Spinning, my teeth are gleaming (Crest Spinbrush Spinning Battery Toothbrush for Kids)

Member Name: Emmamac1

Product:	Crest Spinbrush Spinning Battery Toothbrush for Kids
Date:	14/09/09 (150 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Gives teeth a good brush

Disadvantages: Very difficult for youngsters.

Cleaning teeth is always a bit of a chore in our house. Anything to help and encourage the children to give their teeth a good brush is invested in. I bought three of the Crest Spinbrush's, hoping the novelty factor and design would boost enthusiasm for brushing teeth.

These brushes are specifically for children. They are meant to be designed for little hands to operate and hold. The best bit for children, is that they come in different designs, including a racing car, spaceman, princess, dolphin, and on top of that Marvel have brought out some superhero characters, including Spiderman and Hulk. The gadget itself is solid and quite heavy, as it is a battery operated spinning toothbrush. It takes 2AAA batteries.

There is an on/off switch to operate the brush which is situated at the front. The switch is incorporated into the design, like the dolphin's fin and the racing driver's head. The actual brush itself is very similar to other electric toothbrushes. The top half of the brush is a rotating circle which whizzes around when switched on. The bottom half of the brush is rigid and looks like any normal brush. This part does not vibrate or move when switched on. The complete brush is small and suitable for little mouths.

To clean their teeth, children need to put on the toothpaste before switching on. Although it can be quite funny to switch on first and watch the toothpaste splatter everywhere! Once set to go, turn on either very close to the mouth or in the mouth. When in the mouth slowly move the brush around the teeth, taking time with each one. Supposedly, simple to use and easy to brush.

Firstly, let me explain that three of my son's have a Spinbrush, so it has been tried and tested on three different ages, nine, seven and five. My nine year old copes with it well, is great at brushing his teeth and has no complaints. My seven year old loved the novelty factor, enjoyed it for a week, then switched back to the traditional children's brush, claiming it was too hard to manage. He is fussy, and also did not like the feeling in his mouth. Now to the littlest. He has the dolphin brush and does need to be supervised, otherwise he spends the whole time brushing his front teeth. The reason for this is because it is quite a heavy, clumsy brush in comparison with a normal sized toothbrush. To try and open his mouth wide and insert the brush to clean the back molars is a mission, then to change angles (sides and backs) is near enough impossible for him to achieve independently. Also he does struggle with the on/off switch, as it can be quite stiff.

My boys certainly do use the brush for a longer amount of time. which is super. So many times in the past I have had to call them back to redo their teeth. It would be quite good if Crest had put an alarm on the brush after 2 minutes, then the children would have a target. I have seen this on other electric brushes and it works well.

The brushes cannot be replaced, they are fixed. This means that it is a very expensive toothbrush at around £4.99. I know teeth are important, and that is why I bought them. It would be far better if the heads could be replaced. One problem is that people may keep the brushes for longer as their children are attached or they want to get their monies worth, whilst the brush is no longer viable.

Also these brushes use batteries, so you have to be prepared to pay out for at least one more set of batteries before the brush is no good.

Electric Toothbrushes are meant to give a better brush. This can only happen if the user is applying it correctly. My five year old most certainly needs adult help. I would definitely recommend some sort of electric toothbrush for older children, maybe invest in a replaceable and rechargeable model. For little children, they are fun, brightly coloured and make cleaning teeth a bit more enjoyable, but only as long as they have some help.

Summary: A great idea, but needs some fine tuning

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