Oral-B Vitality Pro Review

How the Oral-B Vitality Pro looks, feels and works

I want to begin by reiterating if you have skipped the sections above, how the Vitality Pro is very similar to the Vitality and Vitality Plus.

My hands-on comparison explains the differences, so you can pick the one that is right for you.

The Vitality Pro comes packaged in a cardboard box, complete with recyclable cardboard sections inside.

This is better than the horrible blister packaging the original Vitality came in. I say came in because I believe this has now changed to a box too.

Inside you get the essentials you need plus an extra brush head.

The Vitality Pro has the same design as other Vitality brush handles but differs slightly from more premium Oral-B toothbrushes.

You get a tapered shape to the handle. It is wider at the top (around the neck) and thins a little towards the bottom.

Able to stand upright on a flat surface, the brush has just 1 function button in the upper half of the brush handle. This turns the brush on and changes between the different brushing modes.

The power button has a convex design to it and gives reasonable feedback, although you do need to give it a firm push.

The power icon is colour matched to the lilac mist brush handle that I have here. This button sits at the bottom of a rounded rectangular panel which is white in colour and contrasts nicely. With the black onyx variant this is all black in colour.

Most of the plastic body is either black or lilac in colour, depending on the variant chosen, but the top of the brush handle is white on both models.

This contrast in colour looks ok, but I am sure many would prefer it if the handle was all one colour. 

With the black variant, it would certainly look more stealthy, particularly as it comes with a black coloured CrossAction brush head. But, that look wouldn’t last for long as both come with a white coloured charging stand

Grippy handle but more difficult to clean

The brush is relatively easy to hold thanks to the tapered design. Oral-B’s more premium models tend to have a more uniform shape down the length of the handle, which I personally prefer. But, the slightly different width and the extensive amount of grip are good for users of all ages and abilities.

Smaller hands and those with less mobility will welcome the huge textured surface that wraps 360 degrees around the majority of the brush handle.

Only the lower quarter of the handle is kept as smooth touch plastic.

The grip actually helps detract from what can sometimes be a really clinical and dull look to a toothbrush.

On the pictured lilac version the grip is lilac, but on the black, it is black.

As good as the dimpled textured surface is for helping keep a hold of the brush it does have a weakness.

The pits in the surface allow toothpaste, saliva and residual gunk from toothbrushing to build up. The handle isn’t as easy to keep clean as the all plastic alternatives.

It isn’t too bad if you keep on top of cleaning it, but if you don’t it can look a bit odd. It is most noticeable on the black one as the toothpaste etc tends to dry white.

The grip free lower quarter of the brush handle is colour matched and you then have the Braun Oral-B logo on the front in a grey font. On the back is some regulatory information.

Easily missed, is 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. So simple, but so effective.

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

Waterproof handle

Oral-B says the Vitality Pro is waterproof. I would question waterproof a little and would suggest more water resistant.

Technicalities aside a rinse under the tap and use in the shower is fine, this won’t impact daily use of the brush.

You might want to avoid having your kids use the brush as a pretend submarine at bathtime though.

The charging stand will resist a few splashes but avoid getting that wet, it is not designed to be water resistant.

3 cleaning modes – 2 more than you really need

Most brushes within an entry level range only ever offer 1 cleaning mode.

In most cases, this is all you ever need and suits most people.

From what I have seen there is limited evidence or benefit to some of the other modes offered on toothbrushes. But, if there were to be another mode, I would opt for sensitive.

Sensitive brushing modes tend to use less of the power available from the brush motor and are in turn more gentle and less intense in their cleaning action.

They are more appealing to new electric toothbrush users, those with inflamed and sensitive gums and those who may have recently undertaken some dental work.

The potential problem is you are not getting the maximum benefit from the electric motor and cleaning action when using these modes. But, they do have a place.

Unusually, the Vitality Pro gives you quite a bit of choice. You actually have 3 brushing modes. They are:

• Sensitive plus
• Sensitive
• Daily clean

The modes are available in this order.

Sensitive plus appears to be a new mode as I have not seen it labelled this way on any other Oral-B brush.

It appears to be similar to the super sensitive mode found on brushes within the iO Series. 

According to Oral-B, the sensitive plus mode offers 4,800 oscillations, compared to the 7,100 of the sensitive mode. 

Daily Clean uses the full power of the motor to offer 7,600 oscillations per minute.

Both sensitive and sensitive plus are going to be ideal pairings to the Sensi UltraThin (sensitive) brush head that comes included in the box.

It doesn’t remember the last cleaning mode used

To change between the modes you need to press the power button.

The brush always defaults to the sensitive plus mode, irrespective of the last mode used.

Therefore if you want to use the more powerful and effective daily clean mode, then you have to press the power button once to turn the brush on and a further 2 times to enable the daily clean mode.

You will then need to press the button again at the end of the cleaning cycle as it doesn’t power off automatically.

Whilst you will soon learn your preferred mode, the order and how many times to press the button, you don’t get any icons or mode labels on the handle to show which mode you have selected.

You might have seen other brushes that have backlit icons or names on the handle to show which mode is active at the time of use, but the Vitality Pro does not have this.

2D, not 3D cleaning action

The cleaning results that Vitality Pro provides are perfectly satisfactory. It does the job. 

Use the brush for the correct amount of time and with the correct technique, and you can remove lots of plaque with more ease than a manual brush.

It should be noted though that the Vitality uses a 2D cleaning action as opposed to the 3D action widely promoted on other models.

This means the brush head, oscillates and rotates, but does not have the added pulsation cleaning action of the more premium models.

If you have used Oral-B before, you can likely tell the difference, but if you haven’t used an electric brush like this then it is likely going to feel quite powerful.

This brush offers 7,600 oscillations and 0 pulsations.

Compare this to the 9,900 oscillations and 45,000 pulsations of the Pro 3 3000 for example and there is a bit of a difference.

Even when using the most powerful daily clean mode on the Vitality, it doesn’t feel quite as intense as it would if using that same mode on the Pro 3000.

Be aware that the sensitive plus and sensitive mode will not be using the full power of the motor.

Small round brush head

One of the things that makes Oral-B brushes stand out from a lot of the competition is the small round brush heads.

I like the way that they clean and the size means they can be really good for getting into the tighter spaces of the mouth and can work well for those who know they have a smaller mouth. 

The round head is generally covering just one tooth at a time whereas sonic heads cover a larger area.

The detachable brush heads slide on and off the metal shaft on the top of the handle. This shaft feeds down inside the handle to the motor.

Supplied in the box with the Pro are 2 brush heads.

You get 1 x CrossAction and 1 x Sensi UltraThin (sensitive) brush head.

These are 2 of the brush heads we recommend most here at Electric Teeth.

Our guide to Oral-B brush heads explains each in more detail, along with the different styles of heads you can also buy and fit to the handle.

You need not stick with the heads provided, you could use the Precision Clean or FlossAction instead if you prefer, but we would stick with what you get.

You can also switch between them as frequently as you like. If you want to use the CrossAction in the morning and Sensitive at night, you can. Just pull the head off the handle and push the new one on.

The CrossAction has slightly firmer bristles whereas the sensitive head is a bit softer and ideally suited to those sensitive cleaning modes.

You will probably achieve slightly more plaque removal with the CrossAction and Daily Clean brushing mode than with the Sensitive mode and Sensi UltraThin mode, but the differences are going to be minimal.

Remember to change each brush head approximately every 3 months as the effectiveness of the clean does reduce after this time.

The CrossAction head supplied has Clean Maximiser bristles which change from a green to yellow colour to make it really clear when it is time to replace the head.

2 minute timer and 30 second quadpacer

With the brush head attached and the brush powered on, the timer built into the brush begins to start counting down.

At the time of pressing the power button, you activate 2 different timing features that are built into the handle. The 2 minute timer and the 30 second pacer. These are 2 of the dentist recommended features.

At 30 second intervals, and at the passing of 2 minutes (120 seconds) the brush motor will pause briefly causing a change in the sound and motion. This is your cue to change quadrant or end the clean.

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 brush your teeth properly, you don’t use an electric brush in the same way you do a manual toothbrush.

You get 16 cleaning sessions of 2 minutes from the battery built into the Vitality.

Unfortunately, there is no warning from the brush when the battery is low. 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.

It is worth knowing that if you are mid-brushing session and you want to stop your brushing, you can. But, unlike the more premium brushes that allow you to pause the brush for 30 seconds, and the timer resume, with the Vitality, it restarts completely.

Lack of accessories

You can’t expect lots for your money when the brush is this affordable, but I do want to note how you don’t get a travel case for the handle or the brush heads included.

In fact, Oral-B doesn’t normally offer any type of case for the Vitality series, even as an aftermarket accessory.

From time to time other variations or bundles might exist where such is provided, but it isn’t commonplace.

Some sort of storage compartment for spare or replacement brush heads would be nice, but it isn’t included either.

If it is important to you, there are clip on plastic frames that fit the Oral-B charging stands that give you a place to store heads if you so desire.

And finally, although there is little concern for the reliability of the Vitality Pro, if for any reason the toothbrush does stop working, there is a standard 24 month guarantee that comes with it. You can extend this by a further year, so 3 years in total at no extra cost if you register it online.

And, should you buy the Vitality and decide it isn’t the brush for you, then you can make use of the money back guarantee that is on offer.