Oral-B 3D White Action Review
Our Verdict
Compare to Similar Products
This Product Oral-B 3D White Action | |||||
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Awards | Most Gentle, Great Battery Life and Value | Best Value Electric Toothbrush | Best Value for Included Brush Heads | ||
Price | $9.00 List Check Price at Amazon | $40 List $25.96 at Amazon | $50 List $39.96 at Amazon | $60 List $39.95 at Amazon | $12.00 List $9.33 at Amazon |
Overall Score | |||||
Star Rating | |||||
Bottom Line | A budget option that works marginally better than a manual toothbrush | An gentle, minimalist toothbrush with a long-lasting battery that cleans well | Inexpensive yet fully capable, this electric toothbrush is a solid choice for just about everyone | Affordable, effective, and user-friendly — this device offers value with good cleaning and extra brush heads | Only marginally better than a manual toothbrush, though incredibly affordable for an electric model |
Rating Categories | Oral-B 3D White Action | Philips One | Philips Sonicare 4100 | Aquasonic Black Series | Colgate 360 Total A... |
Cleaning (40%) | |||||
Comfort (30%) | |||||
Ease of Use (20%) | |||||
Battery Life (10%) | |||||
Specs | Oral-B 3D White Action | Philips One | Philips Sonicare 4100 | Aquasonic Black Series | Colgate 360 Total A... |
Measured Battery Life | 103 days | 30 days | 49.5 days | 31 days | 170 days |
Pressure Sensor | No | No | Yes | No | No |
Number of Brushing Modes | 1 Clean |
1 mode: Clean |
1 mode: Clean 2 sensivity levels |
4 modes: Clean, Soft, Whiten, Massage |
1 mode: Clean |
Estimated Annual Brush Head Cost | $53.98 for (2) three packs | $15.92 for (2) two packs | $44.96 for (1) four pack | $19.90 for (2) two packs | NA |
Charger or Battery Info | N/A | USB | USB (block not included) |
100 - 240VA 50-60Hz 0.8 - 1.6W |
1 AAA battery |
American Dental Association accepted? | No | Not Listed | Not Listed | Yes | Not Listed |
Waterproof / Resistant | Yes, can use in shower | No, cannot be used in the shower | Yes, can use in shower | Yes, can use in shower | Not Listed |
Number of Brush Head Styles Available | 3 | 1 style available in multiple colors | 8 styles, most available in 2 colors | 3 | NA |
Number of Included Brush Heads | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
Thirty Second Reminder | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Two Minute Alert | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Travel Case Included | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
Measured Handle Weight | 2.5 oz | 1.4 oz | 3.2 oz | 3.6 oz | 1.2 oz |
App | No | No | No | No | No |
Available Colors | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
Decibels from 6ft Away | N/A | 40 dB* | 42 dB | 53 dB | 41.1 dB |
Decibels from 3" Away | N/A | 40 dB* | 58 dB | 68 dB | 42.0 dB |
Our Analysis and Test Results
The Oral-B 3D White Action was a low scorer in the two most heavily weighted metrics, comfort, and cleanliness. Its overall score was slightly improved due to its long-lasting battery and its simple functionality.
Performance Comparison
Cleaning
The 3D White Action finishes at the bottom when it comes to cleaning abilities. The large head makes it tough to get the backside of your teeth and your back molars. Our testers found this brush was almost more effective when used as a manual toothbrush, which defeats the purpose of purchasing an electric toothbrush. Your experience may vary, but we had a tough time getting our teeth to feel like they had a proper cleaning.
Comfort
The brush head on the 3D White Action is large. For those with small to medium-sized mouths, you will likely have a hard time getting this brush to the back of your molars. While we wish the cleaning vibrations were stronger when it comes to cleaning ability, this underpowered brush generates very little noise while in use. While some higher-end brushes offer low-intensity modes and pressure sensors for people with sensitive gums, this brush only offers one mode.
Ease of Use
This brush is about as simple as you can get. With no interchange heads, only one mode, and powered by a single AA battery, there isn't much going on with this brush. The simplicity might be attractive for some; however, if you're after a basic brush, you may just want to opt for a manual toothbrush. While it is easy to operate, cleaning it is a little more challenging. The grooved grip collects gunk, and the mechanism that controls the head has small holes that let water in. We could not locate a built-in drain, and as a result, we noticed that it became stinky fairly quickly.
Battery Life
This device is energy efficient. It runs off of a single AA battery and lasted for a total of six hours and 52 minutes before it died; that equals about 103 days of brushing for two minutes, twice a day. There is no built-in battery level indicator, so it would be wise to have a spare AA on hand.
Value
The D White Action is a low scorer in the two most heavily weighted metrics, comfort, and cleanliness. Its overall score is slightly improved due to its long-lasting battery and its simple functionality. While it's cheap, we'd hardly call it a good value.
Conclusion
The Oral-B 3D White Action has a bulky head that makes it difficult to properly clean the back of your teeth and navigate to the far reaches of your mouth. Its vibrating head feels underpowered, and our testers were able to get a better clean using this like a manual brush. This model comes with no interchange heads and only has one cleaning mode. It's difficult to keep clean, but it does have an incredibly long battery life. Given its poor performance, we'd recommend buying a manual toothbrush if you want something at this price point.