TestHut is supported by readers. When you buy through links on our site, we receive a small commission. Learn more

Oral-B Pro 2 2000 Review: A Good Starter Electric Toothbrush

The Oral-B 2000 is the Volkswagen Beetle of toothbrushes. It is the all-purpose solution to your electric toothbrush needs. It has been recommended in many online reviews, and it is highly rated, so we tested it to see how it compares to the rest of the best. In a word, it is fine.

Oral-B Pro 2 2000 Test results


3.7
4.3
3.6
3.7
4.3
2.8
0.8

Pros

  • Powerful cleaning action
  • Solid build quality
  • Lots of brush head options
  • Low cost

Cons

  • Uncomfortable for new users
  • Dated design
  • Very Loud
  • Average battery life
  • No travel case (Oral-B Pro 2500 has one)

One Job: Cleaning your teeth

When we test products at TestHut, we want to make sure that they perform the duty for which they have been designed. Oral-B goes to great lengths to advertise that their brushes are ADA approved and are recommended by dentists, but does the Pro 2000 clean your teeth better than other brushes?

The simple answer, according to our tests, is no. The Oral-B equipped with the included SensiThin brush head will do a fine job cleaning your teeth, but we felt that some of the sonic brushes did a better job overall, and were much more comfortable to use. We also found that you will get a better overall clean by switching to the Cross Action brush head. But for users with sensitive teeth, this is a big compromise on comfort.

In lab tests, the 2000 performs well along with its brother the Pro 3000 and Genius X and is close in results to the best electric toothbrush UK. This brush combines the power of 9,900 oscillations with 45,000 vibrations per minute to give you a 3-D cleaning experience. It feels like it is really doing a lot of work, but in the end, we still found plaque, especially between the teeth and in hard to reach spots.

Unboxing

Being one of their more basic brushes, the Pro 2000 does not come with much. The box is larger than it needs to be with the brush safely housed in styrofoam, and with the brush handle you get one brush head and a charger.

You can get this brush in one of three colors, black, pink or white. We have the black version. You can also choose many varieties based on the brush head that comes included in the box. This is the Sensi UltraThin model that comes with the sensitive brush.

There is also a 2500 version which comes with a travel case.

Look and feel

Much like the other Oral-B brushes we tested, this one feels and looks dated. The multi-colored handle is fine, but with all the words and little plastic bits it just doesn’t have the same modern aesthetics of other brushes on the market.

This brush feels like it would be more at home in a 1990s dentist office instead of a modern bathroom.

This brush handle fits your hand nicely, and the rubber and plastic bits give you a nice grip. The button is rubberized and a bit stiff, but makes a nice audible click letting you know that you have indeed turned the brush on.

Brushing experience

If you have never used an Oral-B before, you must prepare yourself for the onslaught of noise and motion that comes when you first press the button and engage the brush head with your teeth and gums.

This brush may not look like much, but it roars to life with the push of a button. The automatic quadpacer will make the brush vibrate every 30 seconds to let you know that it is time to move from one quadrant of your mouth to the next. At the end of 2 minutes, the brush will vibrate several times, but it does not automatically shut off.

To shut the brush off, you can either press the button twice, cycling through the two modes, or hold the button down for a second to make the brush switch off. Some people prefer brushes that shut off automatically, but this does offer the chance to keep brushing if you feel like you need to touch up spots that you may have missed.

This brush is equipped with a visible pressure sensor. A bright red light on the back of the handle will come on if you push too hard, about 300 grams of force, letting you know to ease up on your gums for safety. The recommended brushing pressure is above 150 g but no more than 300 g. The sensor works well, and is bright enough to see even if you are not looking in the mirror while brushing.

As with other Oral-B brushes, the biggest downside to the brush is the volume and vibration. This brush runs at over 70 decibels, which is like a loud vacuum cleaner in your mouth. Even after using a sonic toothbrush for years, I felt that I had to start in the sensitive mode or use a sensitive brush to make the experience less uncomfortable.

Toothbrush loudness test results. Lower is better.

You do have two modes, daily clean and sensitive that offer a chance to slow the brush down and reduce the vibrations if the full power is too much for you. However, the brush does not clean your teeth as effectively in sensitive mode, so we wouldn’t recommend it.

Battery life

In our tests, the Pro 2000 gave us about 20 days of full-power brushing on a single charge of its Lithium Ion battery pack.

Battery life testing results after three months of use

One thing we don’t like about Oral-B brushes is that when they get low on power, the battery light will come on to warn you, but the power will also decrease. So instead of being able to charge the brush after using it, you might find yourself trying to finish a 2-minute session at half power.

Charging is by a simple induction charging base that plugs into a standard outlet. The cord is a little short, but it will work fine in most cases. Charging takes about 13 hours to go from empty to full, so plan on leaving it on the charger overnight or all day to get back up to full power.

Brush heads

One nice thing about Oral-B brushes is that they offer a wide variety of brush heads that work with all of their oscillating models (except for the newly introduced iO series). This means that even if you buy a low-cost brush handle like the 2000, you can still enjoy the high-quality brush heads that work on the higher-end models.

Entire line of Oral-B brush heads

This brush came equipped with the Sensi Ultrathin brush head also called the Pro GumCare. It offers a decent clean with nice soft bristles to keep the power of the brush from making your gums bleed.

They also offer a Sensitive Gum Care brush which offers a similar experience.

In our tests, we tried the entire line of Oral-B brush heads, and found that the Cross Action is the most powerful brush head that gives the best cleaning experience for most people. But if you have sensitive gums, we would recommend sticking with the sensitive brush head option.

Long-term use

We feel like this brush will last for a long time. It seems to be solidly built and is backed by a 2-year warranty. It doesn’t have any bells and whistles that are likely to fail, so plan on keeping it for the long haul.

The brush is mostly waterproof, so cleaning it is very simple with a rinse under the tap and an occasional wipe with a towel. Crud does accumulate under the brush head, so you want to take it off now and then to clean the top of the brush handle.

You will need to buy a replacement brush head every 3 months or so. The Sensi Ultra-thin brush heads come with indicator bristles to help remind you when they are worn out, but you want to keep track of time yourself.

Brush heads are relatively inexpensive. You can get them for less than 2-3 pounds apiece if you buy in bulk or a bit more at your local store. We expect that the cost of owning this brush would be about 11 pounds a year.

Conclusion

If you are looking for an electric toothbrush that will do the most basic job of cleaning your teeth at an entry-level price, then the 2000 might be for you. However, as tested, we like the 3000 better because for about the same price (depending on where you shop) you get the same performance but with an extra brush head and a travel case.

If you do not have a problem with the loudness and vibration of the Oral-B 3-D cleaning power, then the 2000 is a good fit. It is a simple brush that will clean your teeth pretty well.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button