If you have a Sonicare toothbrush...

[jackie011]

This is one of the reasons I stopped using mine. I hated how disgusting it would get in the handle. Not sure if it's normal, but the same thing happens to me, too.

[lishie]

That happens to mine too. I clean it regularly.

My standard toothbrush used to also get a build up that I'd have to clean off (maybe toothpaste, I'm not sure what it was), so cleaning the Sonicare doesn't bother me.

[bears]

Mine does.

It isn't apparent until you change the head, so I only think about this about 4x/year.

[Deleted]

Mine does that too. I replaced the whole thing a few weeks ago. I've started wiping down the whole thing after each use, in hopes of making the new one last longer.

[caramia17]

This is one of my patients' big complaint with Sonicare. The biofilm that builds up inside it is SO GROSS.

My H used to have one and I replaced it with an OralB and it is better (he still makes an incredible amount of spit that runs down the sides...Ew!)

[djc315]

We have a newer model now, but I used to buy silicone covers from Amazon that would cover the whole top part and keep it clean.

[aspentosh]

This was exactly why we got rid of ours. Both H and I had this problem.

We have the Oral B from Costco and it stays *much* cleaner.

[Deleted]

I had to throw out my old one because of this issue. The newer models just have a click to connect brush head that doesn't have that hole so it doesn't get so gross. Now I just rinse it well afterwards and it's fine. I've had it 6mos with no issues.

[laurenh]

Yep, I threw ours out because I couldn't handle how quickly it got gross, even with cleaning.

[icedcoffee]

The one I have doesn't have a hole because the ends just snaps on. I wipe it down on my towel each time I brush and it stays pretty clean. No complaints really.

[twogirlsmommy]

My sonicare did that - I had it for 5+ years and had to constant take it apart and clean it.  So gross.  Costco was having a sale & so I picked up an Oral B one about a year ago & was excited to get something different & for it to be clean...but the same thing happens to it.  It doesn't open like the Sonicare does so doesn't gross on the inside but get all guk on the bottom & the charger.  I found that letting it lay on the side sink - drip for a little bit - when I am done brushing helps. 
I brush my teeth, then do my hair, make up etc. & then put it back on the charger. It still gets gross but not as bad.

[ssmjlm]

Mine doesn't seem to get that gunky, I think ours are maybe 2 years old? I do make sure to shake it out really well when I'm done and then wipe it.

[Blue Moon]

My H has one and it always gets disgusting looking.

[rbp]

Jul 11, 2016 6:25:33 GMT -5 caramia17 said:

This is one of my patients' big complaint with Sonicare. The biofilm that builds up inside it is SO GROSS.

This is making me LOL because my colleague's research is on biofilms. I never thought about them being on my toothbrush. 

[JRo]

I used to have one and switched to an Oral b one for exactly this reason, but the Oral B one gets gross too. I take the head off and rinse after EVERY SINGLE USE and it still gets yucky before 3 months is up. I just end up switching the heads more often than every 3 months...

[whitemerlot]

I keep the head off between uses. It grosses me out.

[Deleted]

Jul 11, 2016 6:30:41 GMT -5 djc315 said:

We have a newer model now, but I used to buy silicone covers from Amazon that would cover the whole top part and keep it clean.

Do you have a link? I'm looking and can't find anything.

And for whatever reason my toothbrush gets nasty but DH"s doesn't. He says I spit too much.

ETA. Nevermind I found it.

[caramia17]

Jul 11, 2016 8:39:49 GMT -5 rbp said:

Jul 11, 2016 6:25:33 GMT -5 caramia17 said:

This is one of my patients' big complaint with Sonicare. The biofilm that builds up inside it is SO GROSS.

This is making me LOL because my colleague's research is on biofilms. I never thought about them being on my toothbrush. 

Dude. Dental plaque is the MODEL biofilm. And teeth are the only place in your body where you naturally have hard tissue penetrating a soft tissue with a very weak biological attachment. This makes for a gross way for bacteria to enter the systemic circulation.

People are so concerned about storing their toothbrushes away from fecal material. They should be more concerned that their mouths are disgusting.

I am a microbiome machine in my research.

[kitty]

Mine gets pretty gross too but it is worth it for how much it cuts down on my plaque vs a manual toothbrush. I keep a box of those alcohol swabs in my medicine cabinet and wipe it down with one of those whenever it starts to gross me out.

[chickens987]

Jul 11, 2016 8:53:19 GMT -5 @notquiteblushing said:

Jul 11, 2016 6:30:41 GMT -5 djc315 said:

We have a newer model now, but I used to buy silicone covers from Amazon that would cover the whole top part and keep it clean.

Do you have a link? I'm looking and can't find anything.

And for whatever reason my toothbrush gets nasty but DH"s doesn't. He says I spit too much.

ETA. Nevermind I found it.

Share with the class?

[Deleted]

Jul 11, 2016 9:23:23 GMT -5 chickens987 said:

Jul 11, 2016 8:53:19 GMT -5 @notquiteblushing said:

Do you have a link? I'm looking and can't find anything.

And for whatever reason my toothbrush gets nasty but DH"s doesn't. He says I spit too much.

ETA. Nevermind I found it.

Share with the class?

It's unavailable on Amazon

www.amazon.com/Sonic-Seal-Sonicare-Replacement-Heads/dp/B001S2PLNK/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

but I found the web site.  It looks a little dodgy but I paid with Paypal so hopefully I can be less gross.

thesonicseal.com/

[caramia17]

Jul 11, 2016 9:25:33 GMT -5 swizz said:

Jul 11, 2016 8:59:13 GMT -5 caramia17 said:

Dude. Dental plaque is the MODEL biofilm. And teeth are the only place in your body where you naturally have hard tissue penetrating a soft tissue with a very weak biological attachment. This makes for a gross way for bacteria to enter the systemic circulation.

People are so concerned about storing their toothbrushes away from fecal material. They should be more concerned that their mouths are disgusting.

I am a microbiome machine in my research.

Do you have a professional recommendation? I have a cheap one so it seems this might be fixed even slightly, by a new(er) better one.

Technically, the OralB mechanical toothbrush is the only one that has shown a statistical improvement in clinical parameters and plaque removal over a manual brush in a meta-analysis (Cochrane review).

A more recent meta-analysis showed no statistical difference between OralB (ossilation/rotation) and Sonicare (sonic vibration) (Cochrane review).

NOTE: These are statistical findings and may not be applicable clinically or to an individual situation. 

I use OralB Professional care.

If you like the Sonicare and just don't like the biofilm issue, their Diamond care series has a friction grip attachment that seems to get less yucky. It also has a pressure sensor if you have an issue with applying too much force when you brush.

[caramia17]

Jul 11, 2016 9:35:31 GMT -5 swizz said:

Jul 11, 2016 9:31:50 GMT -5 caramia17 said:

Technically, the OralB mechanical toothbrush is the only one that has shown a statistical improvement in clinical parameters and plaque removal over a manual brush in a meta-analysis (Cochrane review).

A more recent meta-analysis showed no statistical difference between OralB (ossilation/rotation) and Sonicare (sonic vibration) (Cochrane review).

NOTE: These are statistical findings and may not be applicable clinically or to an individual situation. 

I use OralB Professional care.

If you like the Sonicare and just don't like the biofilm issue, their Diamond care series has a friction grip attachment that seems to get less yucky. It also has a pressure sensor if you have an issue with applying too much force when you brush.

Thanks! This was actually my first electric toothbrush, so I went a little cheap in case I hated it. I actually do really like it -- but I'm not necessarily brand loyal. 

I mostly love the 2-minute timer because I'm a chronic under-brusher (but I realize I could use a sand timer to accomplish that too, lol).

Most of them have a timer of some sort. People are notorious under brushers. The average time spent brushing is 37 seconds and if you tell someone to brush for 2 minutes, they will brush for 52 seconds on average. The timer is critical. Or, you can go old school "Love Connection" and brush for the whole "Two and two" of a commercial break.

The OralB Professional series has a timer that makes a smiley face after 2 minutes and a winky face after 4. It also shows a red light if you are brushing too hard.

I usually tell people to try Costco or Sams for their mechanical toothbrush because they are cheaper than I can sell them for with my professional discount.

GL!

[DarcyLongfellow]

The newer model Sonicare doesn't have that same issue. My old one I used to regularly soak it in hydrogen peroxide because there was no other way to get the grossness out.

I also love that my new Sonicare buzzes each 30 seconds, so each 30 second segment of time is for a specific quadrant of my mouth :-)

[JRo]

swizz If you have a dentist appointment coming up, check with them about a toothbrush. My dentist sells the Oral b 5000 for $69 (plus they had a $20 mail in rebate on it when I bought it a year ago). That toothbrush is $99 on Amazon. I definitely like it a lot better than my old Sonicare.

[dottyblue]

I am gagging at that.

I have a Sonicare with a different head and do not have that issue at all. I remove the head after every use too.

Like this:


If you like the Sonicare, I would recommend going to this model.  I found that I didn't like the Oral B at all when I tried it after my last Sonicare died; my teeth never felt clean after brushing.  $$ down the drain.

[browneyedgirl9]

I have a newer model sonicare and it doesn't do this. My husband had the older model that did this as well, and switched to a newer model one.