Sonic toothbrush showdown: Quip vs Sonicare vs cheap electric toothbrushes 

Thank you so much for sharing this. Your experience is a great example of why it’s hard to make a blanket recommendation that is good for all people. People are different, and they need different things. I’m very happy to hear that you found something that works for you and that you’re enjoying your Quip.

Thank you so much for your transparency. They aren’t diagnosed but I think my eldest child is on the spectrum and these are some of the things that we have issues with. No tantrums but it’s something that he just can’t keep consistent with/have comfort doing . I’m going to get one of these because of your review and see if it helps make the experience more pleasant. Thank you 💕

@@JeansGenes86 I hope it works for you. My autism shows the most when it comes to sensory things but overtime I've found some good ways to cope with things. I'm 26 now so it takes a while but I really believe things can always get better. Even if it's slowly. ❤❤

Thanks for your tip. I'm on the spectrum and I can't find why I won't stay consistent brushing my teeth. I feel like something about it puts me off. Maybe it the sensation for me. The funny thing about the sonicare it reminds me of a sander. Sander are just a tool that vibrates and something rough applied to paper. I used an oral b and now my gums are receding bad. I need something different. Each dentist I have gone to has told me something else. Some say brush hard with medium brush. Then some recommend soft brittles. And being gentle. I've given up going to dentist. Because it just to anoying to go.

Yeah I'm definitely being more consistently with brushing than I ever was before. And it's not just how gentle it is, it's how it sits in my hand. I like the thick tube like feel. Other toothbrushes tend to be contoured or have grips that just feel all wrong.

Skip all the fluff, Sonicare still make the best and most reliable ultrasonic toothbrush.

Love Dr. Dray!!!

It’s just as weak as the quip, there are some videos here on RU-vid showing it barely moving water as well.

I think it's pretty similar to the Quip. I think Oral B has a similar product now too. They look nice, but they work more like a traditional toothbrush than a real electric toothbrush. I think unless they have the form factor of the sonicare (big rechargeable handle with a metal piece that the head attaches to), they're probably similar to the Quip

At some point could you do a video comparing these quip type travel friendly compact electric toothbrushes? I travel around a lot and it would be interesting to see which is best, and if any can perform as well as the home units you recommend!

Sonicare makes a kids version of their toothbrushes. You could try that

I haven’t. I’ve almost bought one a couple time. I’ve heard it’s pretty similar to the Quip in it’s vibration, but I bet I like the head design better. The bristles on the quip feel too soft for me, and I’m used to a soft brush

@@paxthelightskin2955 thanks for the suggestion I actually got the sonicare 4100 and I love it. I can feel the difference.

I need to try that one!

What you said is not science and not physics. If the sonic vibration frequency is the only thing matters, then think about this... At some point, as sweeping frequency reach higher and higher, the movement will eventually become like having a solid block, which no distinctive strokes, equates to no movement. Sonic cleaning ability absolutely have to do with strength and the sweep amplitude. I don't work for Sonicare but their movement is very powerful, and the effect of it at breaking biofilm and also "splatter" fluid through interdental areas is second to none - and that's physics. These weaker brushes, Quip and some cheap Chinese sonic brushes, have no "torque" or strength . They will vibrate very fast in free form but when pressed again a solid object, like your tooth, they simply won't move as freely or even reduce to no movements...

@@_w_w_ Bold first sentence but I digress I worded some things poorly and was wrong to mislead. What I am curious about is the frequency of vibration of the bristles so it is physics and definitely is a scientifically (sound) question. What I was mainly wondering is if the frequency of vibrations is sonic or ultrasonic. Ultrasonic cleaning is used in research all the time to clean samples such as Si wafers for chip manufacturing and device fabrication. Using ultrasound to clean teeth is likely very effective at killing bacteria and removing plaque due to the large velocity of ultrasonic waves. There's plenty of publications to be dug up. Also check out this article for fun: tovatech.com/blog/20560/ultrasonic-cleaner/how-to-select-ultrasonic-frequency-and-power ...You will notice if you use an ultrasonic probe ever in a lab setting that the probe sort of looks like the quip example in the video. Now searching around the quip is not ultrasonic but yes very weak sonic, unlike the Sonicare. But this is what I was wondering, was the frequency and amplitudes of the sound or acoustic waves to blame for the performance. I don't quite understand your "torque" argument unless you are speaking on mechanical electric toothbrushes with rotary heads. Neither of these brushes use that technology, or does the Sonicare? I don't have one. I think you're confusing the wave mechanics of sound/acoustics through a medium with contact mechanics and friction as the cleaning mechanism. Actually, my apologies, yes sonic toothbrushes do use mechanical forces to clean teeth I am just realizing. They rely solely on the brushes head movement but it's not related to torque. Still has to do with sound vibrations at a much lower frequency and higher amplitude where the energy is dissipated as friction as it sweeps across your teeth. It's all physics, just different mechanisms of energy transfer via mechanical motion. Edit: and yes you can buy an ultrasonic toothbrush nowadays, so cool!

@@aj_austin22 Member of my extended family own several patents on ultrasonic technologies and also own factories that produce those related products, some are used in semicon as you suggested and others are used for cleaning, welding, and cutting. I carefully used quotation marks so you can relate and understand the point I was driving. Ultrasonic cleaning effectiveness is proven and there are plenty of paper about them. What you are missing here is the medium to transmit the energy and not absorb the energy, hence it's always discussed with the ultrasonic emitter being immersed in water, cleaning liquid or otherwise fluids...and the whole science of fluid dynamics. There is definitely "torque" in this equation, it's called magnetic torque. These sonic drivers, at least the modern ones, are magnetic levitation based devices. This is what make them "quiet" and energy-efficient. They need to be able to drive the movement, to exceed any friction from the rod support structure and of course the bristle being pressed against hard surfaces restricting its movements. You are falling for these manufacturers crappy marketing... To have sufficient drive strength, they need to power a maglev motor, which takes energy. If they do maglev motor "right", it cost more and also require a larger battery. There is no magic here - you don't get a 30 or 60 day usage out of a tiny battery without giving up something and that's magnetic torque. Look at it this way, do you think Philips don't have the same access to any new technology that Quip would, or any Chinese factory would? Of course they do... And the science and physics as you put it, means it takes energy to drive even a maglev motor. These manufacturers are riding under the ultrasonic trend and selling a less effective product and you fall right into their marketing BS.

​@@aj_austin22 By the way, Oral-B had attempted to enter the sonic toothbrush market but they failed because they had much weaker drive strength in their design. When compared side-by-side, Sonicare beat Oral-B left and right in every important metric. If there is a way to cost-reduce the design and make the battery last 30 days and 60 days per change given the same volume of battery cells, Sonicare would have done it a long time ago... And they are doing it now with One but the cleaning effectiveness is just not that great. As far as sonic range, 20kHz above is considered as ultrasonic. Sonicare's original designers did a lot of studies and 31kHz they use is more than adequate to break up biofilm. Also, most maglev motor uses a computer chip to control the change of the magnetic field. To run it fast is just a matter of speed up the frequency - it's literally a line or two of code for the microcontroller. However that speed will have even less magnetic torque. "Faster" vibration is really just a junky marketing number unless you accompany it with torque or someway to quantify drive strength.

@@_w_w_ *When compared side-by-side, Sonicare beat Oral-B left and right in every important metric* The only metric that matters is how effectively Sonicare and Oral-B clean teeth. I have yet to see a study that definitively shows that Sonicare _cleans teeth better_ than Oral-B. Many people claim otherwise, citing the rotation/oscillation of the Oral-B bristles, small round brush heads etc. However, those claims aren't scientific either.

I wouldn’t trust any toothbrush that says it’s going to whiten your teeth. It’s just not going to do that. If your teeth are yellow, your best bet is to use a peroxide based whitener like crest white strips or the whitening gels that you get a a dentist office

@@drtyler2075 OK

@@drtyler2075 well does a whitening pen whitening my teeth?

The whitening pen should do something. I know they tend to have hydrogen peroxide, which is helpful. It depends on the percentage of the hydrogen peroxide how effective if will be and how fast they work. Anything you get over the counter will work slower than something from a dentist

@@drtyler2075 the Colgate 360 optic white sonic is actually a spin brush

You're right about the charger. Since I made this video, all the phone makers stopped including chargers with their new phones, so maybe that just the way things are going. I still think it's worth mentioning if you're comparing products

Thank you so much for pointing that out. I can't believe I missed that!

Dr Tyler oh 😂 ur welcome

The Bluetooth model actually does pay for itself.

Thanks Jordan! I feel the same. I'll keep my manual toothbrush.

It's good to be cautious, but the evidence we have says that the vibration isn't harmful. Toothbrush damage to teeth and gums is common, but it's more from scrubbing too hard with a manual brush. I find people are less likely to do that with an electric toothbrush, especially if it has a sensor that tells you if you're pressing too hard. I don't mean to say that the Quip is a bad toothbrush. It may just be missing some of the benefits you'd find in another toothbrush. Some people might prefer it's milder vibration even, and I think that's fine.

@@micahjohnson9184 You are the one misleading. The doctor is right about Quip being very weak and less effective compare to others. There were tests done showing they aren't great at removing plaques. They might be better than manual brush but they can't touch the effectiveness of products like Sonicare. If that's not how we quantify what's good and bad, then I don't know what will.

@@micahjohnson9184 It is bad... People with sensitive teeth can use a softer brushhead or run it at a lower speed on things like Sonicare. Quip is a bad product... period. It's barely better than manual brushing and you are spending all this money for nothing. This company's motive is do everything "subscription" so they have a locked in reoccurring revenue, but they don't have a single good product. They focus on looks instead of functionality and performance. The floss and mouthwash are equally bad. Companies like Quip generate so much environmental waste, it's hard to believe there are people like it when you factor in the lousy performance and insanely high price.

@@micahjohnson9184 It's folks like you why we have a serious electronic waste issue. Manual toothbrush is very effective if used correctly. This brush is not much better than manual toothbrush, and since this brush use a TON of non-recyclable material and cost about 100x more, including the increase use of AAA battery, it's by every definition a bad product. But you are not alone, our country has a lot of silly people that buy into every fad that shows up on social media and a lot of people don't believe in science or data. Smoking is bad but plenty of people do it... same principal applies here.

@@micahjohnson9184 Basic Sonicare products are rechargeable. On that front, the 1100 is cheaper than the silly Quip and 2100 is at the same price as Quip. Both have REAL ultrasonic movement energy and clean FAR better than Quip. It would leave Quip in the dust in a fair comparison or clinical study. My comment about 100x more cost is referring to a manual toothbrush, which is now down to $0.25 (or even less) each... Compare to the Quip cost of $25 for just the basics. Spending 100x money on a product that's barely better seems very questionable. In addition, recycling of silicone based coating and bristle of Quip is not that easy. Just like K-Cup coffee maker about K-Cup, Quip claim their brushhead is recyclable but in reality, I haven't seen any effective process of recycling them. On top of that, every 3 months (or less) you throw away an AAA battery - how is that not bad for the environment? If you feel like I am trying to "cancel" you...then so be it but I am not trying to offend you. I am merely trying to stop misinformation that you are trying to spread. You are not well versed in this area and you are defending a poorly designed product when someone says otherwise, based on a ton of scientific data.