DEAD AFTER 18 MONTHS OF USE ... GET SOMETHING ELSE!
Written: Jan 30 '04 (Updated Aug 10 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Works well. Replacement toothbrush head cost is LOW!
Cons: DEAD AFTER 18 MONTHS. HEAD HAS NO MOVING PARTS IT JUST VIBRATES A LOT.
The Bottom Line: BUY ANOTHER BRAND. THIS IS BASICALLY A VIBRATOR FOR YOUR MOUTH
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| DENGNY's Full Review: Cybersonic2 |
UPDATE 8/10/2006 - IT'S DEAD. THE BATTERY DIED AND THERE'S NO WAY TO REPLACE IT. UNFORTUNATELY I CAN'T RECOMMEND IT BASED ON THAT ALONE. YOU DON'T SPEND $80+ FOR A TOOTHBRUSH ONLY TO HAVE IT DIE AFTER 18 MONTHS OF OWNERSHIP.
ORIGINAL TITLE OF THIS REVIEW ... 'INFORMERCIAL JUNKIE STRIKES AGAIN'
By the way, I’m referring to me. I admit it, I see something on T.V. and it looks pretty good so I buy it. I won’t list everything I’ve bought through an infomercial because this is a review about the Cybersonic2 toothbrush, and we really should get into that. I won't bore you with all the 41,000 strokes blah, blah, blah. That information you can get from they're infomercial and website. This is strictly my personal experience.
I took the option they currently have about buying one and then getting a second for half price. I suckered, I mean FOUND a friend that wanted one too so we decided to take the invoice total and just divide by two. Total price each including shipping, was about $85. They do have an ‘Express’ or ‘Rush’ shipment for more money. Don’t pay it! I got mine in about 10 days, which is far sooner than the 4-6 week delivery time they advertise on television. Also, I purchased mine through their website, so I’m sure that helped in getting mine quickly too.
In The Package –
Toothbrush handle
Charging Base
2 Toothbrush Heads
2 Tongue Cleaning Heads
2 Flossing Heads
4 Tubes of Whitening Gel
1 Pump Bottle Tooth Cleaning Gel
45 Pre-strung Flossing Thingys
Setup –
It’s real easy to setup. The toothbrush handle and all the attachments fit neatly into the charging base. The attachments do not however fit as tightly as I would like. I’ve already had to pick them up and put them back into place because they’re easily knocked over. However once all set up it doesn’t look bad on the bathroom vanity.
Once everything is in its place you’ll need to charge the toothbrush for 12 hours before use. One thing I did take note of is that there’s no way of replacing the NiCad battery pack yourself. This is bad news since eventually the NiCad batteries will die out and you’ll have to discard the unit, or send it in for repair. Also along those lines, there’s no mention in the instruction manual to once in a while NOT put the toothbrush handle back into the charger and run the unit dead and recharge. I’ve owned a lot of rechargeable devices and NiCad batteries and there’s always a mention that to extend battery life this action is necessary. It also keeps the batteries from developing what’s referred to as ‘battery memory’, where they won’t fully charge unless completely discharged.
Use –
Pop on a toothbrush head, put on a little toothpaste, and push the blue button and it starts to whine. The noise level is a little high, but nothing I didn’t get used to after the first couple of times I used it. To brush your teeth all you do is move it around your teeth applying moderate pressure and it actually works by itself. It shuts itself off after one minute of brushing and supposedly – you’re done. Well, I suppose I’m a little more thorough than that. I take about a minute on the front of my teeth and a minute on the back. Fortunately, there’s some kind of sensor that restarts the toothbrush almost immediately if you’re not done.
At first I thought the noise and vibration was unpleasant, but I got used to it by day 2. I also got careful not to let the hard plastic portion of the toothbrush head touch my teeth. If you do, expect a shockwave through your head that’s a little unnerving. But all in all, after a couple of days it’s not hard to get the hang of it.
I just had to try the complimentary bottle of 'O' Tooth Cleaning Gel that came in the package. Yeah, not so much … I’ll stick with Mentadent, thank you. Guess I won’t be buying any more of that stuff. Not that it’s bad or anything, but there’s nothing about it that’s so spectacular that I would switch from my regular toothpaste.
Overall, I’d say that the Cybersonic does a far better job cleaning your teeth than a regular toothbrush. I ran my tongue over them when I was done, and I was actually pleased about how clean they felt; about the same as if I had just come from the Dentist.
I also gave the flossing head a whirl as well. And, I’m sorry to say that I find it actually harder to use than just plain ordinary floss you would get at the supermarket. Maneuvering the flossing attachment in my mouth just right is difficult to say the least, and several times I got the ‘shockwave’ I mentioned earlier from the unit touching my teeth. The vibrating action doesn’t seem to help in getting the floss in between my teeth any more than regular floss either. So although a nice feature, the practical application is just not there. So, I won’t be buying the replacement flossing thingys either.
I also used the tongue scraper. Yes it’s a neat idea … scraping the bacteria off your tongue … but, won’t brushing your tongue with toothbrush head and toothpaste while you’re doing your normal brushing pretty much do the same thing? And, from what I understand from watching the Discovery Channel, bacteria grows pretty darn fast in a dark moist environment so the benefits, if any won’t last very long. I don’t know, I can’t see myself grabbing the tongue scraper every time I want to freshen my breath; sugar-free chewing gum is easier. I’ll probably use it once in a while though.
Free Lifetime Toothbrush Head Replacement –
This is a great feature. Every three months, you get two replacement Toothbrush Heads for $4.65 shipping. Although about the same price as a toothbrush from the supermarket, replacement heads for other electric toothbrush systems are 5-10 time the cost.
They do recommend that you change your toothbrush head every three months so that means, as a single guy, I’ll be getting twice the number of heads that I need. No matter; I’ll stockpile them for a while, suspend the service, and then start it back up when I’m running low.
Tooth Whitening Gel –
They claim that the vibrating action of the toothbrush will activate the whitening agent on your teeth. Maybe not, maybe so but the plain fact of the matter is that it’s a simple Hydrogen Peroxide gel just like any other on the market (you just need to make sure that it’s the same strength, or percentage of hydrogen peroxide). I think it’s another selling gimmick, but I’ll give it a try.
I have trays that fit over my teeth, which were leftover from another product that I had bought. I think what I’ll do is use the Cybersonic gel as directed, then pop on the trays for 30 minutes or so. The time the Hydrogen Peroxide gel is on your teeth is really the factor that will make your teeth get whiter (along with the percentage as mentioned above). It’s a plus that they put 4 weeks of gel in the package, but unless I get some great results, I won’t reorder the gel either.
Conclusion –
On it’s own it’s a great toothbrush. It cleans your teeth extremely well and is easy to use. The package you’ll receive is complete and there are a lot of nice extras you’ll get, albeit you may NOT want to reorder. The almost free replacement toothbrush head program means that your total cost of ownership over other systems is probably going to be lower. I’d definitely recommend it.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
DENGNY
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Member: Dennis G
Location: Morris County, NJ
Reviews written: 85
Trusted by: 38 members
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