Technology for Teeth: The Sonicare Essence E5300

A few months ago, I visited my dentist, who told me that I need to get a rechargeable toothbrush which has a base that plugs into the wall rather than a battery operated one. She said that the battery operated ones are not powerful enough for a proper cleaning. But when I researched the prices, I was a little stunned. After all, $70-$100 is rather steep for a toothbrush. But I was also tired of having cavity after cavity when I visited her. A month after that, I signed up with an online company called BzzAgent. They send you products to try in exchange for honest feedback and agreeing to tell your friends and family your honest thoughts about the product. So when they recently told me that they were running a campaign for Sonicare, I thought I must have misunderstood the terms. Certainly they weren't offering to send me a $70 toothbrush in exchange for telling people what I honestly thought. But that is exactly what they did. To those who would argue that I am being influenced because they sent me the product for free, let me say this; I already have the product. At this point I am free to say anything I want. They are not going to take the toothbrush back if I write or say bad things about it. But I honestly have very few bad things to say. Here is my very honest, objective review of the Sonicare Essence e5300.

This toothbrush comes in two separate pieces. There is a brush head, and the body of the toothbrush. You simply screw the brush head onto the body, and you are ready to begin brushing. The toothbrush has a built-in feature, called "Easy-start" which is a warm up feature. The toothbrush tickles at first, and they realized that the consumer would need a time to get used to using it. Also, with what my dentist told me, I am sure that this is very powerful at its maximum speed, so they knew that certain consumers would think it was too strong, and stop using it. This warmup feature lasts for the first 14 brushings, and it gradually increases in power. You can disable the feature, or you can set it to continue longer to give you more time to get acclimated to the strength of the brushing. Included with the toothbrush are a base that plugs in, and a travel case. To put the toothbrush into the travel case, you simply unscrew the head and place each piece in separately.

The brushing experience is quite nice, and although it tickled the first time I used it, the second time I didn't notice any tickling. My gums did bleed the first time, but they have not since. This is not because the toothbrush was brushing too hard, but because my previous brushing was insufficient. One of the most unique features of this brush is responsible for the best and worst features of the Sonicare Essence toothbrush. The brush automatically shuts off after two minutes. Although I love the timer and think that it's a fantastic addition to a toothbrush, two minutes is a long time to brush without being able to spit. And if you remove the brush from your mouth, the toothbrush bristles keep spinning, which sends a fine mist of toothpaste everywhere. I did some research on the Essence toothbrush, because I wanted to find out how much extra brush heads would cost. I found that they make a more expensive version which shuts off briefly every 30 seconds, allowing you to time for brushing for each quadrant of your mouth. I wish this feature was available on the less expensive brush, because two minutes is a long time when brushing your teeth.

One of the best parts for me is that the brush head is narrow. I have a very small mouth, and I had one tooth cause me enormous problems because I was not able to fit anything bigger than a baby toothbrush back that far. Battery powered brushes are always so bulky, and they do not fit back there. My dentist specifically recommended this brand, among two others, because the toothbrush head was small enough that I could reach back there easily. Although this isn't necessarily a problem that everyone will face, it is something that they should take into account. Everyone has a different mouth, and their own issues and concerns that they need to take into account. This brush is angled, small, and shaped properly for helping virtually everyone with their dental care concerns.

Extra toothbrush heads can be found for the Sonicare Essence e5300 for $20 for a two pack. I think this is perfectly reasonable, and I would gladly pay that. I expect that some people will balk at the cost for the Sonicare Essence like I did. I can honestly say that I probably never would have bought it on my own, because I didn't know how good it was. Now that I've experienced it, I would never be without one. I think of all of the money I paid having cavities filled, and even teeth pulled because I wasn't able to brush properly, and I wish that I had purchased this a long time ago. Now I would not hesitate to purchase it if I needed to do so.

My teeth are already whiter, and I expect my dentist to be very surprised when I go back. After years of problems caused by that one difficult tooth that was so far back, both of us cringed at what sort of difficulty I would have at each visit. I expect that the next time I visit, she will see an enormous improvement in my overall dental health. Furthermore, because your mouth isn't separated from the rest of your body, it can help improve your overall health. I have noticed that I have fewer jaw aches and headaches, probably because I am able to keep my mouth germ free now.

Although $70 still feels a little expensive, having experienced it, I would gladly pay that much. I would save that much on one cavity alone. If you've been told that you need to get one of these type toothbrushes, I cannot recommend the Sonicare Essence e5300 any more highly. It really is worth the money, and I believe that most people who experience it will feel the same after using it.