Oral-B Junior Review

Design, usability, clean & general use

From the moment you clap eyes on the packaging you can tell that the target age group is older children.

A smart and sophisticated design to the packaging is accented by lovely bright colours that catch the eye and highlight the key features of the brush.

Available in either Purple or Green, it is the Purple that appears to be more readily available, but both are bright and engaging and a little more fun than the more neutral White and light shades that adorn a lot of adult electric toothbrushes.

I list above what you get in the box when you open it up, but what it is like to use?

The handle is slim, marginally slimmer than most brushes designed for adults.

Made from plastic the handle is smooth to the touch.  Purple or Green in colour the sides of the handle having White rubber grips that run top to bottom and make the handle much easier to hold onto, particularly with wet hands.

On the front of the handle of the Oral-B Junior 6+ is an ovalish White rubber panel which has a circular, raised power button within it.  This is the button that turns the brush on and off.

In the lower third of the handle is the battery icon and LED that gives some feedback on the battery status.

Below this is the Oral-B and Braun logo in White, contrasting with the Purple body colour.

On the left side of the handle are the words ‘Professional Care’ and ‘Timer’.  The White text shows it is part of Oral-B’s professional range of toothbrushes and has a built-in timer, more on this shortly.

The grip that runs down either side has a series of ridges that are closest together towards the top, helping keep little hands and fingers in place.

On the back of the brush is very little aside from some regulatory logo’s and the letters Ni-MH, which is short for Nickel Metal Hydride and is the type of battery that is built into the handle.

Sealed inside the handle is the battery and the brush motor.

It offers up to 7 days battery life when fully charged, claim Oral-B.

To charge it, you sit the brush on the provided charging stand.  This stand has a prong on the top of it which fits into a recess on the base of the brush.

The handle itself is not perfectly round, there is a slightly squared shape to it and the bottom has more of a tapered design to give it a thicker base.

At the neck of the brush handle is where on the rear, a small White rubber notch extends from the handle.  Lay the brush flat and this stops the brush from rolling about.

Protruding from inside the handle is the metal shaft that is driven by the internal brush motor.

It is to this that the interchangeable brush head fits.

Supplied in the box is a single Sensitive brush head.

Despite being designed for children, the Oral-B Junior toothbrush heads are not specific to this toothbrush.  The head provided is actually an adult sized brush head.

Oral-B offer a range of different brush head styles, which is explained in detail in our Ultimate Oral-B brush head guide.

What has been done with the Oral-B junior electric toothbrush purple and green is that the head provided is the softest bristled head, the sensitive style brush head.

As the mouth and teeth are developing, a soft bristled brush is the best type to use.  Ideally, I suggest you stick with this until your child becomes a teenager, where other heads could be considered.

Despite having the name Oral-B Junior 6+, as the size of the brush head is not specific to children, technically, adults could use it, if you chose.

The head itself should be used for on average 3 month’s.

There are some Blue indicator bristles on the head that over time will fade to a very pale/translucent colour.  When this happens, it is time to change the brush head.

Press the power button and the brush launches into the one and only cleaning mode available on the brush.

Lasting for 2 minutes, this meets the expectations and recommendations of dental professionals.

Built into the handle is a timer and pacer.

As you might well be aware, when brushing or 2 minutes, roughly speaking you should spend 30 seconds cleaning each of the quadrants of the mouth.

The quadrants are upper right, upper left, lower right and lower left.  Spend 30 seconds cleaning each with the right technique and after 120 seconds, the clean will be complete and you will have brush all the teeth relatively evenly.

The Oral-B Juniors timer kicks in the moment the brush is switched on.  At 30 seconds a slight pause in the brush motor acts as an audible clue that it is time to switch.  This continues at 30 second intervals until at the 2 minute time, where there are 3 pauses in the motor to signal the end of the clean.  You need to press the button to turn the brush off.

With a pacer it is much easier for children to brush properly and know when the desired time is up.

Now, every child is different and what encourages them to brush for the right time will be different.

Your little Jimmy might be an absolute angel and has learned to brush his teeth for the right amount of time and need no additional encouragement.

Little Alice, on the other hand, might be a little monkey and do anything to avoid brushing those teeth.

I would really like to see some more interactivity and benefits to this brush, to ensure it more effective for more kids.  This is something that has been done well with the Kolibree range of brushes.

The cheaper Oral-B Stages Power has an accompanying smartphone app that has a timer and rewards structure that motivates children to brush for the right amount of time.

No such offering here.

Now your child might be older and understand more, the Stages Power is aimed at 3 years plus.  But from my testing, there are many 6 year old children (and older) that will still avoid brushing if they can.

Included in the box is a glossy and colourful card that can be left out with the toothbrush that explains the stages of brushing and may capture some children’s attention.

However, I still think more could be done here and feel some parents will still have struggles with brushing.

For the slightly more mature or developed child, then it could be worth considering opting for one of the electric toothbrushes that are designed for adults.

Why?

Well, you can still get and use a soft bristled brush head, but you may get additional benefits like a built-in pressure sensor or a better battery life, without the need to spend all that much more.

Take the Oral-B Pro 3 3500 for example.

It is similar to the Junior, but it has double the battery life and a pressure sensor would light up to alert a child when they are brushing their teeth with too much force; something that is a common problem.

Not all will agree, but I find this particularly worth considering as it is better to teach a child from a young age the right approach and the card in with the Junior handle does specifically mention not to brush too hard.

The Junior handle does have a pressure sensor in it.  It will stop the pulsation movements until the pressure is relieved. You can hear a change in the sound of the motor, but there is no visual clue like there is with the 3500, which I think will work better with kids.

No matter how good your child is at brushing their teeth, you can be safe in the knowledge that they are, this brush is going to be cleaning more effectively than a manual brush, sweeping away, plaque and bacteria and helping keep their teeth and mouth healthy.

Waterproof this brush handle is, which means its can be rinsed under water, used in the shower, but immersed in water it should not be.

Build quality is good, it feels robust and I know from previous experience that the brush handles last.  It comes as standard with a 2 year warranty, but register the brush online and there is the option of extending that warranty to 3 years, for no extra cost.

The Junior is a logical evolution from the Stages Power brushes designed for the youngest of children and is certainly a mid-ground between those and the adult toothbrushes.  Whether it offers enough to engage your child is for you to decide.

If you are unsure, you could take advantage of Oral-B’s 30 day money back guarantee/test drive programme.  The Junior is one brush handle that is eligible.