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Last Updated on February 18, 2023
Oral B Pro 1000 vs 2000 vs 3000 Electric Toothbrush: Ultimate Comparison
Brushing your teeth twice a day, every day, is a fact of life. We all have to do it, but we don’t tend to talk about it, just like how we don’t talk about showering or deciding which socks to wear each day. Some things just happen.
But if you’re reading this article, you’ve obviously decided that it’s time to improve your dental care routine. Maybe your dentist has told you that you need to take action, or maybe you’ve just come to that decision yourself.
Either way, taking a look at which electric toothbrush you should get can feel overwhelming. Luckily for you, we’ve done the research, so you don’t have to. If you are looking into getting a new toothbrush, it would be surprising if you didn’t look into one by Oral B. They are the go-to name when it comes to oral hygiene.
Oral B is an American brand that has been making toothbrushes since 1950, which means they have over seventy years of experience behind them, so it’s no wonder we all trust them.
In fact, they regularly claim to be the “Number 1 brand used by dentists worldwide”, based on surveys of a representative worldwide sample of dentists, which is carried out by their parent company Procter & Gamble.
Whether or not they are actually the best brand of toothbrushes is still up for debate, however it is undeniable that they have a lot of options on the market. In this article, we are going to be comparing the Oral B Pro 1000 with the 2000 and the 3000.
We’ll go through all their main features, such as whether or not they have in-built timers, how many settings they have, and how long their batteries last. Plus we’ll take a look at what the main purpose of each range is, and whether or not it will work for you.
Oral B Pro 1000 vs 2000 vs 3000 at a Glance
If you don’t have time to read the whole article, then just take a look at these main advantages and disadvantages below.
But if you want to work out which is the right toothbrush for you, we recommend that you read through the rest of the article, so you can work out which one has the right features for you.
Oral B 1000 Advantages:
- Cheapest
- Removes 300% more plaque than manual brush
Oral B 1000 Disadvantages:
- Just one setting
Oral B 2000 Advantages:
- In-built timer
- Battery life lasts for 14 days
Oral B 2000 Disadvantages:
- Compatible with fewer brush heads
Oral B 3000 Advantages:
- Bluetooth capable
- Three different settings
Oral B 3000 Disadvantages:
- Most expensive
Winner: Don’t want to read the full article? The editor’s choice is the Oral B 3000.
What’s The Difference Between Them?
Before we get into the details of the toothbrushes, it’s worth us laying out the different toothbrushes briefly here. As you might expect, the 1000 is the most basic, the 2000 sits in the middle, and the 3000 is the most advanced option.
The three toothbrushes have a lot of similarities, and a lot of overlaps. So in this article, we’ll run through the main features that you should compare, need, or look for in a new toothbrush, and we’ll highlight the differences between the three brush models as we go.
Purpose
Okay, so the first thing you need to consider when it comes to your toothbrush, is your purpose. Yes you want to have cleaner teeth and fresh-smelling breath, but is there anything more to it? These three brushes each cater to slightly different needs.
The Oral B Pro 1000 is best-suited for plaque removal and control. Dental plaque is the stuff that makes your teeth feel fuzzy. It forms as a colorless film on your teeth, then over time it goes brown or yellow to form tartar.
The Oral B Pro 1000 claims to be 300% better at removing plaque than using a manual toothbrush. So if you still use an old-fashioned, stick toothbrush, this electric toothbrush will do a far superior job of keeping your teeth clean and maintaining good dental health.
In contrast, the Oral B Pro 2000 is designed to help you with daily clean gum care. This is sort of a stage on from simple tartar and plaque removal. If you don’t tackle dental plaque early enough, it builds up under and along the gum line.
This leads to several problems, including gum disease, infections and tooth decay. What’s worse, although gum disease is usually painless, it can cause some pretty bad problems for your oral care, including bad breath, gums pulling away from the teeth, gums bleeding or swelling easily, and even separating or losing teeth.
However, the Oral B Pro 2000 works to prevent gum problems, as well as preventing and fighting plaque, for superior oral hygiene. The final option, the Oral B Pro 3000, takes care of both plaque control and gum care, but it is also suited for sensitive teeth and gums.
If you have sensitive teeth then you’ll know that it can cause pain whether you’re drinking a glass of cool water, a mug of warm tea, various sweet and sour foods, or even just breathing in cold air.
Having sensitive teeth can be caused by the enamel being worn away, which leaves the nerve endings exposed. If you need to treat your sensitive teeth and gums with care, it can be really necessary to not brush your teeth with a heavy hand, and to approach the gums sensitively.
That’s where the Oral B Pro 3000 steps in. We’ll explain some of the features that make this possible later in the article, so keep reading to find out.
Verdict:
To an extent, the best electric toothbrush in terms of purpose is down to personal needs. If you have healthy teeth that you just need to keep clean, the Oral B Pro 1000 would be sufficient for you.
However, given that the Oral B Pro 3000 offers enough to help people with good oral teeth, people in need of gum care, and people with sensitive gums & teeth, the Oral B Pro 3000 is the winner of this round.
Design
Toothbrushes used to be brightly colored, thin sticks of plastic, that came in a hugely wide assortment. They included everything, from neon or sparkles, to Disney princesses, superheroes, and everything in between.
While these were often simple gimmicks, the different colors and designs could prove useful for a family that wanted to differentiate between their toothbrushes. However, that is not the way that electric toothbrushes work.
All three Oral B toothbrushes have a white body, with different colours for the central panel. The Oral B Pro 1000 is available in pink, blue, black, or white, the Oral B Pro 2000 is available solely in blue, and the Oral B Pro 3000 is available in white or black.
When it comes to the design of these three toothbrushes, they are undeniably similar. For all three, the main brush handle is a solid, tube shape, with raised lines down the front, to help with grip.
On the front they have the on/off button, and also have a battery life indicator. Around the back of the Oral B 2000 and 3000 there is a flashing light that works as a pressure sensor, which we will discuss further below. Otherwise, the three brushes look fairly similar.
Verdict:
While the visible pressure sensor light is a definite improvement for the Oral B Pro 2000 and Oral B Pro 3000, the different color options definitely make the Oral B Pro 1000 toothbrush a more attractive option in terms of design.
Toothbrush heads
One of the key aspects that mark a difference between electric and manual toothbrushes is the capability of changing a toothbrush head. Not only does this allow multiple people to share the same toothbrush while maintaining their own personal hygiene, but it also means that you can get different brush heads for different needs, without having to change your entire toothbrush.
Each of the three toothbrushes we are looking at here has different toothbrush heads that it is compatible with. All three are compatible with the following toothbrush heads: Cross-Action, Floss Action, Precision Clean, 3D White, Sensitive Gum Care.
On top of that the Oral B Pro 2000 is compatible with the Tri-Zone tooth brush head, as is the Oral B Pro 1000, which is also compatible with the Ortho, and the Power Tip brush heads. These different brush heads allow you to adapt your electric toothbrush experience as necessary.
Verdict:
Again, the variety of the toothbrush heads which the Oral B Pro 1000 is compatible with make it the best choice if you are looking for the full range of possibilities.
Timer
Dentists have spent years imploring us all to brush our teeth for a minimum of two minutes. While it might seem like an easy enough request, when you’re actually brushing your teeth, two minutes can feel like a life-time.
In fact, a 2009 study found that most people only brushed their teeth for around 45 seconds. But it turns out, of course, that the dentists know what they are talking about. Two minutes should be enough time to clean your teeth and gums of all the plaque, plus clean the bacteria off your tongue.
However, it is also the amount of time required to sufficiently protect your teeth with fluoride for the next twelve hours. So it is really essential that we all clean our teeth for two minutes.
Despite all this knowledge, it is still tough to remember in the moment that you need to keep brushing for a full two minutes. However, these Oral B brushes have it covered. All three of the brushes buzz in your hand at 30 seconds, with a more substantial buzz notifying you that the two minutes is up.
Not only does this make it easier to remember that you need to keep going up to the two minute mark, but the 30 second interval buzzes also help you to give sufficient time to each quadrant of your mouth, so you don’t over-do it in one quadrant and barely clean another quadrant.
Verdict:
All three brushes have the same in-built timer, so they are all equals in this feature.
Settings
The three brushes might be equals when it comes to the timer feature, but that is definitely not the case when it comes to the settings that they have available. As you might expect, the Oral B Pro 1000 is the simplest, and the 3000 the most complex.
The Oral B Pro 1000 has just one setting, which is aimed at a regular clean. It works at around 20,000 brush strokes per minute, which makes it around four times better at removing plaque than a manual toothbrush.
The Oral B Pro 2000 has two settings. The first is the daily clean mode setting that the Oral B Pro 1000 has, but the second is a setting designed specifically for gum care. This means that it works at a lower intensity, so that you can keep your gums clean without causing them further damage.
Finally, the Oral B Pro 3000 has three settings. This toothbrush has made significant improvements compared to the Oral B Pro 1000. The daily clean mode setting works at 40,000 strokes per minute, or double what the Oral B Pro 1000 offers.
Then it also has the gum care setting that the Oral B 2000 offers, plus it has a third, really gentle setting, which is designed especially for sensitive teeth. So if you need to be careful of your nerve endings, and not attack the enamel you have left, this sensitive setting could be perfect for you.
Verdict:
There is no question here about which is the best toothbrush. With three different settings and three different intensity levels, the Oral B 3000 is undeniably the better choice, followed by the Oral B 2000.
Battery
Battery life is one of the key components that seems to put people off investing in an electric toothbrush rather than a manual toothbrush. However, this is a silly point, as electric toothbrushes can be used manually if necessary, it’s just not the optimal way to use them.
Furthermore, in this tech-filled world in which we live, we need to charge an increasing amount of objects, a lot of them daily. Charging a toothbrush is much simpler than a lot of other items in our lives.
The Oral B Pro 1000 lasts for 10 days, cleaning twice a day, while the Oral B 2000 and Oral B 3000 each last for 14 days, again cleaning twice daily. This means that they would all stay charged for a long-weekend away, and the Oral B 2000 and 3000 wouldn’t need to be charged for the whole of a two week holiday.
That seems very doable, even in a very busy life. Plus, they all come with a small, simple charging station, which doesn’t take up much more room than the toothbrush itself. They can reach full charge within around fifteen hours, but they can also be left on there indefinitely, and it shouldn’t cause too much damage to the battery. All the three models come with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery.
Verdict:
The Oral B 2000 and the Oral B 3000 both last an extra few days in comparison with the Oral B 1000, so they are the joint winners for this round.
Extra features
All three toothbrushes have a visible pressure sensor, but as we mentioned earlier, only the Oral B 2000 and 3000 have a light at the back of the brush which flashes red when the pressure is too hard. The Oral B 1000 vibrates in your hand instead.
The Oral B 3000 also comes with a stand which has room for two extra toothbrush heads, which is ideal if you are going to need multiple brushes for different requirements, or if you share the toothbrush body and want to have separate heads.
However, the main extra feature that the Oral B 3000 offers is bluetooth connectivity. This technology allows you to connect your brush with either your phone or your computer. From there you can customise your brush routines and monitor them. This feature really takes your toothbrushing to the next level.
Verdict:
The hands-down winner of this round is the Oral B 3000. It has the flashing pressure-sensor light, a stand for extra toothbrush heads, and it has integrated Bluetooth connectivity technology.
Price
We know that, as nice as a lot of these features sound, the real deciding factor is going to depend on the price of each toothbrush. As you no doubt expect, the Oral B 1000 is the cheapest option, the Oral B 2000 is the middle brush, and the Oral B 3000 is the most expensive.
However, the difference in price between each brush is probably less than you would have thought, especially when you consider how much more you get for each brush. Although the prices vary, they tend to range from around $50 for the Oral B 1000, $70 for the Oral B 2000, and $90 for the Oral B 3000. You can then purchase different toothbrush heads for your various needs.
Verdict:
At just a fraction of the price, the Oral B 1000 is the definite winner when it comes to price.
Conclusion
Now that we’ve been through all these features, you should have a much better idea of what to look for when you are looking into electric toothbrushes, and you should know which one works best for you too.
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