are in full braces!
And OralB has an orthodontic toothbrush head specifically for this brush!
Boots also currently have a half price deal on Oral B toothbrushes 🙂
I’ve got this, and it works like a charm, all my friends say, OMG Wande you got white, and I reply with honey I know its magic lool
Gadget heaven! Love it 🙂
Never buy the heads at that price, they’re regularly half price/BOGOF!
I have the bottom-of-the-range Oral B electric toothbrush and the heads are the same. I couldn’t go back to a manual toothbrush now but I’m aware I don’t brush for the full 2 minutes…time to invest in a timer?
Wow, quite a price difference between Boots and Amazon! I really need to invest more in my teeth. Not that they’re bad, but I just feel I could spend less on clothes and makeup and more on boring old teeth!
You know what kills me … 3 years ago my mom discovered these toothbrushes (through her dentist) and loved hers so much that she offered to buy them for me and my husband.
I refused, because I am an idiot.
My reasoning? I didn’t know if I would still be living in the UK, and I didn’t want to end up in America with a UK toothbrush.
Well guess what? I still live in the UK, and I still don’t have one of these awesome toothbrushes, and now no one is offering to get one for me >_<
Oh well, I'll definitely have one eventually (when I know what country I'll be living in for more than 1 year into the future!)
BTW, my grandmother still tells me “take care of your teeth and they’ll take care of you!” every time I see her – but she knows what she’s talking about – 92, with all her teeth, still in good condition.
We have this. It is BRILLIANT. And nobody ever pays RRP for it. Google it and you’ll get stacks for way less than that.
My teeth are frankly yellow and I am very nervous of having anything done to them because they have given me sterling service for 55 years and I don’t want to mess with them.
But THIS all by itself has made a huge difference in a week! Unbelievable. Simply fabulous.
I’m glad to see they’ve made the stand smaller, the one I have is far too bulky so I jettisoned it a while ago!
I love electric toothbrushes!
I love that nail polish you’re wearing – what is it?
thanks!
Nubar Verde!
http://www.lipglossiping.com/2010/11/nubar-venetian-glass-collection-%E2%80%93-verde-notd/
Was going to be my exact question too, it is lurvely!
I’ve been using a cheap £20 no-extras one for about 5 years and I hadn’t realised how slow and crappy it had got until I got my new one! My new one is so much better. It’s a cheaper version of the one you have, but instead of the smartguide, it just stutters every 30 seconds to signal to change sides. It also lights up if you brush to hard, it’s like a mini disco when I’m being a bit too heavy handed! 😛 It’s amazing the difference a good toothbrush can make! x
This is a dangerous blog…I just ordered mine from Amazon!!!
(thanks for the info…xx)
Me too! And I’m ridiculously excited… to get a toothbrush. Never ever before, truly.
£160? For a toothbrush?
If I wanted to make sure I brushed for the full 2 minutes I’d just listen to a 2-minute-long song o.o
Sorry again to butt in, but it isn’t just about brushing a full two minutes. It is really about brushing properly for AT LEAST two minutes and electric toothbrushes are proven to remove more plaque than a standard manual toothbrush. As for the price, 160 pounds in ridiculous, I can’t believe how ripped off you get over in the UK! Here it is around $120 unless you get it for a professional discount- I got mine for $34.
I have one of those “regular” electric Oral-b’s (for like 20 Euros) and I got really angry when I found out that the brushes cost 3,50 Euros each^^ That’s so much more than a convenient tooth brush (plus the cost for the electric device)!
Yes! Once you go electric you never go back…. not v.catchy but oh well.
I couldn’t live without mine xx
Hi! I love that you were able to review this toothbrush! I just got one (I actually use a Philips Sonicare already) and I’ll be reviewing mine soon- I am a dental assistant in the US so I got mine for a bargain at $34 with my professional discount. I love that you had improvement since you started using it- and just to fill you in, if she was going throughout your mouth reading out numbers, those are your periodontal pocket readings. Any reading from 1-3 (measured in millimeters) is healthy, anything higher (i.e. 4+) is unhealthy and the bigger the number the worse periodontal disease you have. So what I’m trying to say, is that if you had mostly 2’s and one 3, you are doing great! Just remember (warning, nerdy dental assistant speak ahead): only floss and brush the ones you want to keep! 😉
Love your blog, by the way!
Thanks Kristen!
Also thanks for the info re; those numbers! I’d guessed that the lower the number, the better. But didn’t know the brackets that were considered ‘healthy’
xx
That is one cool toothbrush! My toothbrush is rubbish in comparison.