As Seen On TV: CyberSonic Oral Care System! Would Robert Urich Lie to You?
Written: Jan 29 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Inexpensive replacement heads, cleans well, small brush size, flossing attachment
Cons: Relatively expensive, tongue cleaner
The Bottom Line: An effective toothbrush, and the flossing mechanism works well for non-flossers. Replacement head program is a cost-saver, but the initial cost may deter some buyers.
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| WorkingMomof2's Full Review: Cybersonic 2 Oral Care System |
Since I've only seen about three infomercials in my life, I was a little surprised to see Robert Urich on television one day waving around an electric toothbrush. We were trying to find a football game, but instead came across this infomercial which even my husband found rather fascinating. It featured Robert Urich with an electric toothbrush, stopping people in the mall and using this tongue cleaner to "freshen" their breath. Shooting my husband (a major coffee drinker) a nasty look, I jotted down the phone number. One week later, my Cybersonic Oral Care System arrived on my doorstep.
The Cybersonic Out-of-Box Experience
Stealing a title from the world-class-product reviewer Pogomom, let me tell you what this product is, and what it does.
The toothbrush itself is the main feature, clearly. This is an electric toothbrush that has a charging stand. It's an elongated cream colored handle, that sits in a base with several small poles on it. There is a soft push-button on the handle that activates the vibration, it turns on when depressed and stays on until you turn it back off. There are several attachments for the handle, and these can be stored on the individual poles when not in use.
The brushhead is small, round, and pops on and off the handle with no actual mechanism other than a tight fit to hold it on. It takes a few times to get used to popping this on (or off) easily, and as you use the toothbrush you no longer have any difficulty removing the brushheads. We followed the manufacturer's recommendation and put a few drops of oil on the top of the handle (at the attachment point) and this did help ease the attachment process as well.
The brushhead oscillates and cleans your teeth with a vibration movement. It is not very loud, and is far quieter than our previous toothbrush (about the same noise level as our kid's Crest Spinbrushes). There aren't any external moving parts; rather, an inside motor spins at 250 cycles per minute and causes a side-to-side vibrating motion. The Cybersonic website says that the toothbrush cleans at 31,000 strokes per minute, and you get two brushheads with the toothbrush (with different colored bristles to differentiate between them). One fabulous feature (offer) with this toothbrush is the "free" replacement head program -- every three months they automatically send you two free replacement heads in the mail. They say free, but it's $4.95 for shipping -- still a deal versus $20 for a single replacement head on competitive toothbrush systems!
There are several other attachments that come with the toothbrush. You also get two flossers (a y-shaped attachment that you stretch dental floss across), two tongue-scrapers and whitening gel.
• The flosser is long, with a small "U" at the top. You wind the floss around the U (this takes some practice) and the vibrations from the handle help the floss remove plaque and debris from between your teeth. You wash the flosser after use, and you get two with the system.
• The tongue-scraper is a thin white plastic device that has small ridges on the ends. You pop it onto the handle and turn the device on, and scrape it along your tongue to remove the bacteria and debris that causes bad breath. Well, at least theoretically -- this didn't work at all for me (see "our experience" below) -- but I'm a gagger. It's a great idea, though, and looked neat on tv....You get two with the system, which is good as these are clearly very "personal" and not replaced, simply washed after use.
• Finally, you get a 3-month supply of tooth-whitening gel. This is a bleaching gel which is applied right to the bristles on the toothbrush, and then you simply brush your teeth for 1-2 minutes. The gel is supplied in little syringes with pre-measured doses on the tubes. The manufacturer's say that the vibration motion releases the active ingredients in the gel, and that you should see a noticable difference in only two weeks. I've had my teeth professionally bleached, so I didn't need this but I'm still hoping I can talk my husband into trying this! You can get replacement gel sent to you automatically every 4 months for $10, but I did not sign up for this.
Our Experience With Cybersonic
The toothbrush has been very effective for us. It is a small enough head to move easily within my mouth without any weird manipulations (if you've had a larger-head electric toothbrush, you know what I mean!). It vibrates and you can feel the movement in your hand, but there is no pain on my teeth or gums even with direct contact. I don't have to push hard against my teeth, but just use a straight back and forth motion with slow sweeps across my teeth and they feel extremely clean after use. I also angle the toothbrush when I want to clean especially well between certain teeth. I will say that 4 months after buying this toothbrush I had a dental appointment, and the hygenist told me that I had less build-up on my teeth than she'd ever seen me with! Since the plaque-scraping is the very least favorite part of my dental experience, this was good news to me! I should also mention that my husband leaves for work early in the morning, and the toothbrush is quiet enough that he can use it without waking the entire household (unlike another brush that we had tried!)
I did read that other people find that the handle heats up on the base after charging. We haven't had this problem at all; however, this may be because I dry the handle before replacing it into the charger. After having problems with a previous brand of toothbrush over-heating, the (other) manufacturer recommended that we do this and I carried this advice over to the Cybersonic system as well. I also remove the heads after each use so that they don't drip water down into the base.
The flosser is great for me as well, although I will say that my husband used it once, grunted, and went back to manual flossing. It is somewhat complicated to thread, with a specific way you have to thread the floss to lock it in and keep it from popping out during flossing. Nonetheless, I don't usually floss and having the little flosser sitting there is a good reminder for me. Furthermore, I like the fact that this can easily pop floss between my teeth, and it's small enough that I can see where it's going (since I don't have to have both hands crammed in my mouth!). My flossing activity is way up since we bought this system, and I am sure this has contributed to my decrease in plaque buildup as well.
The tongue-cleaner is a total wash for us. I'm a gagger - I have a gag reflex that just won't quit. Putting a hard device on my tongue and scraping it along the tongues' surface not only removes all of the bacteria and odor-causing debris, but also causes me to spontaneously re-view my breakfast and vitamins. I tried this twice, with similar results, and decided that since I don't drink coffee and don't get complaints about my breath (and yes, I do have the kind of friends who would tell me, even if I didn't want to know!) I would save myself the involuntary regurgitation process.
As I said above, we haven't tried the toothwhitening gel. I had my teeth professionally whitened about two years ago and have touch-up gel that I use twice a year. I imagine that this might have similar results, but I am hoping I can convince my husband the coffee addict to try the gel instead. In any case I wanted to be honest and say that I have no opinion on the gel itself, other than it comes free with the system so you really don't have a lot to lose!
Overall Thoughts and Recommendations
I have sensitive teeth and gums, and was concerned about this being both gentle enough for me and still effective. Well, Robert Urich didn't lie to us -- it truly does work for us. The toothbrush cleans well, and effectively, and is completely pain-free on my gums. I really like the quarterly "free" brushhead replacement program -- I could not get two replacement brushheads for $5 for any other toothbrush out there! I also like that there are little pegs on the charger/base to hold the individual attachments so that I don't have to search through a cupboard to find my toothbrush head, and so the flosser is always there as a gentle reminder for me.
The flosser has been great for me, and is well worth the hassle of threading the floss. It works really well and helps give me access to hard-to-reach areas easily, and cleans well between my teeth. For die-hard flossers who already floss daily, this may not be a big advantage; but for those of us who are in the "ought to but don't" category, it is an effective tool.
In the infomercial, Robert chases down people in a mall and scrapes their tongue, using a scientific "bad-breath machine" to measure the before and after results. While this is amusing, it really doesn't work for anyone with an active gag-reflex, like me. Nonetheless, it's provided free with the brush system and if it works for you, consider it a bonus. Same goes for the whitening gel, which comes free with the system and is also available for automatic quarterly shipment, if you so desire.
I would definitely recommend this system if you want an effective electric toothbrush with some versatility. You may find that some or all of the optional attachments don't meet your needs; however, even if this is true the brushhead replacement program will save you a bundle over the course of the first year alone. Nonetheless, the system will run you about $100 plus shipping so it's a sizable investment. It does have a one year warranty, with an extended warranty available if you wish. You also get a thirty-day trial period which is nice if you aren't sure that this is right for you. Also, if you are looking for a gift (or have a friend who wants one of these) you can buy a second (or more) system for half-price if you buy them at the same time -- not a bad deal if you're sure this is what you want!
This system has worked well for us, although we don't use or need all of the little attachments. My husband only uses the brush, and I use the brush and the flosser. We've both had good dental checkups since we bought this system, and I have no reason not to think we will keep using it for many years to come. And while I'm sure the television folks really, really don't want a picture of Robert Urich scraping MY tongue, I still give this product four stars and my hearty thanks for the cleanest teeth I've had in years!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
WorkingMomof2
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Member: Amy
Location: Southern California
Reviews written: 313
Trusted by: 539 members
About Me:
Every time I close the door on reality it comes in through the windows.
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