Hardware

How can I extend the battery life of an Oral-B toothbrush?

extend the battery life of an Oral-B toothbrush
Brush up: run down your toothbrush to extend battery life

Oral-B toothbrushes are certainly very popular, including in my own household. However, as with many modern battery products, you’ll find that, after a while, they stop recharging quite so well. However, you can revive it rather than resorting to repair or replacement.

How long should the battery last between charges?

Many of the older Oral-B models (using older battery technology) lasted longer before needing a recharge – I’ve seen many people complaining that their new brushes “only” last a week, whereas this is actually normal.

Based on brushing for 2 minutes, twice a day, it should run for between five and 12 days, depending on the model. The Pro 2000 and 3000 are the top sellers, and these will last seven days between charges. In all cases, it’s best to consult the instructions that came with your model for specific details.

How to extend the battery life of an Oral-B toothbrush

After your next recharge, run your toothbrush until it’s fully discharged – i.e. the head no longer moves when it is switched on. Once that’s happened, fully recharge it. Depending on your toothbrush model it should take between 14 and 22 hours to fully recharge – personally, I leave it charging for a full day, just to make sure.

You can do this to revive your existing brush, but Oral-B recommend doing this, as a matter of course, at least every six months.

Sources: Oral-B UK FAQ,  Oral-B US FAQ

Now read this: how long should children use tech each day?

About the author

David Artiss

Works for Automattic Inc., the company behind WordPress.com and Tumblr. Tech geek, international speaker and occasional PC Pro podcaster. Lover of Lego and video games.

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  • Love the toothbrush, but the price of the replacement brushes is ridiculously excessive. I’ve found a generic source and they work just as good as the original brand. Thanks for the article.

    • What brand of generic replacement brush heads do you find work just as well? I’ve heard some are better than others…

  • I like to know how did you come to your opinion? I assumed oral b toothbrush uses lithium-ion batteries, just the same as in my iphone, which recommends the batteries should be kept charged between 20%-80%. Apple discourages total discharge of its batteries, but you recommend total discharge once in a while..