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Oral-B iO3

Translate from : Oral-B iO3

Specifications

• 3 BRUSH SETTINGS: Daily cleaning, Sensitive and Whitening
• INTELLIGENT PRESSURE SENSOR: signals red, white or green to inform you that you are either pressing too hard, too soft or just right

The list of specifications is not long from Oral-B, but we have included those that they themselves highlight on their website.

A tour around the Oral-B iO3

The shape of an electric toothbrush is by now well established and Oral-B is not changing that with their iO3 toothbrush.

We find the battery and motor in the lower part, which also functions as a handle. It has a built-in rechargeable battery that can be charged via the included charging stand.

There are two buttons on the handle, one is on and off while the other switches between the three brush settings.

Finally, there is an LED diode that indicates charging status when it is in the charger. Oral-B iO3 is available in three colors, a black, a Matte Black, a Light Blue and then the Blush Pink that we have visited.

At the top there is an LED light ring, which with white, green or red light indicates whether you are pressing too lightly, appropriately or too hard when you brush your teeth.

The highlight of the show is of course the brush head itself. The brush heads are replaceable and Oral-B recommends replacing them every 3 months.

A round brush head is used, which, according to Oral-B, is what they call "dentist-inspired". If you know Oral-B's other electric toothbrushes at the slightly cheaper end, outside of the iO series, then the brush heads are a little different.

This means that older brush heads cannot be used with iO3. It is of course from Oral-B's side because they have put new tech in the brush head. More on that in the test itself.

iO3 is the "smallest" basic toothbrush in the iO series from Oral-B. It therefore does not come with a multitude of brush settings, accompanying app, display or AI functions that you can get in the other toothbrushes of the iO series.

The test

I have previously used a standard electric toothbrush from Oral-B, on the recommendation of my dentist. The choice fell on Oral-B for simple practical reasons and not because they were specifically the one my dentist recommended.

I've been using the Oral-B iO3 for a few weeks now, instead of the old toothbrush I was using before. Design etc. is of course much the same and they are even charged with the same type of charger, so there is nothing new on that front.

The biggest difference is the new functions that are part of the iO series brush heads. Before it was just a simple mechanical toothbrush with a rotating brush head, but with iO3, micro-vibrations have been added.

The experience of brushing your teeth is very pleasant and I think the toothbrush makes less noise than the old model. The sound is more buzzing, probably due to the vibrations, and not as "rattling" as the old brush heads could be.

The built-in pressure sensor is clearly visible, even if you don't look in the mirror when brushing your teeth. Personally, I think it's a delicious addition, especially since my dentist has actually been a bit after me, as they think I probably press too hard when I brush my teeth.

Here is a simple light indicator as a guide, nice to have along the way. It is recommended to brush your teeth for two minutes, and to hit that target there is also another guide built into iO3.

The brush head pulses rhythmically for a short while, for every 30 seconds you have brushed your teeth, and again a little longer after two minutes. It can be used as a guide for each side of the mouth at the top and bottom.

Naturally, I do not have any method to completely objectively measure the performance of the iO3 and the toothbrushing it delivers. It is therefore my very own subjective experience after a few weeks of use that must stand for believers.

I will say that I generally find that my teeth feel cleaner with the iO3 compared to my old model from Oral-B. At the same time, the experience of brushing your teeth is also more pleasant, with the small vibrations.

The pulsating vibrations are clearly visible if, for example, you hold the brush head under water while it is running.

On top of that, the small guide functions that I mentioned earlier are also really nice to have.

There are three brush functions built into the iO3, which you can switch between with the lower of the two buttons. Unlike the larger models in the iO series, however, on the iO3 there is no display on the toothbrush that shows which of the three settings you are on.

I have to admit that during my testing I never figured out how to see or feel which of the three settings I was on. I'm actually a bit doubtful if I ever got it to change. Nothing happens immediately when you press the lower of the two buttons. Here some form of indication would have been nice, for example in the form of the light ring changing color or similar.

There is not much help to be found in the small guide included in the box, which covers several iO models.

Price

Oral-B iO3 can currently be found with an online price of around 100$ with a brush head included. In addition, the replacement of brush heads must be taken into account on an ongoing basis. A pack of four costs around 40$ from Oral-B or can be found from third-party manufacturers from around 12$.

Conclusion

I have used a standard cheap electric toothbrush for many years now and feel that with the Oral-B iO3 I have tried a good and comfortable upgrade.

The very cheap models from Oral-B can be found for around a few hundred kroner, but after trying the iO3, I think the extra 400 kroner is well spent in the long run.

Oral-B may charge a little too much for extra brush heads, but if you don't like them, you can find cheaper alternatives that also fit the iO3.

We land with a final grade of 8 for a good toothbrush with performance and features above a standard electric toothbrush, but without blowing the budget.

Pors:

• Nice clean feeling
• Good guide features

Cons:

• Slightly expensive brush heads
• Hard to tell which brush setting you are on