Tomorrow's World in your bathroom. (SoniCare Personal Model)

Member Name: xadoc

Product:	SoniCare Personal Model
Date:	05/04/03 (473 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cleans ultrasonically, Really clean-feeling mouth, Dentist said it was "the best on the market"

Disadvantages: It and the replacement brushes are fairly pricey, Can splatter your mirror with toothpaste!

I remember when these were first shown on Tommorrow's World about 6 years ago as a wonderful new gadget from America. They gave them to a group of people who all raved about how wonderful they were, and one was so impressed he even bought one, pretty impressive since they were £350 a pop back then.

Enough of the nostalgia. I bought mine about 4 years ago in the US, which cost me about £50. I saw them in the sale at Index this summer for about £35 I think, so they are getting quite reasonable now.

My brother has one too, and when he asked his dentist if they were really as good as the hype, he told him it was "best toothbrush on the market", which I figure is a pretty good recommendation.

When you first start using them it really takes some getting used too. Unlike Oral-B plaque remover type brushes, the head doesn't rotate, it vibrates ultrasonically (hence the name sonicare - clever eh?). This tickles like hell, although the kit does come with some kind of attachment that calms down the vibrations until you get used to them.

You don't need to do the brushing action you would with a normal toothbrush, you just slowly move it all over your mouth ultrasonically causing the plaque to vibrate off of your teeth. The toothbrush is timed to brush for 2 minutes and then turn off, and the newer models are set for 4 30 second sections so you can divide your mouth into four and make sure you clean each part for the recommended 30 secs. Of course, you can ignore this totally, and turn it on and off whenever you want, but that would be naughty! :o)

The really amazing thing is that if you miss cleaning an area of your mouth you can actually feel it. Your teeth feel so much cleaner you can't go back to a normal toothbrush afterwards, and it is a much better toothbrush than any other electric ones I have tried in the past. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

I have heard that if you brush your teeth wi
th a mouthful of water this makes the plaque vibrate more and is therefore more effective, but I tend to find this turns me into a big dribbly mess so I don't really do it often.

Another tip. Never, ever turn on the brush loaded with toothpaste before you get it in your mouth. Especially not if you like blue gel type toothpastes, as you and most things near you will be covered in little flecks of it and you will get funny looks all day.

If you do buy one, you need to figure in the cost of replacement brushes which are generally about £15 each, but again in the Index sale last summer I got a couple for £7 each. Handily enough they come with little coloured blobs at the top, so if you want to share it with someone you can have an easily identifiable brush each.

My only complaint, and it is quite a big one, is that mine died after only four years of reasonable use. I think I did everything I was told to, made sure I was charging correctly etc, the power transformed correctly etc, but the button on the front doesn't give anything more than a low buzz and goes off as soon as you stop pressing it. Gutted. I may have a go at writing to Philips and appealing to their generous nature... however, I am suitably impressed with them to ask for another one for my birthday!

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