My First Electric Toothbrush - Review!

Is Economy-priced Electric Toothbrush a Good Buy?

During my last visit to my dentist, I also had a dental cleaning done by the hygienist working for my family's dental care.

I have to admit that I have always enjoyed the process of a dental clinic. Sitting in the chair and experiencing deep scrubbing of tartar from my roots is a pleasurable experience, unlike my subsequent paying a few hundreds of dollars for the dental cleaning. However, I believe all monies paid to the hygienists are well deserved.

Hygienists would like their patients to come twice a year, and it sounds reasonable if you have dental insurance. When the fee has to go out of your pocket, you tend to stretch the intervals and ignore reminder calls or emails from your dental office.

The longer you wait, the more tartar accumulates around your roots and the more work it takes to remove it. It also reflects $ in your bill.

Adherence to proper dental practice also plays a role. Sometimes I felt like a child watching those videos about proper brushing and flossing that my dental hygienist made me watch on the tv monitor each time.

During my last visit to my dental cleaning, I took their first lesson to my heart and followed.

The lady recommended to buy and use an electric toothbrush daily. When I asked her about any recommended make, model, or price, she refrained from any advice. She only stressed that it should have a rotating brush in the head.

There is no electric toothbrush recommended by dentists for many reasons.

I forget to mention that daily dental flossing is a habit that I adopted long ago. Also, the occasional massaging of bleeding gums with sulcus tip seems to help me a lot. With each visit to the dentist and his hygienist to obtain cleaning, I brought home some freebies:

Floss, dental paste, sulcabrush, gums stimulator, toothbrushes, and I am not sure what else.

The electric brush does not come as a freebie, but I ventured to Walmart's drug section to find one for me. I did not look for any electric toothbrush reviews online.

Scanning the shelves the first time, I see the electric brushes come in many packaging at different prices.

One of them caught my attention, and it is pictured here. Now the model is in sell-off, but I paid something like $11.99 for the package. Even then, the electric brush was on sale!

What attracted me besides the low price were the many dental home-tools included in the package.

Multiple purposes of an electric toothbrush are evident from the package on sale at Walmart!

I was intrigued by the package containing a dual motion power toothbrush with three replaceable brush heads, a gum stimulator, sulcus tips, and so many floss heads to last me for a long time. Too much to be true for such a low price.

I did not hesitate with the purchase. All these dental hygiene tools batteries powered I saw the first time.

My Initial Experience with a new electric toothbrush was good. I felt that it did the job of cleaning cavities between the teeth quite well. Better than my manual brush. I pressed the button and proceeded with my teeth brushing like with my old toothbrush. I could feel the smoothness and cleanses of my teeth right away; I did not experiment with any other tools in the package.

How can I be sure that the water doesn't get into the brush mechanism and causes the damage? As I brushed my teeth, I had a few accidents when the lower and detachable part of the grip holding the batteries just came off. It felled with the batteries to the sink. What an uncomfortable feeling when it happens. The simple detachment of the bottom part holding the batteries made me lose confidence in the brush and lowered my enjoyment level. Loosening of the bottom part has continued for several nights in a row, making me care more about how I hold the grip a better way. But always, with a sudden jolt, the bottom came off.

"Electric Toothbrush Not Working!"

After several nights I noticed, the brush stopped spinning. Hearing the click off and on the button, but no response. I took the replaceable brush head off the grip to see if it makes any difference. But nothing happened: No movement, no spinning, no sound.

The stoppage happened about at the end of two weeks of my daily usage.

I kept the sales receipt and took the brush with the package back to Walmart for a refund, but made another purchase of a new one. I figured that it is better to ask for a refund than a replacement.

I purchased another one, but this time I felt much more apprehensive with its usage, fearing another breakdown. Sure, the bottom part with the batteries kept falling off again.

I have gone through this return-and-purchase cycle about three more times. The longest time of continuous operation was maybe over three weeks.

After my last stoppage, I examined the grip holding the power source and mechanism, looking for any breakdown sign. My hunch is that the unit is not moisture-proof, and the water is getting inside and causing breakage.

Sadly, I never used any attachments that are part of the combo-package. They have gone wasted, and it is a pity.

After my last stoppage, I noticed in a grip where brush-head or other attachment comes in or out a visible discoloration of a brownish color. It was most likely mildew that I tried to clean up by immersing the tip into the bleach. Discoloration disappeared, but the electric brush did not work again.

Since the Covid lock-down, I stopped asking the Walmart customer service desk for a refund.

The top picture showing the brush hanging on the shelf shows a new lower price.

As interpret it as a model closeout and doubt that we will see this particular brush again.

What is the verdict about my first electric Toothbrush?

I am not sure if the more expensive product would fare better under the same usage?

To my surprise, the disconnected grip from the replaceable brush head, but with the batteries in, started working again. It was sitting idle in my cabinet for a few weeks.

However, with my economy-priced electric toothbrush, I suspect that moisture is getting in and harming the mechanism. My recommendation is to disconnect the brush head from the grip containing the batteries after every use. Let it sit to dry out in a well-ventilated place. ! It could be the key, how to get more life from your electric toothbrush purchase.

The manufacturer's instruction on the back of the package has such a small font size and grey font color, making it hard to read. It is a great strain on your eyes to read it.

It says: Rinse the bristle after every use.

It says nothing about caring about the electric brush grip or the necessity to keep it dry at all times!

Opinion and Review published by www.toronto.dentistry-dentists-dental.name™  Published January 2021