At a glance
Expert's Rating
Pros
- Well priced
- Three brushing modes
- Fairly quiet in operation
- Good brushing performance
Cons
- Long charging time
- No battery warning or charging light
- No pressure sensor
Our Verdict
If you’re looking for the best cheap electric toothbrush you can buy, this may well be it. It really only lacks a pressure sensor. But bear in mind that its short battery life and long charging time mean that you’ll need to keep it on the stand. If you can’t do this, it may not be worth it.
Price When Reviewed
$28
Best Prices Today: Oral-B Vitality Pro
Retailer Price
$28 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket
How much should you spend on an electric toothbrush? To some extent, the answer will depend on your dental needs. If you have braces, very sensitive teeth, or need to overhaul your brushing technique, you should probably invest more in a toothbrush now to avoid spending a whole lot more on your teeth later on. Smart features and a wide range of brushing modes could make a genuine difference to your dental health.
But for a large number of people, especially those who’ve always used a manual brush and are considering the leap to an electric toothbrush for the first time, $28/£25 could be all you need to spend.
Design & Build
- Three brushing modes
- Rotating/oscillating cleaning but no sonic vibrations
- Grippy handle
The Vitality Pro is a small, light electric toothbrush, weighing just 113g, against the Oral-B iO4’s 134g. It’s short, at just 22cm tall (the iO4 is around 24cm). But it’s easy to hold, even when wet, thanks to its wide, slightly tapered handle, with has a texturised rubber grip. The indentations in the grip can harbour toothpaste, so you’ll need to clean it regularly to keep it in good shape.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
It has one-button operation. One press switches it on in low mode. Press again for medium, and again for high. A fourth press – or a long press at any time – switches it off again.
The brush heads are slender, with a compact, round cleaning head that’s ideal for reaching spots that you can easily miss if you use a larger, rectangular manual brush.
The Vitality Pro comes with a brush head and a charging dock with a two-pin shaver plug for UK buyers and a standard two-pin plug in the US. Depending on where you buy, you may get more brush heads with it.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
Buy in the UK at the moment and you’re likely to get one of the new brush heads whose bristles change from green to yellow as it wears out.
Performance & Features
- No pressure sensor
- 8-day battery life
- 22-hour charging time
Switch on the Vitality Pro and it goes into Sensitive Plus mode, which is a slow, low cleaning mode. If you don’t have sensitive teeth, this mode won’t be very useful. But if you’re sharing a brush with a child, it could help them get comfortable using an electric toothbrush.
The second mode is Sensitive and the third is Daily. These are both useful modes, and one will be your go-to, depending on your preference. I found the Daily mode to be the best fit for me.
When it comes to brushing performance, I’d happily use it every day
The next thing to discuss is the brush’s noise level. It’s fairly quiet – quieter than an Oral-B iO – but it’s clear that the motor is fairly basic, which means it makes a mechanical, rattly noise when switched on, with a higher pitched noise that kicks in on the faster modes. I found the brush noise intrusive at first but after using it for a couple of weeks, I’d grown used to it and didn’t notice it.
The Vitality Pro has a brushing alert every thirty seconds to let you know to move on to the next quadrant of your mouth and a longer alert after two minutes. But the brush doesn’t switch off after the dentist-approved brushing time, so you’ll need to make sure you don’t zone out and forget where you are. If you miss the longer alert, you’ll get a regular alert 30 seconds later, and so on.
There’s one key brushing indicator that the Vitality Pro is missing – a pressure sensor. We think this is a key feature of any electric toothbrush. If you tend to mash the bristles on your brush, it’s a sign you brush too hard and could be damaging your gums and tooth enamel. A toothbrush with a pressure sensor will help you correct that. All Oral-B iO brushes have a pressure sensor.
Battery life is where the big compromise between price and performance lies
I swapped the Oral-B iO brush I use on a daily basis for the Vitality Pro to see how different the brushing experience was. Overall, although I didn’t think it was quite as effective as the iO (which both oscillates and vibrates, for improved plaque removal) it’s certainly good enough to give your teeth a proper clean. When it comes to brushing performance, I’d happily use it every day.
But then there’s the battery life issue, and this is where the big compromise between price and performance lies. The Vitality Pro has a maximum battery life of 8 days – and that’s if you brush twice daily for two minutes and stop precisely at that point. If you run over a few times, you’ll get around a week of use. If two people are sharing, that gives you only 4 days before you need to recharge.
There are other battery-related issues as well. There’s no battery indicator on the brush, which means there’s no way to tell when it’s close to running out of juice: at some point, it just stops. If you take it on holiday, you’ll need to ensure it’s fully charged before you go – and even then, if it starts up in your bag, you may not get a full week of use. The lack of an indicator light means that you won’t know when it’s fully charged either.
Finally, when it comes to charging, it needs a whopping 22 hours to go from flat to full. None of the battery issues are a dealbreaker if you’re prepared to keep the Vitality Pro on its charging stand between brushing sessions. If your bathroom isn’t set up for this, the low price may not be worth the hassle.
Price & Availability
The Oral-B Vitality Pro is widely available. In the US, it’s priced at around $28 and you can buy it from Amazon.
In the UK, the price fluctuates but you shouldn’t pay more than £25. At the time of writing, you can buy it at this price from Amazon, Boots, Argos and Oral-B among other retailers. it comes in a range of colour options, including black, pale blue, lilac and grey.
The Vitality Pro is the best brush we’ve tested below the $/£30 mark but if you can afford to spend a little bit more, we’d suggest the Oral-B Pro 3 (Pro 1000 if you’re in the US), which has a pressure sensor, battery light and longer battery life. You can see all our top electric toothbrush recommendations in our round-ups of the best electric toothbrushes, the best cheap electric toothbrushes and the best Oral-B brushes.
Should you buy the Oral-B Vitality Pro?
The Vitality Pro is not the best electric toothbrush you can buy – but it may be the best for this price point. For your money, you’ll get three brushing modes and good brushing performance. It’s missing a pressure sensor, but that won’t be a dealbreaker for everyone. The real issue is its short battery life and long charging time. If you’re happy to keep it on its stand, it’s a bargain.
