Oral-B Triumph 9900 Rechargeable Power Toothbrush Product Review

Is Oral-B's Triumph 9900 rechargeable toothbrush with SmartGuide™ really a triumph in daily dental care?

The Oral-B Triumph 9900 seems impressive at first glance, with high-tech wireless gadgets meant to enhance the user's attention to each tooth's cleaning needs. Oral-B even guarantees 100% money-back return to users who are not satisfied with the Oral-B Triumph power toothbrush with SmartGuide™ in 30 days of use.

As a longtime power toothbrush user of another brand, I received a free Oral-B 9900 to use for two weeks to form my opinions on its cleaning abilities, features, and overall value.

Cleaning Ability: Rating 5 of 5

The Oral-B Triumph rechargeable toothbrush versatility is key to its cleaning abilities. It can be used with or without the SmartGuide™ wireless remote. The display shows the user what section of the mouth should be brushed during each 30 second interval of the 2 minute timer. This is a great feature for anyone having dental health issues like gingivitis. The timer counts down 2 minutes of brushing time dentists recommend and alerts the user if brushing too hard so gums stay healthier.

The SmartGuide™ helps the user to focus better on time remaining to brush and to remain aware of which sections of teeth need brushing. The gums stay healthier, especially if the user tends to have a heavy hand and pushes hard on the teeth. This feature helps train the user to be kinder to the teeth and gums and not so rough on the delicate gum tissues and prevent gingivitis. The remote also shows when the brush head needs replacing.

The Oral-B Triumph electric toothbrush also has a self-timer feature without the remote SmartGuide.™ This feature helps tooth cleaning to remain timed at the dentist-recommended 2 minute duration when the SmartGuide™ cannot be used in airplanes or hospitals where radio controlled devices are not allowed.

The two Oral-B Professional Care brush heads provided with the system are round with medium-density bristles. One brush head has floss-like action and the other brush has polish-like action. Both have thousands of pulsations and oscillations per minute to loosen and sweep away plaque. The brush heads clean teeth much better than a manual brush could ever manage.

A push of a button on the toothbrush customizes the brush head, whether for sensitive teeth, a deep clean, gum massage, or tooth polish. Five other compatible brush heads may be purchased separately, if the two heads included in the box are not appropriate to the user's needs.

The Oral-B Triumph even offers a money-back guarantee on better dental check-ups by using this product. For someone struggling with gingivitis or other dental issue this might be a guarantee worth this investment.

Comfort Features: Rating 3 of 5

The Triumph Toothbrush is ergonomic, lightweight, and easy to grasp and hold while in use. Turning the toothbrush on and off can be a challenge for my stiff arthritic fingers, but eases with practice.

The two round brush heads included in the box work fine. However, for my small teeth and sensitive gums, these brush heads are too stiff and large even on the most sensitive setting. After two weeks of use and a minimum of six hours of gum irritation and pain at each use, I began searching for a compatible brush head from the recommended list in the owner's manual. Since the average cost of the Oral-B Triumph Professional Care 9900 toothbrush system is about $145.00, it is disappointing to have to spend more so quickly on brush heads and the ones provided in the box are wasted, because they are not appropriate for my teeth and gums.

The Oral-B customer service department promptly responded when I shared my experience with their product. The email stated that my report was shared with their health and safety division. The Oral-B representative not only suggested an appropriate replacement Oral-B brush head for my needs, but promised a coupon for a free Oral-B Sensitive Brush Head package will arrive in my postal mail soon.

The Portable Smart-Plug™ Charger can be used as part of the base station or as a stand-alone place to hold the toothbrush while charging on small bath table areas where the base station is not practical and for travel. Of all the toothbrush chargers I have owned, this one is most ergonomic and travel friendly. Easily, the Portable Smart-Plug™ Charger is my favorite due to these factors.

The Travel Case is another nice ergonomic comfort feature of this power toothbrush system. Previous electric toothbrush units I have owned have large travel cases that are hard to open and the toothbrushes and accessories rarely all fit in the designated slots as they should. Not so for the Oral-B Triumph 9900 SmartGuide™ Travel Case. It includes perfectly formed snap-in place areas for the toothbrush and both brush heads in the vented snap-close blue ergonomic ravel case. The Oral-B Triumph Travel Case stays closed until I want it to open and everything stays put exactly where it should, in spite of airline baggage handlers.

The Base Station includes a large capacity clear case where the brush heads may be stored to keep bacteria from building when not in use. It takes up a good amount of bathroom shelf space. After a few days, I demoted the Oral-B Triumph Base Station to a cupboard under the sink, leaving the toothbrush standing alone in its ergonomic portable SmartPlug Charger with the SmartGuide™ Wireless Monitor alongside to allow more shelf space for other bathroom items.

Product Overall Rating 4 of 5

Oral-B Toothbrush: Triumph Professional Care 9900, Model Number 3731

Price Range: $138.82 to $149.99
Warranty Limited 2 Years
30 Day Money-back Guarantee

Purchase Online/In-store: Target, Wal-Mart, Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, Amazon.com

Package Includes: * Toothbrush, * Two brush heads (Oral-B FlossAction,™ Oral-B Pro White™)
* Portable SmartPlug charger, * Travel case, * Base station with brush head storage and protective cover, * One rechargeable battery (battery life 2 weeks without charging)

Compatible Brush Heads available for additional purchase: Oral-B FlossAction, Oral-B Precision Clean, Oral-B Pro White, Oral-B Sensitive, Oral-B Dual Clean, Oral-B Power Tip, Oral-B Ortho, Oral-B Braces Care Essentials, Oral-B Tongue Freshener

The Oral-B Triumph 9900 Power Toothbrush with wireless SmartGuide™ is helpful for children over age 3 and adults needing help in establishing better brushing habits, or those transitioning from manual toothbrushes to rechargeable battery toothbrushes to get more out of tooth brushing practices.

It is not a triumph in my opinion, but it is a good overall power toothbrush. I can't give it a 5 of 5 rating, because of the high price offsets the fact that both of the brush heads provided in the package are medium bristle. Since my dentist recommends soft brush heads, I am certainly not the only soft bristle consumer who would appreciate at least one such brush head provided in the set of two brush heads in the $149.99 package.

Oral-B did include a $3..00 coupon toward one of the five compatible brush heads in the package. I immediately invested about $20 for 3 sensitive teeth brush heads in a package at a nearby Target discount department store. Oral-B replacement heads are a great price compared to other brands I've used, which gives Oral-B 9900 a strong 4 of 5 rating overall.

Disclaimer: This article represents only the experience of this consumer. This may not represent the typical consumer experience with this product. It is for informational purposes only and is not intended to replace advice or counsel from a licensed dental professional. Any dental health care question regarding power toothbrushes or any other dental product is an individual dental health issue that should be discussed between patient and a licensed dental health professional.