Sonicare Advance Toothbrush
I was one of those kids who had every orthodontic torture device known to man: the braces, the headgear (!!), the retainers, and so on. As a result, I enjoy fairly normal looking teeth now as opposed to the horrific oral trainwreck I would have ended up with (possibly including a tusk protruding from the top of my skull; for real, I had one messed-up grill), but I’m kind of wussy about visiting the dentist. My feeling is that I’ve done more than my fair share of time in the Reclined Chair of Doom, so now I’m just going to let all that work go to waste and allow my teeth to rot out of my head.
I’m just kidding, of course. Although the experience of dealing with a teething infant makes me sort of wonder why the human race hasn’t evolved towards a smooth pink gummy mouth that can be outfitted with a variety of prosthetic teeth as needed. If teeth = one endless pain in the head from birth until death, then come onnnn DARWINISM.
My point here, sort of, is that even though I’m not really Johnny-on-the-spot with the dental checkups, I remain ever vigilant to oral hygiene via the magic buzzing power of the Sonicare.
I can’t really say enough about the Sonicare, it’s just one of those inventions – like LASIK surgery or Diet Coke – that makes the world a better place, because the results are so outstanding. If I use a regular toothbrush now, I can actually feel that my teeth aren’t anywhere near as clean. The Sonicare blasts away every single speck of anything and leaves your mouth feeling like…remember those old York Peppermint Patty commercials, where people were blathering on about cool sensations? Yeah, like that.
Also, I drink four hundred thousand cups of coffee per day, and my teeth are not yellow. FEEL THE POWER OF THE SONICARE, PEOPLE.
This toothbrush will change your life, I’m totally serious. It’s like if some other normal everyday thing you do could be improved by 500% – say, if the laundry always turned out folded, or something – that’s the equivalent of what replacing your crappy old analog toothbrush with a Sonicare will do. You will exhale sparkling little fairies of mouth-freshness and your teeth will squeak with cleanliness.
One note of caution: keep the damn thing in your mouth while you’re using it. If you pull it out absentmindedly, every surface in your bathroom will instantly get spackled with toothpaste. (The fact that I’ve been using one for years and I still occasionally do this is probably indicative of just how many brain cells I’ve killed by watching American Idol.)
Link: Sonicare Advance a4100 Sonic Power Toothbrush
Ballpark price: Normally $69.99, now on sale for $49.99 at Amazon
Posted: September 29th, 2006 under Personal care, Personally recommended by Linda.
Comments: 13
Comments
Comment from honeybecke
Time: September 29, 2006, 11:11 am
When I was in fourth grade my best friend had headgear and I.was.jealous. I thought they were so cool in fact that I monkeyrigged straightened paperclips and rubber bands so that I too, could wear the headgear.
I know. I know. I was a seriously strange child. But oh so cool.
Comment from Leah
Time: September 29, 2006, 11:24 am
The Sonicare is like a daily tooth enema. Only minty fresh and without being, you know, gross.
Comment from Lindsey
Time: September 29, 2006, 11:50 am
You have to upgrade! I’ve been using the Advance for years, but we finally just bought a new handle and it’s amazing. We bought the Sonicare Elite, which comes with a diferent style brush that is soo much more effective, plus it’s bendy. I mean, I was already a Sonicare believer, but the old handles just don’t compare!
Comment from samantha Jo Campen
Time: September 29, 2006, 11:59 am
My co-worker has one and has to brush her teeth in the shower because she kept getting crap flug all over the bathroom. She can’t keep her mouth shut at work, either, so I’m not surprised.
Comment from Audrey
Time: September 29, 2006, 11:59 am
I concur! When I first used it, I thought, wow–my teeth only feel this clean right after I’ve been to the dentist. Now I get that everyday, and using a regular tooth brush leaves my teeth feeling a tad scuzzy. It does take a few days to get used to. At first the vibrations were a little intense, almost ticklish (?). We now use the Elite because our original gave up the ghost after about 2 years.
Comment from Jenny J.
Time: September 29, 2006, 12:29 pm
Yes, your TEETH feel cleaner, but in my experience, my mouth does not. My husband has one, and for awhile we were switching the heads and whatnot, but I went back to the regular brush. The sonicare does not fill your mouth with cleansing toothpaste foam and you can’t get your tongue as well, either. I hated having clean teeth but still being able to taste my dinner.
Was I doing something wrong? Do you get past this eventually?
Comment from Karen
Time: September 29, 2006, 12:38 pm
Have it, love it, blogged about it (because I had some, um, trouble with the functionality of the device).
I agree with Jenny J., though, about the mouth not feeling very clean. My husband agrees, too. My teeth feel fantastic, but I feel like I need to rebrush with my old brush in order to foam up the paste and swipe my gums and tongue (the Sonicare doesn’t brush tongues very well for some strange reason — again, I agree with Jenny!).
If I use the Sonicare first thing in the morning, I have to follow that up with a good dose of Listerine. So, I often use a regular toothbrush in the morning, and then the Sonicare at night followed by Listerine. I find that using the Sonicare once a day keeps my teeth feeling really clean.
Comment from Swistle
Time: September 29, 2006, 1:27 pm
I’m REALLY tempted–I’m not much for going to the dentist, either–but now some of the comments are making me nervous. Also, it’s a lot of money for someone accustomed to spending about $1.50 on a brush. The replacement heads–how often do they have to be replaced?
Comment from Linda
Time: September 29, 2006, 2:23 pm
Yes, I’ve found that it’s kind of hard to brush your tongue with the Sonicare on (see also: toothpaste, everywhere) so I usually turn it off, brush my tongue, spit, then turn it back on to finish my teeth. I don’t have the not-enough-foam issue at all.
On the replacement heads, I don’t know what’s recommended but…I haven’t replaced mine in quite a while and it seems to work fine. If you were worried about germs (I think that would be the reason to replace them over actual wear and tear, unless you really go nuts with it) you could probably wash the head in really hot water or something.
Comment from Swistle
Time: September 29, 2006, 2:54 pm
*whining* But I want to buy what SUNDRY has!
I’m in a craze now, comparing all different electric toothbrushes. I found an article on Consumer Reports that says that the $10 ones work exactly as well as the $150 ones–which, how can that be? More money = better than! Also, I had a cheaper (about $20, I think) one once, and the insides got all rusted so the sound it made was like “WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE” plus a grinding noise.
Comment from Julia
Time: September 30, 2006, 7:42 pm
Just for the record, this website and one-click shopping on Amazon is dangerous. Especially when combined with a boring Friday at work.
So, now, also for the record, I have my own sonicare toothbrush (which is actually identical to the one my roommate has sworn by for the last two years and I’ve just stuck my fingers in my ears and sang “LALALALA!” very loudly whenever she raved about it) coming to my house next week.
So, hurrah. 
Thank you, dear Sundry!
Comment from MRW
Time: October 2, 2006, 12:58 pm
I was SO skeptical of the Sonicare - I mean, come ON, $150 for a toothbrush? Then my husband went to a new dentist and he basically said if you want to keep your teeth for your life, your choices are floss daily starting now, or get a Sonicare. Because we are lazy, we got the Sonicare. I love it! Worth every penny. We’ve had ours for at least four years and it’s still going strong. My teeth feel cleaner and my gums are MUCH healthier. I don’t have the low foaming issue, but if I did, I can see where that might bug. But all else is wonderous.
Comment from pvyusikbwl
Time: July 3, 2007, 12:36 pm
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