Author Topic: Electric toothbrush recommendations  (Read 4156 times)

Aggie1999

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Electric toothbrush recommendations
« on: August 16, 2017, 10:23:37 AM »
Anyone here use the Philips Sonicare electric tooth brush? Had a dentist appointment and the hygienist recommended the Sonicare. Said it worked a lot better than manual tooth brushes. Pretty much every dentist I have went to in the past 10 years has "recommended" me get the Sonicare. I have always resisted because of the high cost (initial purchase and the replacement heads). I figure since they all seem to sell the Sonicare line in the office they are just trying to make more money.

Any opinions on which Sonicare model to get or if they are even worth it? There seems to be 20 different models. Even better, anyone know of a different/cheaper brand that does just as good? Thoughts?

BrandNewPapa

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Re: Electric toothbrush recommendations
« Reply #1 on: August 16, 2017, 11:16:33 AM »
I've used a few different brands over the years, but always go back to Sonicare. I would definitely recommend one. I floss daily and brush morning and evening. Every time I go to the dentist they tell me I've got some of the cleanest teeth they see. The hygienist always tells me she hardly had any work.

They last forever (I've had current one for ~8 years). Yes, the heads are expensive, but you can buy in bulk on amazon and save some money. I usually use them for 6 months instead of 3 months.

Sometimes you can find the older models on clearance or find coupons, keep an eye out.

If you can pick one up for $100 and it lasts ten years, that only $10 per year for the base. Pretty cheap in the grand scheme of things. Think of the savings on your dental bill.

Aggie1999

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Re: Electric toothbrush recommendations
« Reply #2 on: August 16, 2017, 12:16:17 PM »
Ordered the $20 Sonicare base model off Amazon. Not to bad.

BTW, I truly hate dentists. Half of what they do seems like a scam. Been seeing the previous dentist for ~3 years. No mention of needing a deep cleaning under my gums. Go to a new dentist because insurance changed and they get me in there for two visits to deep clean my teeth. Not one but two visits. Then they want me to come back in 3 months. Basically seems like every time you go to a new dentist they "find" things wrong to get extra money. Previous dentists deal to make money seemed to be finding cavities constantly. One of the reasons I switched.

Spork

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Re: Electric toothbrush recommendations
« Reply #3 on: August 16, 2017, 12:19:25 PM »
I've had 2 Sonicares and 1 Oral-B/Braun.  In my experience, none of them last forever.  The battery's ability to hold a charge eventually peters out.  I"ve actually cut them open and replaced the batteries once, which definitely does work... it just leaves them a little less water proof.  My ability to solder to batteries sucks, so I have only done the repair once.

In my opinion -- and the opinion of various dental hygienists over the years -- the results were effectively the same.  I do get cleaner teeth and less tartar if I use an electric toothbrush.  In turn, I do one cleaning a year instead of two.  IMO, I think the benefits are there for me.

I haven't really noticed a lot of differences between models.  Most of them have "features" over the base models that may or may not be worth while.  (They have things like timers that time 4 quadrants of your mouth so you spend equal/enough time on brushing.)  I'd buy whichever was on sale.

I've also had issues with some of the knock-off brand heads.  I bought a couple of different knock offs... and they were so bad that I ended up throwing them out and re-buying the name brand.  That doesn't mean there are not good knock-offs... but it means I have had enough bad luck that I stopped experimenting with them.

slappy

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Re: Electric toothbrush recommendations
« Reply #4 on: August 16, 2017, 12:22:34 PM »
I have the $20 soniccare also. For me, the bigg st benefit is that it shuts off after two. Minutes of brushing. This ensures that I actually brush for the recommended two minutes, because I just brush until the thing shuts off.

lizzzi

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Re: Electric toothbrush recommendations
« Reply #5 on: August 16, 2017, 12:25:26 PM »
I tried researching by the reviews, but they didn't really give me a clear picture of which were the best values. I picked up one of the Panasonic 3 series locally,  and it seems to do the job. I floss once a day with a Waterpik, and brush twice a day with the Panasonic electric toothbrush. For travel, I just use a manual toothbrush. I think the electric toothbrush with the Waterpik makes a huge difference for the better. I don't have any particular tooth or gum problems, knock wood.

lbmustache

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Re: Electric toothbrush recommendations
« Reply #6 on: August 16, 2017, 12:34:58 PM »
I have an Oral-B electric toothbrush and it's fine. Teeth/gums are definitely cleaner and better since I switched.

ZiziPB

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Re: Electric toothbrush recommendations
« Reply #7 on: August 16, 2017, 12:49:00 PM »
I've used an Oral B electric toothbrush for years and am very pleased with the results (as is my dentist).  I'm on my second one because the battery wore out on the first one (after 10+ years...).  I get the replacement heads at Costco.

GizmoTX

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Re: Electric toothbrush recommendations
« Reply #8 on: August 16, 2017, 01:23:52 PM »
We've used Sonicare for years, decades actually. It has made a huge difference for us. I used to need 4 cleanings/year -- now I go 2x/yr. When I was manually brushing, I ended up needing some oral surgery for gingivitis pockets, but I have had no such problems after starting the Sonicare. Ditto for DS, whose pediatric dentist would always complain about his dental hygiene until he started using it. It cleans more thoroughly yet more gently than manual brushing, at least how I brush, & the 2 minute vibration marker lets me know I've done enough.

We've never purchased one from a dentist. Amazon or Sam's Club are good sources.

lil_miss_frugal

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Re: Electric toothbrush recommendations
« Reply #9 on: August 16, 2017, 01:24:12 PM »
This is the sonicare toothbrush I ordered from Amazon at got $10 off, which they currently still have

https://www.amazon.com/Philips-Sonicare-Rechargeable-Toothbrush-HX6211/dp/B00KZHP1GG/ref=sr_1_4_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1502911256&sr=8-4&keywords=sonicare%2Btoothbrush&th=1

I like it, no complaints. Better than manual toothbrush and inexpensive. I buy generic toothbrush head replacements since Phillips brand is pretty expensive.

Lookilu

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Re: Electric toothbrush recommendations
« Reply #10 on: August 16, 2017, 01:37:03 PM »
I love the Sonicare and if it broke today I'd buy another one tomorrow. It's that good. I have this one that I bought from Costco: https://www.costco.com/Philips-Sonicare-FlexCare-Whitening-Edition-Rechargeable-Toothbrush-2-pack%2c-White.product.100216990.html
One for me, one for DH. :)

Some non-Sonicare replacement heads are awful, but I've had good luck with these (from Amazon): https://www.amazon.com/demirdental-Replacement-Toothbrush-Sonicare-Sensitive/dp/B01MYM6TP9/ref=sr_1_2_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1502912062&sr=8-2&keywords=sonicare%2Breplacement%2Bheads%2Bdemirdental&th=1

Aggie1999

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Re: Electric toothbrush recommendations
« Reply #11 on: September 12, 2017, 08:10:25 AM »
Update on my experience with the Sonicare Essence $20 toothbrush. Today I go to find generic replacement heads on Amazon. The older style that the Essence model uses are around $3 per head. The newer style generic heads that the Essence+, Series 2 and all higher models use are around $1.50 per head. If I had done better research I'd probably have went with the $40 Essence+ or Series 2. Over time I would have probably come out ahead with the cheaper heads.

Rubic

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Re: Electric toothbrush recommendations
« Reply #12 on: September 12, 2017, 08:31:23 AM »
I've been getting better results at my checkups since using
the Sonicare for the past 3 years.  Definitely worth the investment!

flyAway

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Re: Electric toothbrush recommendations
« Reply #13 on: September 13, 2017, 07:27:46 AM »
My dentist had recommended using an electric toothbrush a couple times, and explained that Sonicare pulses which is different than Oral B. 

Our local grocery carries them at some of their stores.  I happened to notice a Sonicare 2 that had a $10 off coupon on it, and it was on sale as well.  I paid about $30.

About 2 months in and I've been impressed so far, my teeth still have that post dentist clean feeling.  I haven't had to venture into replacing the head yet.  I plan to purchase them for my kids as well. 

EricEng

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Re: Electric toothbrush recommendations
« Reply #14 on: September 13, 2017, 10:46:29 AM »
My wife and I both got a sonicare after dentist recommendations.  My teeth got much worse because I manually brush really well and apparently wasn't holding the electric one with the right pressure (pressing too hard).  My wife's teeth got better because she wasn't brushing the full 2 mins before.  YMMV