I'll take a toothbrush and my hand any day!
Written: Jul 17 '00 (Updated Jul 17 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Cheap, no special attachments needed
Cons: Half the toothbrushes don't fit, and the ones that do don't all stay in the unit
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| lwg76's Full Review: Homedics Vibradent Hd 100 |
My mother picked up the Homedic Vibradent a few months ago and she was terribly excited about it. Basically, you are supposed to take your regular toothbrush and stick it into the machine. Then you press a button which will make your very own toothbrush vibrate while you brush your teeth. The benefits of this product are that it is cheap, the unit is cordless, and it is something everyone in the family should be able to use without assigning different electric toothbrush attachments. While my mom still uses this from time to time, after a few attempts I went back to the old-fashioned way of brushing by manpower alone.
The product description listed here says “simply insert virtually any standard toothbrush into the handle for instant power brushing.” Here any standard toothbrush means any toothbrush with the old-fashioned, skinny handle. The curvy, ergonomic, modern toothbrushes that abound these days do not fit into the machine. So pick up a skinny stick straight handled toothbrush before you use this. Remember that the unit itself will become your new modern, ergonomic handle, so no need to fret about that.
Here was my problem: I found that my own skinny handled brush didn’t stay securely in the unit while I was brushing. I mean vibrating is nice and all, but one still must move the brush back and forth over the teeth, and when I did this the brush would start to slip out of the unit. Maybe if you use the exact brush it comes with it doesn’t slip out, I don’t know because my mom got first claim on that one. However, even if that is the case, the promise of working with virtually any standard toothbrush is then still false – one specific model is not virtually any toothbrush! When I used this I would end up holding the upper part of the toothbrush handle to keep it in place. This dampened the vibrations a little bit. It was mostly because I found holding it this way awkward and less effective then brushing without this electric aid that I lost interest in using the Vibradent.
I still wanted to give the Vibradent a chance, so I thought maybe I'd like it if I had the perfect fitting toothbrush to use with it. I finally did get a toothbrush that for the most part stayed put once pushed hard into the unit slot, but I still did not enjoy brushing my teeth. Maybe I am not used to an electric toothbrush, but the vibrations were so strong that I felt it through my entire head and it made me dizzy! And maneuvering the brush around inside my mouth was still awkward.
If you do buy this, then buy everyone using it the same model toothbrush it comes with (Butler), and hopefully they will stay put in the unit. I have gone back to using my futuristic curvy-handled Colgate toothbrush that would never fit into this Vibradent contraption. But hey, I’ve never had a cavity yet so I guess brushing by hand can’t be all bad. And don’t forget to floss, since that will probably be more beneficial to you than using a vibrating toothbrush.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
lwg76
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Location: New York, NY
Reviews written: 35
Trusted by: 9 members
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