Charlotte Bowers had no issues with the Oral B electric toothbrush she had for months, before it spontaneously exploded while she was sleeping. The explosion caused the toothbrush to catch on fire, but thankfully the steel frame of the bathroom mirror prevented the flames from spreading too far. The 33-year-old had purchased the Oral B Cross Action toothbrush in May 2025, and for 8 months had no problem with it whatsoever. Then, one morning, she opened the door to her bathroom and was horrified to find that it had exploded during the night and caused a fire. She said the explosion tripped all of the electric in the house, though she never heard anything during the night. The fire left the bathroom covered in black smoke, and although Bowers had to spend $267 on special paint to mask the smoke smell, Oral B has only offered her $46 for a new toothbrush. A spokesperson for Oral B said, “Though the cause of the fire remains unknown, it’s important to know that an unplugged cordless toothbrush doesn’t contain enough energy to cause a fire.” Bowers response to the comment was, “It’s completely insulting, I could be dead.” She says she will never have another electric toothbrush because it’s not worth the risk.
