Product Description

For effective plaque and stain removal. The Oral-B Vitality Sonic rechargeable electric toothbrush uses advanced sonic technology to drive CrissCross¿ bristles nearly 20,000 times per minute. Vitality Sonic reduces plaque effectively and removes surface stains to naturally whiten teeth.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #535 in Health and Beauty
• Brand: Oral B
• Model: Oral B Vitality Sonic - S12513
• Released on: 2006-08-03
• Dimensions: 2.05" h x 9.45" w x 4.33" l, .55 pounds

Features

• Nearly 20,000 movements per minute
• Angled CrissCross bristles clean teeth and stimulate gums
• Are extra-long to reach difficult areas
• Indicator bristles fade to let you know when to replace your brush head
• Two-minute timer pulsates to signal recommended brushing time
• Sustained rechargeable cleaning power - a full charge lasts 5 days

Customer Reviews

Mediocre effort to create a cheap sonic brush, better options available
This product attempts to bring sonic toothbrush technology to the sub-$20 price bracket. It does not entirely suceed, and though nicely designed, it is not very effective at its job.

The Sonic toothbrush as invented by Philips uses a high speed pulsing (> 30,000 rpm) to use fluid below the gumline to help vibrate dirt and plack off the teeth. This process is gentle, effective, and leaves the teeth feeling and looking very clean. I've used these brushes and they are great.

The downside to this marvel is that Philips charges roughly $80-$130 for their Sonicare brushes. Oral B has their own latecomer Sonic Complete model (which costs about $100) and a number of lower cost designs that use a more conventional oscillating mechanical head to clean teeth.

The problem here is the corners Oral B cut to bring you a $20 sonic brush. The brush vibrates at a much lower speed (20,000 rpm) and though it uses the same brush head as the more expensive Sonic Complete, it does not clean teeth anywhere near as well as a faster sonic brush. The 1/3 speed difference evidently is very significant in the ability of the brush to get the ol chompers clean.

If you want a sonic brush, spend more money than this. If you want a cheaper brush that is fairly effective at cleaning your teeth, try the Oral B Vitality Dual Action ($18) or the Oral B Cross Action Power Max ($12).

The dual power head action of these designs, though not sonic, is a reasonable compromise in getting teeth clean while also keeping price low. The Vitality Sonic just spins its wheels without doing much.

The design and function of the Vitality Sonic is ergonomic and reasonably high quality, but for a low cost cleaning solution, buy something else, and if you want the high-tech sonic experience, then spend more.

Nice try. Well....not quite, actually.
I bought this brush at my CVS a while back, and it seemed like a good deal...16 bucks for a "sonic toothbrush." I figured the bristles didn't move too much because it WAS sonic, and it didn't seem too bad. I just kind of settled for it since I'd never really used a sonic toothbrush before. However, i just recently picked up 2 new Sonicares. A 5500 for my mom as a gift, and an xtreme3000 for myself. HUGE DIFFERENCE!!! This is the feeling eveyone has been talking about! A real sonic toothbrush. I went back to check out my old Vitality and it felt like someone taped a toothbrush to a vibrating pager. THATS HOW MUCH BETTER SONICARE IS. If you can't afford a good sonicare, the xtreme3000 sells for less than 30 bucks at Wal*mart, and it gets the job done. Even though it's not as good as the 5500, it's EXPONENTIALLY better than this vibrating stick.

A sonic toothbrush for a very reasonable price
I am surprised by the number of negative reviews for the Vitality Sonic. It seems a large number of people do not get the concept. Sonic toothbrushes are not the same thing as mechanical brushes where you just hold the handle and your teeth get brushed by some sort of wiggling/rotating mechanism. With a sonic brush you have to move your hands just like with a regular brush, only your teeth get a lot cleaner because of the ultrasonic vibrations. It is also interesting how many people expect to get the same level of cleaning out of this item as ones costing three or four times as much. That is clearly unreasonable. The Vitality does a very good job for the money, and it gets your teeth far cleaner than manual brushing ever could. Couple that with a very nice design, rechargeable battery, two year warranty, and a one year "satisfaction" guarantee, and you see that this is a great buy. Not to mention that this brush is a high quality item made in Germany, not China.