Oral-B Pro 500 Review

Design, usability, clean & general use

It offers the core essentials without all the bells and whistles that most of us are attracted to.

The Pro 500 is designed with simplicity, practicality, and budget in mind.

What this means is that the Pro 500 is a functional brush, but with such a focus on the basics comes a lack of what I would consider beneficial features.

Opening the box, the contents is minimal.  A brush handle, charging stand and a single Precision Clean brush head, oh and of course some documentation.

In truth, the Pro 500 offers what you need and nothing more. This probably isn’t a bad thing.

The brush is relatively easy to hold. It has a tapered design where it is thicker at the top of the handle and thinner towards the bottom.  Oral-B’s more premium models tend to have a more uniform shape down the length of the handle, which I prefer personally.

The body of the handle is made from plastic, which is gloss white in color, but the black rubber grip that is wrapped around the majority of the brush handle not only makes the brush look smart and easy to hold, it reduces the very clinical look of the white plastic.

Some might prefer other color options for the rubber grip, but it is black only.

It is a 360 degree grip with small dimples all over it that really give the fingers something to grip onto.

You might think how hard can it be to grip onto a toothbrush handle, but if you have limited dexterity or small hands, it can make a big difference.

The gloss white plastic is visible in the lower third of the brush handle and at the neck of the brush, where the brush head attaches.

In the lower third, on the front is the Braun Oral-B logo and on the back is some regulatory information.

Easily missed, but a potentially useful feature is found on the rear of the brush handle. A small raised piece of rubber extends very slightly just below the neck of the handle. This stops the toothbrush from rolling if laid on a countertop.

On the base of the Pro 500 is a recess into which fits the charging prong on the charging stand.

The handle itself is a sealed unit, which means it is designed to resist water and can happily be rinsed under the tap.

The detachable brush head slides on and off the metal prong on the top of the handle. This prong feeds down inside the handle to the motor and battery, which are not user accessible.

Nickel Metal Hydride is the battery type used in the brush, which is ok, but not exactly cutting edge which is surprising that the Pro 500 was revised in 2019. I suspect cost had some bearing on this decision.

The motor inside the handle is not the most powerful available on an Oral-B brush.  It does deliver more movements than any manual brush can, but if you are looking for a powerful motor you will need to invest in the likes of the Pro 1000.

Another small thing is that the Pro 500 does not offer ‘Pulsations’ which is what adds the 3rd dimension to Oral-B’s 3D cleaning action.

The brush head on the 500 oscillates and rotates, but not pulsates. It is not an absolute deal breaker, the Pro 500 still cleans the teeth well, but more premium models do a better job.

When the single button on the front of the brush handle is pressed, it will launch into the one and only cleaning mode available, also known as Daily Clean mode.  

A standard brushing cycle is for 2 minutes.

From the moment the toothbrush is powered on, the built-in timer begins working.

Once 2 minutes have passed, the timer will alert you as the user by pausing the motion of the brush head briefly 3 times.

This changes the brushing sensation, as well as the sound and is your clue that you have hit 2 minutes.

The brush does not automatically turn off at the end of the clean, you need to do this manually.

The other part of the timer is the 30 second pacer, also known as the quadpacer.

What this does is try to encourage you to brush your teeth evenly over the 2 minute brushing period.

At 30 second intervals, the brush will pause briefly, changing the sound and cleaning sensation. Like the 2 minute timer, this is your clue to do something. In this case, it is to move from 1 quadrant to another.

The idea is you virtually break your mouth up into 4 sections (quadrants) and spend 30 seconds cleaning each.

Starting with the top right, you can move to the top left, bottom left and bottom right.

At the end of the 2 minute cycle, you will have in theory given the teeth an even clean and not focused purely on the front teeth for example.

Brushing for the full 2 minutes is very important, but just as important if not more so, is the right technique. Make sure you learn how to clean your teeth properly.

You get a minimum of 16 cleaning sessions of 2 minutes from the Pro 500, but no warning from the brush when the battery is low.  

I say no warning, you can usually hear the battery getting weaker, because you can see, hear and feel it in the brush head.

Essentially as you get close to depleting the battery the cleaning action gets weaker.

There is no battery icon, so it’s up to you to recharge it regularly if you want to avoid it going flat mid clean. This is where the likes of the Pro 1000 are appealing as a battery status icon gives you some feedback.

When brushing, you should let the bristles of the brush head skim the surface of the teeth, you need not brush hard.  If you were to, you may well notice the sound of the brush motor straining and slowing down if you do apply too much pressure.

Oral-B has designed their toothbrushes so that most toothbrushes can be used with different heads, meaning they are interchangeable. Each brush head works to achieve different results, with some best suited to particular cleaning modes not available on the 500.

Despite this they will work on this brush handle, so you can buy and use any of the following:

• CrossAction
• FlossAction
• 3D White
• Precision Clean
• Sensitive
• Pro GumCare
• Deep Sweep

The CrossAction brush head relies on hundreds of bristles that are angled in different directions. It has been scientifically engineered, to ensure the bristles cross over different parts of the tooth surface more effectively than those brush heads that have standard straight bristles.

The FlossAction brush head also oscillates and rotates like the cross action head does, however in addition to this it has micropulse bristles which help to achieve a deeper clean.

The 3D White brush head has a polishing cup in the center of it which helps buff teeth up to give them the dentist shine.

The Precision Clean brush head, the one provided in the box, also oscillates and rotates like the CrossAction and the FlossAction however it has a different cut to the bristles which clean the teeth with a slightly different approach.

The Sensitive brush head has softer bristles aligned in a petal formation.  They are not angled and are less abrasive on the teeth and gums. Ideal if you have or suffer from increased sensitivity.

The Deep Sweep brush head has a sweeping motion which is designed to sweep in-between the teeth to remove more plaque than a manual brush.

Remember to replace your brush head at least once every 3 months or 90 days, if not sooner.

An Oral-B brush head will actually fade in color as it ages giving you another visual indicator that it is time to replace the brush head.

The waterproof handle needs little in the way of maintenance, but to prolong the life of the brush you should make sure that it is given a good wipe every so often to remove any grime and dirt build-up and it will continue running well.

If for any reason the toothbrush does stop working, there is a standard 24 month guarantee that comes with it.