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Everyone should have an electric toothbrush. Why bother with a manual when an electric does the job for you and better? I’ve happily been using one for over a year and the results earned me a gold star after a visit to my dentist.
However they are usually ridiculously overpriced so it’s no surprise there are regular promotions knocking a hefty sum off the tag. That is when you should swoop in and bag one.
I was recently sent the Panasonic Ionic Rechargeable Toothbrush* (model EW-DE92) to put through its paces, which is currently on sale in Boots at £99.99 (usually £199.99).
I should make something quite clear though: I have made comparisons to my regular electric toothbrush (the Philips Sonicare FlexCare Platinum Rechargeable Toothbrush) simply to illustrate my points.
The first is the Panasonic EW-DE92 comes with three different brush heads: one triple edged brush for regular cleaning, one point brush for dislodging food stuck between teeth and one silicone brush head – a tongue cleaner to be exact – for removing the stuff that causes bad breath.
The second is this is probably about ¾ of the size of a normal electric toothbrush and it’s consequently lighter in weight too. It fits in a compact travel case with room for the additional heads, plus it comes with the all-important charging unit. The two-point charging plug is a gripe of mine. I don’t know how many bathrooms have a shaver socket (mine doesn’t) and so I have to charge my electric toothbrush via an adapter in my room.
The third point is the Panasonic is amazingly quiet and gentle as the brush head does not vibrate rapidly and noisily. I had to check several times it was working because unlike my usual electric toothbrush which is pretty intense, the Panasonic feels like it’s not on when it is working silently, thanks to the linear drive high speed sonic vibrations. It boasts 31,000 toothbrush strokes per minute, donchaknow?
Even then I couldn’t stop myself moving it up and down along my teeth like a manual toothbrush because it just felt weird holding it there. However anyone sensitive to something powerful vibrating in their mouth (shush you, at the back), this brush may be the answer to your prayers. I’m hardcore and quite like the sensation of something moving up and down at a rapid speed. I said ‘shush’ at the back!
There are four brushing modes: whitening, soft, sensitive and gum care and a 30 second interval brush timer for recommended brushing time, which is brilliant as overdoing on brushing can be damaging to the enamel. The brush is also easy and comfortable to do the inner side of the teeth.
The big selling point on this is the ionic technology to take care of stains and plaque. Running my tongue over my teeth after the first use confirmed the Panasonic done an excellent job. I like the pointy brush for reaching for anything deposited between the teeth but switching heads for their particular uses is a faff. You’ll be spending half the night in the bathroom before you go to bed AND you’d still have to floss your pearly whites.
As for recharging, since acquiring it I haven’t had to but then I am only using it once or twice a week when I’m away from home. I would imagine this one would last a few weeks with daily use, which is the norm with most rechargeable toothbrushes.
The one thing that bothers me is the brush head does not lock down completely so there is a minute gap with the rubber ring/washer sitting over it. My old Oral-B toothbrush had this fault and I hated it. That may be me being OCD but from experience it encourages toothpaste scum to deposit itself in that gap, which is annoying to clean. I don’t know why it’s not been designed to click tightly into the handle. It looks like it doesn’t fit properly!
Spare brush heads are available from Boots too, which I am pleased to see with prices ranging from £9.99 to £16.99.
Any way, there we have it. An all singing, all dancing super-duper toothbrush that’s perfect for travelling (and small enough to slip into your handbag for a quick refresh on a night out) but it needs some tweaking. I just don’t like how the brush head doesn’t fit firmly.
