Electric toothbrush

They make all kinds of traveling toothbrushes that people have used for decades prior to the invention of the electric toothbrush. Your teeth will hardy notice the use of a manual toothbrush.

Ah, the free one from my dentist....?

I have used a battery powered electric toothbrush on my last two trips. It is not much smaller/lighter than my normal one but you do not have to carry the charger and cord. And to the person who said no difference from a manual toothbrush, wrong. I get gingivitis and have found the electric toothbrush makes a world of difference.

I get it. I NEED my electric toothbrush! Found this one, and I love it! It only weighs 1.5 ounces, including battery!

https://www.containerstore.com/s/go-sonic-toothbrushes/d?productId=11009191&q=travel%20toothbrush

That is a challenge. I have tried a travel electric toothbrush in the past, but felt it was inferior to my Sonicare. What I have done is make sure the Sonicare is fully charged. I leave the charger at home. I find the toothbrush charge lasts about a month. To me it's worth the extra few ounces. 😁

We too need our electric toothbrushes. My wife and I joke that if there was someone with her teeth and my gums they’d have a perfect mouth! So, we both have problems manual brushing won’t address. We have Sonicare at home but don’t like traveling with a charger. This solved our needs https://www.getquip.com and the brush replacement program is a plus.

I won't travel without my Sonicare. And I have to add a small but heavy transformer (Franzus, rated about 100 watts) for 220V countries. You can't use any other kind of "converter" with these chargers. My charge does not last a month, barely two weeks at most. Do you brush for 2 minutes?

Your teeth will hardy notice the use of a manual toothbrush.

Nonsense. I have been told my many hygienists and dentists that they can tell if a patient uses a sonicare the second a patient opens their mouth. The gums are much healthier.

As mentioned above my sonicare also lasts about a month on a single charge with two people using it. So most people can go without the charger for an entire trip. The extra weight of the brush unit is negligible.

I've had trouble with Sonicare toothbrushes not lasting as long as I thought they should, and I finally got the call-center folks to tell me that it's best not to leave the toothbrush sitting on the charger all the time. Even following that advice, mine doesn't last anything like a month on a charge--probably less than 2 weeks, but I use the 3-minute mode.

I have a less-expensive Oral-B electric toothbrush purchased in Europe when an earlier Sonicare refused to charge. That's what I take on all my trips. The Oral-B lasts less than a week on a single charge, but it weighs less than my Sonicare and I'm guessing it doesn't have as robust a battery. I caused considerable consternation when I purchased the low-end Oral-B in an Italian pharmacy, because I asked whether they had anything more expensive. It was apparently not a question they had heard before.

This is my solution

https://www.costco.com/Oral-B-3D-White-Pulsar-Battery-Toothbrush%2c-5-pack.product.100402720.html

For travel, I find it is the best of both worlds. Lightweight, easy to pack and 95%+ as good as my Sonicare

I finally realized that using a manual brush for 2 weeks made my teeth and gums very unhappy, so started taking my battery operated Oral B...just remove the battery while in transit.

Thank you all. Great suggestions. I found the Oral B Pulsar on Amazon for a great price.

So, I too love my Sonicare and will be headed to Europe again in May. I just checked the charger base and it reads 100-240 v. So, it should be fine with just an outlet adapter, not a converter, same as my other electronics (IPhone, IPad, etc).
One of the travelers mentioned still using a converter. Am I missing something? Anyone have problems using the charger abroad?
I’ve tried other travel brushes, just don’t think they’re nearly as good.

My teeth can definitely tell the difference. I use the Oral B Pulsar at home and travel with the VioLife Slim Sonic.

https://www.amazon.com/VioLife-Slim-Sonic-Toothbrush-Stripe/dp/B00IKO1PUC?ascsubtag=%5B%5Dst%5Bp%5Dcjgi8ncar01lzc7yeve18q3vv%5Bi%5D5caOrc%5Bt%5Dw&tag=thestrategistsite-20

PS--I'm equally picky about my flossers!

The Go Sonic battery toothbrush is available at Container Store (online and in stores) as well as at The Savvy Traveler in Edmonds, WA. I've had mine for several years and found it to be a good substitute for the electric toothbrush I use at home. Also, I've given several of these as gifts to family members and friends who travel frequently. They have reported positively in their experiences.

Terry, both Phillips (the manufacturer) and my electrical-engineer brother assured me before my first modern-era trip that my Sonicare brush would be just fine in Europe. Imagine my consternation when it failed to re-charge there on about Day 8. I didn't want to throw it away since I wasn't sure where the problem lay (in the brush or the charger), so I carried that thing around for four months, along with an Oral-B bought in Italy. Phillips did a warranty replacement, and the new brush didn't last very long before it failed to recharge. I think I had 3 brushes in a row that lasted not much more than a year; only one of them went to Europe.

It was after the third premature failure that I had a conversation with a 2nd-tier customer support person who told me it was best not to leave the brush on the (plugged-in) recharging base all the time. My brother has confirmed that advice for the type of battery he assumes is inside my brush. My assumption is that the brush that seemed to fail in Europe was already not recharging when I left home, but I didn't know it because the battery wasn't yet totally drained.

At this point I have no reason to think there is any problem with taking a US Sonicare brush to Europe; you just need a plug-converter. But my Oral-B still works, so I haven't tested out the theory yet.

During the period of sequential hardware failures, I developed the practice of not putting the toothbrush in my checked bag, even for domestic trips. I thought rough handling might be contributing to the problem. I now think that's unlikely, but I'm still carrying the toothbrush in my carry-on tote.

We take one Sonicare power unit with two brushes, each our own, and no charger. The charge has lasted as long as 3 weeks for us.

Sonicare has multiple lines of brush, and the handle shapes and chargers are different for each of them. I have the cheapest kind of Sonicare, formerly known as e-series. I'm on my fourth one, and every charger base is labelled 110/120 VAC. I have fried one in Europe when I forgot that I had an Americanski cube tap set up for phones and cameras. I can't report on the ratings of chargers I've never handled.

Note that many types of rechareable batteries, even phone and computer batteries, can have varied full-charge levels, depending on age and how often they are run fully to 1% charge. I just noticed that they claim my handle is dishwasher-safe. As much as I dislike cleaning it, I'd never run it through a dishwasher!

Many trips with a Sonicare charger in a carryon bag. We would rather carry a little extra weight than face two dentists after a month of non-electronic brushing. Just use a standard adapter on charging days. Best to take the toothbrush apart for travel -- airline personnel take a dim view of buzzing bags.

I guess I must be lucky because neither my hygienist nor my dentist have any issues with me using a soft bristle manual toothbrush when I'm traveling.

At home I use an Oral B electric toothbrush and a Waterpik flossing system.

On the road I go low tech and light weight. I use a soft bristle manual toothbrush, typically given to me by the hygienist. I also take 2 sizes of proxy brushes. The common brands are GUM and DenTek.

I must admit that I also frequently use proxy brushes at home and I can't imagine traveling without them.

I think the length of the trip matters a great deal. For a couple of weeks, I believe my dental hygienist would say a manual brush was OK if I made sure to brush long enough. But since I'm paying for four dental visits per year and had bone grafts done last year (not as bad as it sounds), I wouldn't be inclined to cut corners even on a short trip.

Ina,

I always travel with my SoniCare toothbrush and haven't found the weight to be a problem. Both the toothbrush and charger are not heavy, nor do they take up a lot of room. The model I'm using is designed for use from 100-240 VAC, so I don't require a Voltage Converter.

For short trips up to about a week, I just take the toothbrush and leave the charger at home.

I go super light and simple when traveling: small backpack only, one pair of shoes, just an iPhone -- no laptop, simple toiletries .... But I always bring my Philips Sonicare. Have not figured out how to get the same clean teeth feeling with a manual brush or smaller/lighter electric brush. I wish I could. I can't take more than 2 weeks at a time for vacation so I don't have to bring the charger.

I can't take more than 2 weeks at a time for vacation so I don't have to bring the charger.

If ever there was a 'tail wagging the dog" situation, this is a obvious example example

I had my 6-month check at the dentist this morning. I asked about this as I use a Sonicare but am working hard to pare down my bag for a 21 day trip to Austria, Germany, and Ireland in June. The hygienist recommended Quip. She said they had been quite popular at conferences she's attended lately and can be purchased online. https://www.getquip.com/

Interesting discussion. I'm late to the party. Thanks for the links to some alternatives to my Sonicare for travel. After I had gum surgery many years ago, the oral surgeon advised me to start using an electric (this was before Sonicare) toothbrush for the good gum massage. I've never looked back. I can tell the difference if I've had to use a manual toothbrush for a few days.

My current power toothbrush is a Sonicare. It has a dual-voltage charger so only needs the plug adapter to work on foreign trips. I paid attention to that issue when I was shopping for this toothbrush. I just ruled out any brush with only a 110/120 volt charger. My Sonicare brush has a slim handle and the charger is very small. I don't begrudge them the bit of space they take up in my luggage - but a if there's an even smaller alternative I'll consider it seriously.

If you have a medically valid rationalization, take your favorite machine and the charger and make sure you have the correct plug adapter.

If you know how to perform proper manual oral hygiene, take whatever you know how to use.

I would not change to a different, untried brush system before or on a trip.

Quip is worth investigating but you want to read the medical and dental advice as well as the negative reviews from users. If you’re going to change to Quip, do it a few weeks before your trip so you can decide if it is right for you.

Oral B Pulsar is a travel worthy substitute for my regular Oral B electric brush.