Go On! Show Us Yer "Teeth"! (Colgate ActiBrush)

Member Name: Nibelung

Product:	Colgate ActiBrush
Date:	07/12/01 (198 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to use, Interchangeable heads, Good price

Disadvantages: Battery only option

You know how it is when you go to the dentist and all he/she does is clean your teeth, and SOMEHOW afterwards, your teeth always manage to feel about half their usual size, and you can almost feel the wind whistling between them like stones in a Druidic circle? Well - hold on to that thought???

For me that feeling usually only lasts a few days before ?Stonehenge? becomes ?Hadrian?s Wall?. Try as I might, my own brushing never achieves the same effect and having to spend ages using dental floss (not much of a spectator sport, I?m reliably informed) fills me with NO delight whatsoever. ? if the truth be known, I reserve floss for those stubborn bits of detritus that refuse to budge, usually after a mixed grill at my favourite Cypriot restaurant!

A month or so ago, my wife came home from Tesco?s with an electric toothbrush for both of us, (that?s two, not a shared one, I mean). It was badged by Crest and cost about £5. ?Good value? I hear you say. After a week?s use the brushes started to show their true colours. For a start there was no interchangeable head, so once the brush was knackered, it didn?t matter how perky the batteries were, it was still fit only for a life of polishing Action Man?s boots or buffing-up Barbie* perhaps!

* A crime in some US states

Notwithstanding the built-in obsolescence, the other design flaw in my view was the fact that the brushes, which were a small circular affair, only revolved, which meant that they had a distinct tendency to race across your gob in one direction, and resisted being pushed the other way.

However, being a sucker for a gadget, we then started to delve a bit deeper into the hi-tech world of ?brush-o-nomics?. Obviously, any replacement was going to need interchangeable heads to make the grade, and preferable a motion without seeming to have a mind of its own, like some demented floor-polisher.

Oh yes, and I don?t want to pay Braun prices!

So, at 332 words
into the opinion, this is where the Colgate Actibrush comes in! When I ramble, do I ramble or what?

It is still an alkaline battery (2 x AA?s) affair. There is no shaver socket in our bathroom, so a rechargeable machine wouldn?t be much use, and NiCad batteries are a disposal problem, what with Cadmium being a ?trifle? toxic.

The handle feels nicely balanced and there has been no attempt to make it ergonomically asymmetric, with the ensuing pis??sorry alienation of left-handers like me!

It actually has separate on and off buttons, which means there is nothing to hold down, making your only job guiding the thing. This is quite important, since you only need to guide it ? if you press with the same pressure as a manual toothbrush, you risk wearing your enamel away, as most toothpastes are mildly abrasive to get your teeth white. Worn-out teeth seem a high price to pay for being able to smile!

The brush is circular like the Crest machine, but it only oscillates through about a quarter of a turn. This makes guiding it slightly more practical, and stops toothpaste flying off in all directions if you are silly enough to switch it on before putting it in your mouth. Of course, if you want one of Lawrence Lleweyn-Bowen?s latest spatter-paint finishes, splash away!

The heads are interchangeable, and the whole thing feels like it might last at least long enough to see new batteries and heads. There is a clear plastic clip to cover the head, and the whole shebang comes in a stout acrylic case. The cost? £7.99.

What was all that old swaddling about Stonehenge at the beginning?

Oh yes, since I?ve been using this brush (about two weeks), my teeth have still got the wind whistling through them and seem like they?ll continue to do so for some time to come.

Summary: