The days of Oral B and Philips dominating the best electric toothbrush market are well and truly over, with newer brands like SURI and Laifen all offering excellent alternatives to help keep your teeth clean, gums healthy, and breath fresh.
Another such brand is Oclean, who design and manufacture water flossers and UV sanitising systems in addition to a wide range of electric toothbrushes to suit every budget. Just recently, we reviewed the Oclean X Ultra S electric toothbrush offering AI-powered advice from the brand’s pricier Smart Series and gave it a coveted T3 Platinum Award.
But how will the Oclean Flow Sonic Electric Toothbrush – part of Oclean’s cheaper Basic Series – stack up in comparison? I’ve been trying it for a month, and this is how I got on.
OCLEAN FLOW REVIEW: PRICE AND AVAILABILITY
The Oclean Flow Sonic Electric Toothbrush is available to buy for a recommended retail price of £49.99 / $34.99 from Oclean and select retailers including Amazon. It’s available in white and blue – I tried the former.
It’s worth noting that a travel case is available to buy for £14.99, along with a wide range of brush head refills that start from £12.99 for two.
OCLEAN FLOW REVIEW: UNBOXING AND SET-UP
The Oclean Flow is simply packaged in a compact box and comes with the main toothbrush body, one brush head, an instruction manual, and a USB Type-C charging cable. There’s no charging stand, travel case, or spare brush head, but you do have everything you need to get going and the contents are fair given that you’re getting a sonic electric toothbrush for under £50.
To get going, all you need to do is charge the toothbrush and read the instruction manual.
OCLEAN FLOW REVIEW: DESIGN
Like all Oclean toothbrushes, the design is slim and longer than most electric toothbrushes, measuring 25.5cm in length. The overall look is simple and stylish, with a subtle wave-like pattern on the handle that helps you identify the different cleaning modes.
The Oclean Flow has an IPX7 waterproof rating and dustproof design to protect the charging port at the base. To charge the toothbrush, you simply (and easily) pop of the cap at the bottom of the handle – which is attached via a piece of flexible silicone, so you’ll never lose it – and then plug in the USB Type-C charger.
A full-charge takes five hours, but the pay-off is that you get up to a whopping 180 days of battery time when you use the toothbrush twice a day for two minutes on Morning Mode. It’s worth noting that the USB Type-C connector is approved for use with any USB Type-C charging cables and the on/off button will light up red when there is 10% of battery left.
Powered by a Maglev Brushless Motor that offers 76,000 VPM (Vibrations Per Minute), the Oclean Flow cleans at sonic speed with 38,000 strokes per minute. It also automatically shuts off after two minutes and the vibrations pause briefly every 30 seconds to remind you to move the toothbrush to a different area of your mouth.
The Oclean Flow has five cleaning modes in total to help customise your brushing routine, and each mode is indicated by a different backlit icon running down the handle. These modes include:
Morning Mode: for superior cleaning (brushing intensity rating of three out of five)
Night Mode: for deep and thorough cleaning (brushing intensity rating of five out of five)
Standard Cleaning Mode: for daily general cleaning (brushing intensity rating of four out of five)
Whitening Mode: for a naturally whiter smile (brushing intensity rating of four out of five)
Gentle Mode: for those with sensitive gums (brushing intensity rating of two out of five)
These modes are all accessed via one on/off button. When you press the button to turn the toothbrush on, it will automatically start on the last cleaning mode you used. To change mode, you’ll need to keep pressing the button until you reach the mode you’re after.
OCLEAN FLOW REVIEW: PERFORMANCE
There’s lots to like about the Oclean Flow. The battery life is astonishing, lasting up to six months on a five-hour charge, making it perfect for anyone who forgets to charge their electric toothbrush regularly, and for those who travel a lot but don’t want to carry around a bulky charging base.
Comfy to hold and easy angle around your mouth, the brush head is a nice size that provides good coverage across your teeth, although I personally found that the bristles were a bit too soft for my liking. However, all Oclean brush heads are compatible with all Oclean toothbrushes, and there’s a wide range of brush heads to choose from, including ‘gum care’, ‘daily clean’, and ‘plaque control’ with different levels of firmness, so you can order a firmer or gentler option if you like.
Before testing the Oclean Flow, I was still using the Laifen Wave electric toothbrush I reviewed several months ago, which allows you to customise your brushing intensity in the companion app. And, if I’m honest, it took me a couple of weeks to get used to pressing the Oclean Flow’s on/off button to scroll through the five different cleaning modes.
You can only select your mode once the toothbrush is turned on, and I initially found it tricky to scroll through the modes once I had toothpaste on the brush head and it was in my mouth – something that wasn’t helped by the not-so-bright backlighting on the icons that also pulse; blink, and you might not see what mode you are on.
I also had to learn what the different icons meant. The sun icon was simple enough to indicate the Morning Mode, but the rest weren’t so clear. And I was left scratching my head a little as to why the Morning Mode delivered a brushing intensity of three, while the Standard Cleaning Mode had a brushing intensity of four (Oclean doesn’t explain).
All in all, I’m not so sure people need five different modes for different times of the day and for different purposes. However, what the modes do give you is options and greater choice for your dental hygiene needs.
Once I worked out my favourite mode (Standard Cleaning Mode, which gave me just the right intensity for cleaning my teeth well without being harsh on my gums) I was off and running. And because the Oclean Flow starts on the mode you last used, I found my user experience was greatly simplified and far more enjoyable. I’ve been happily using this electric toothbrush ever since, and I’m sure others will appreciate the different modes on offer, especially those with sensitive gums.
OCLEAN FLOW REVIEW: VERDICT
The Oclean Flow is a reliable and effective option for anyone wanting to enjoy the cleaning power of a sonic electric toothbrush on a budget. Attractive and comfortable to use, it provides five different cleaning modes to customise your brushing experience and is a good option for those with sensitive gums.
There’s no travel case or companion app or smart capabilities, but it does its intended job extremely well, and the 180-day battery life makes it ideal for those with busy lifestyles who regularly forget to charge their toothbrushes.
