Our verdict
The Aquacare 6 Pro Expert ticks the basic boxes required for being a cordless water flosser.
However, whilst it does the job, it is far from the best option available today and I don't believe really represents what Oral-B is capable of producing.
The number of modes is a bit misleading and the overall design and quality isn't perfect.
It is expensive compared to the competition. Alternatives offer better value.
See our posts on the top rated cordless water flossers for more choice.
Pros |
Cons |
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Cordless |
Build quality |
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Rechargeable |
Nozzle design and rotation |
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Different water streams |
Button placement |
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Modes/intensity settings |
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No travel case |
Consider these other water flossers
I strongly urge you to consider another cordless water flosser. There are many better options available.
My pick is the Waterpik Advanced. It is one of the best examples of a cordless flosser available today and doesn't have quite the same number of negatives that this Oral-B irrigator does.
The Sonicare Cordless Power Flosser 3000 is also a very good option. It offers an X shaped water stream and has a built-in timer as well as a larger water tank for longer flossing times.
Design, usability, clean & general use
The packaging of the Aquacare is very much aligned to other Oral-B packaging.
Lots of blue and white colours. The main features and benefits are highlighted.
What is refreshing to see is that inside the box, the water flosser is within a cardboard lining and there are much less plastics and no polystyrene.
The box contents (listed above) gives what you need, but is not exactly that impressive.
2 nozzles is nice, better than the 1 you get with many. However, including a travel pouch would have been a nice touch and given the relatively low cost it is a real shame such hasn't been included.
Your initial impression might be like mine, in that this cordless unit is quite large and chunky. Whilst I think there is scope for innovation to reduce the size, in part it has to be fairly large to hold the water tank and the pump to draw the water through.
The overall size and shape is fairly typical of this type of product.
It is primarily an all plastic construction with soft touch rubber around the power/controls section of the unit and at the top where the OxyJet nozzle attaches. The nozzle is removable/replaceable.
The front of the unit is finished in a matt white plastic, with a grey Oral-B & Braun logo in the lower third.
In the upper third are the main power and mode controls.
All of the buttons and controls sit within a soft touch pale grey rubber area.
Nicely recessed at the top is the power button. It has what looks like a grey power icon, but it is only grey when not powered on. When switched on it is backlit with a white light. There is too a small raised nodule here that confirms for the fingertip that is is the power button.
You press this power button to activate a continuous jet of water.
Below this sits a smaller 'on-demand' button. It has a dotted circle printed on it but is not backlit.
You use this on-demand button for bursts or shorter jets. Press and hold for as long as you want that burst to last. It offers more granular control than the default power on.
Below this button the different intensity levels, or modes are listed.
On this Aquacare Pro-Expert model you have intense, medium and sensitive. 3 different modes/intensities.
These selected mode name is backlit when the flosser is turned on.
Below this is another recessed button. This is the intensity/mode selection button, although the dot in the middle, doesn't necessarily make this obvious. Press this to cycle through the different modes.
The buttons all provide an ok level of feedback. They are a bit spongy and require a fairly accurate and firm push. They could be better. Accidental activation should not really be an issue here. That said there is no way to lock the buttons.
Spin the irrigator to the side and this is where you see the adjoining of the water tank/reservoir. Sitting mainly on the back side of the unit, the water tank is an opaque grey colour.
There are no controls on the right or left side, a few dimples in the upper half of the handle are present as they extend round from the back side of the unit.
Looking at the unit from the back, the shape it best explained via the hands on images throughout this review.
Essentially, the top of the unit is a bit deeper, thinning marginally in the mid section of the unit before getting thicker at the base where the water is held.
The upper half of the rear has a number of dimples in the body to give a surface to grip onto a little better.
The reservoir door is in the top part of the removable tank and hinges at the bottom.
The base of the unit is essentially flat, so it can stand upright on a countertop.
There is a round recess into which the pin on the charging stand fits to recharge the built-in battery.
A couple of screws are present and the remainder is the bottom of the water tank.
At the top of the unit is the point at where the user replaceable Oxyjet nozzle attaches. The nozzle pushes in, clipping into place and is released by pressing the eject button that is labelled on the top.
The button is made up of a soft touch rubber, like the power button, but feels more spongy and a bit awkward to press to release the nozzle.
Having talked through the overall design of the unit, let me explain in a bit more detail about the daily use.
Using a water flosser is quite different to string floss or interdental brushes.
This is not the place for saying what is good and bad about each; other than saying that really a water flosser is a good additional product or an alternative if you really won't or can't get on with floss or brushes.
Many people find them a more convenient way of cleaning between the teeth.
The idea is that the water is shot at pressure between the teeth and along the gumline dislodging and washing away the plaque and debris that exists.
The process is different and requires some practice. The first few attempts can be messy and result in water ending up in more places than just the interdental spaces.
Being cordless is one advantage as you are not tied to the power supply or restricted by the hose length as you are with countertop water flossers.
However, after a few seconds of use you normally need to release water from the mouth, so you are essentially confinded to being bent over the sink.
The cordless really comes into its own with travel and for those who don't have power supplies in the bathroom.
Taking a very black and white view of what the Aquacare 6 does, you can't argue with the fact that it does provide a jet of water to help with cleaning those hard to reach areas. My teeth/interdental spaces felt cleaner after use.
This will work for those who have braces, crowns, implants etc too, if you were wondering.
But, there is quite some scope for improvement.
Waterpik have become popular in providing water flossers due to the level of control they offer. You can rotate the nozzle a full 360 degrees in most cases. The tips are also slim and are angled in such a way that they allow a fine level of control.
On the Aquacare, the Oxyjet nozzle can be rotated a full 360 degrees with some effort. You can't do this whilst in use though.
The top of the nozzle is a bit larger than Waterpiks the shape makes it a little harder to accurately position in the mouth.
You do too have just 1 nozzle type, unlike the wide array available with Waterpik.
I think you probably only really appreciate this level of control and even choice of nozzle if you have used something else like this before.
But, I would not be serving you if I didn't tell you this.
Add to this, many cheaper brands/models offer such features too, it is not just a Waterpik thing.
The Aquacare nozzle does have a little grey slider switch which can be moved to control the water flow.
Position it to the top position for a focused stream and move it down for a rotational stream.
The rotational stream has air injected into the water flow and creates a spiraling motion in the water flow as it exists the nozzle to give a different cleaning effect.
It is hard to explain the difference. The focused jet feels best suited to getting in particular gaps.
The rotational stream, to me at least, feels like it gives a good all-over clean. The rotational stream feels more invigorating on the gums.
It is up to you to select which you feel is most appropriate. You can change it at any time you like.
Now, Oral-B advertise this Pro-Expert variant with 6 cleaning modes.
I think this is actually very confusing and misleading.
The Aquacare has 3 intensity settings and 2 different water stream choices.
Combine these and you get the 6 modes.
- Intense intensity + focused water stream
- Intense intensity + rotational water stream
- Medium intensity + focused water stream
- Medium intensity + rotational water stream
- Sensitive intensity + focused water stream
- Sensitive intensity + rotational water stream
It is very easy to think that the labelled intense, medium and sensitive options are the modes, implying 3 and not 6.
The following graphic, taken from the Amazon sales page best demonstrates how it can be confused or misunderstood. Modes and streams are listed separately. You could argue someone might think it has 8 possible combinations.
Different people will have different opinions, but to me, although there is a difference in the strength of the water streams and intensities offered, the amount of noticeable difference is limited.
You notice the difference between intense and sensitive more than you do medium and intense for example.
There is a strong argument that just 2 intensities would have been enough.
It is not a massive issue, but naming these intensities low, medium and high would have felt a bit more logical and easy to understand.
Oral-B have not stated the PSI or Bar for each mode like Waterpik does to make a comparison, but to me, the Aquacare did not feel as powerful or as gentle as Waterpik models.
I found it comfortable to use, but I have used many of these before. At least you have some choice with the 3 intensity settings.
Experienced water flosser users will likely notice the difference both in power and experience as I have.
All of the modes continue to run for as long as you choose. There are no timers or automatic cut-offs built in.
The water flosser will continue to try and pump out water for as long as you leave it switched on, even if there is no water in the water tank.
It will stop when you turn it off, of the battery runs flat.
The tank has a capacity of 150ml, which equates to approximately 40-45 seconds of water flossing time.
This is just about enough time to clean, if you are used to it. New users may need to refill the tank.
Selecting the sensitive mode did not really appear to reduce the amount of water used, just the pressure at which it was delivered.
Using the on-demand button allows a bit more control and feels like you can extend the cleaning time as less water is wasted compared to the continuous stream.
The position of the on-demand button in particular means it can be a bit awkward to use when the nozzle is in the mouth.
It takes a bit of practice and I found on occasions I was pressing the power button rather than on-demand and vice versa.
Practise and muscle memory certainly comes into play.
You can change the intensity/mode mid clean if you like. The selected intensity is backlit with a white light and can be changed prior to turning the unit on.
In use it is not all that quiet emitting up to 68 decibels. However this is similar to the competition.
You can fill the water tank with cold or warm water or mouthwash or a diluted mix, it is your choice.
Warm water can feel a little more pleasureable on the gums, whilst a shot of mouthwash in the water can add a certain freshness.
I would suggest against a complete tank of mouthwash as this is excessive and an expensive approach.
To fill the reservoir you open the hinged door on it. You open it by pulling it away from the body. Your fingertip will grip onto it. The seal around the opening seems fairly solid and I noticed no leaking.
Unfortunately the build quality isn't actually that great on the Aquacare 6.
The tank is actually removable for refilling or cleaning. To do so, you need to unclip a small plastic clip essentially on the base of the unit.
That clip is very fragile. On the Aquacare 4 that I have been testing it broke off entirely, meaning the tank no longer stayed in place. The design is identical on the 6. So although it hasn't actually broken off yet, I worry it could.
I have not challenged Oral-B on this, but I suspect this would be classed as user damage, unless they are willing to accept that it is a design flaw/weakness.
So, to conclude this section....
The Aquacare does fire water at the teeth and gums, and does what it should.
But, it lacks the refinement that even cheaper models offer.
It is a bit clunky to use and ultimately could be better.
Summary of design, usability, clean & general use
Battery life
Built into the Aquacare 6 is a rechargeable battery. It is not user removable.
This is a Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery.
I had expected a Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) battery given that this produced was launched in 2019, but I am not going to worry too much.
Oral-B appear not to state it's suggested running time on the box, in the manual or on their website or any promotional materials I could find, so I am not sure what life they suggest you should get from it.
I put it to the test and the total usage time I managed from a fully charged battery was 32 minutes.
My test was based on using the intense mode, with the focused stream of water.
Assuming it is possible to get a complete clean in approximately 45 seconds (the time it takes to empty the tank), you can get 42 sessions or 42 days of use on a single charge, assuming 1 water flossing session per day.
The power icon/button will flash red when the battery is low and in need of a recharge.
When sat on the charging stand, that comes provided, the power icon will pulse with a white light to show it is charging. Once fully charged that light will stop pulsing.
A full charge can tak up to 14 hours.
The stand provided in the box looks like a larger version of what you would get with an electric toothbrush. It works in exactly the same way.
There is only 1 way the irrigator will sit on the stand, the charging pin on the stand aligning with the recess in the bottom of the cordless water flosser itself.
Maybe I am being a bit picky, but the white coloured stand feels a bit heavier and chunkier than it needs to be, I didn't expect it to be quite so thick. That said, it keeps it securely in place on a countertop.
Hardwired into it is the 2 pin power cable designed to be connected to UK bathroom power sockets. It does support 100-240v, so if taking it with you when travelling internationally you would require a plug adapter only and not a voltage adapter.
Summary of battery life
Price & where to buy
I have included links to buying options here at the start of the review.
In the section below, I discuss the price more generally and in relation to similar products.
The recommended retail price of the Aquacare 6 Pro-Expert is £124.99.
DO NOT PAY THIS.
This is a ridiculous price for this product, in my opinion.
The excellent Waterpik Cordless Advanced water flosser from Waterpik has a retail price of £85 and is much better.
Now to be fair, the recommended price and the actual price are different, it is not uncommon for products like this to have sizeable discounts.
In fact, the average selling price is £72. That is essentially 40% below RRP.
It is not widely stocked, which doesn't help with getting the price down lower as there is no competition to encourage this to happen.
Irrespective, I do not feel that the Aquacare is worth this price.
To give a benchmark of the cost of ownership, we like to price things here at Electric Teeth over a 3 year period.
Assuming a purchase cost of £70, you need to then factor in the cost of replacement Oxyjet nozzles every 3 months.
Priced at about £3 each, that is a further £30, as you get 2 in the box.
Over 3 years the Aquacare 6 will cost £100 or 9 pence per day.
I am not saying rule out the Aquacare 6 entirely, but I do think better value products exist and we all want good value right?!
Please note that all prices quoted are approximates and will vary based on location, supplier and time of purchase. These figures were correct at the time of writing and should not be relied upon as hard fact, but used as a guide during your decision process.
Summary of price & where to buy
Reliability & long term use
Generally speaking, I have always found the quality and reliability of Oral-B products to be fairly good.
I can't say that they are perfect, no company is, but there are better than many of the cheaper and lesser known brands in my experience.
The provision of a 2 year warranty provides peace of mind and being an established company like they are they have the network in place to manage support issues efficiently.
I might be reviewing the Aquacare Pro-Expert 6 here, but it uses the same body and design of the Aquacare 4 which actually had the water tank retaining clip break off, with very little effort.
This has been the first product to really have me question my viewpoint.
The fact that the plastic clip that holds in the water reservoir broke off on my unit wonders if standards have slipped.
Maybe it is a one-off, I have just been unlucky, but I am not sure. Other reports suggest I may not be alone.
I have not challenged Oral-B over whether such a breakage would be covered, usually, it would not be, but perhaps they would be prepared to acknowledge this as a weakness and replace it, but I am not hopeful.
Despite this, I don't think the Aquacare range is an example of their best work or what their product quality is really like. I don't know what has changed or why it is like this, but their toothbrushes feel better.
There are certain subtleties like the soft touch buttons which are nice, but the spongy feedback isn't ideal. I, therefore, don't have the utmost confidence in the reliability of this product.
Conclusion
The Aquacare Pro-Expert is ultimately a disappointing product from Oral-B.
It does just about do what it is essentially designed for, but the way in which it does it all feels clunky and awkward.
Perhaps I am being overly harsh, but they had the opportunity here to rethink things and differentiate, but they haven't
You are best off avoiding this and opt for one of those offered by Waterpik, such as the WP-560 or lesser-known brands offer better performing and value options.
Size guide
Noise
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Country of manufacture
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