The Search For An Electric Travel Toothbrush
After years of being satisfied with my little Colgate fold up toothbrush for the occasional trip, I found I was starting to miss the effects of my electric toothbrush when I traveled every weekend.
I tried taking my Oral B PC 1000 electric toothbrush along, but that didn’t work out as well. I’d had it forever, so if it came with a traveling case that was long gone. It was slightly heavy (especially if I was just doing an overnight tote bag) and messy, I never seemed to be able to get all the water out.
So I began my search!
Attracted by the slim packaging and rave reviews, I bought the Violife Slim Sonic Toothbrush, $10-$15 (though I went with the purple python color because it was several dollars cheaper).
I was extremely disappointed. The size was right, but as some of the reviewers had mentioned, it didn’t really feel like there was any swirling, brushing action. Just vibration against my teeth.
Then there was the electric toothbrush I picked up at Dollar Tree, $1. :)Â I wasn’t surprised when that one wouldn’t even turn on.
I spent several weeks researching “nice” electric toothbrushes that were also convenient for travel — many now feature USB charging. I debated upgrading to the well reviewed and very expensive Philips Sonic Care Diamond Clean, $189, which had a very sleek design and travel case, but in the end decided I wasn’t ready to spend that much to upgrade when I was still pretty happy with my toothbrush at home.
Then I went to Ireland with my friend and saw her electric toothbrush. A Â simple $6 Oral B 3D Action Power Toothbrush.
She’d been using it for trips over the last 6 months and the battery was still going strong. It never accidentally turned on in her suitcase and it wasn’t much bigger than a normal toothbrush (plus had a little plastic cap for the head of the toothbrush which was easy to clean).
I bought one and have been thrilled with it for the last seven months. It’s still going strong and a great size even for my overnight tote. Not the most sophisticated, but it gets the job done and I no longer find myself missing my toothbrush from home.
Whenever it is time to replace my home model, I probably will splurge and get one like the Diamond Clean that is good for travel, but until then I couldn’t be happier with the simple Oral B Power Toothbrush.
Have you found a favorite for travel?
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It’s funny I went from that exact oral b to sonicare and I’m going to bring it along on my trip
Thanks, I’d been looking for just such a toothbrush!
wow the sonic brush charging glass & usb is cool, but that price is just too high. costco has the same brush (not usb charging) with the same brush head for $119 after $30 off. it comes with 2 brushes, travel case, 1 travel charger, 1 base charger.
The Oral B battery operated one is good, but I prefer the Arm & Hammer Spinbrush because you can stand it up. I despise laying my toothbrush on a hotel sink. CVS has a sale right now where if you spend $10 on Arm & Hammer mouth products (including spin brushes) you get $5 ECB.
http://www.armandhammer.com/personal-care/adult-toothbrushes/Products/spinbrush-proclean.aspx
How do you keep it from accidentally turning on?
I say this because – true story – mine did at Fiumincino airport in Rome and I was pulled down to the plane by two dudes with AK-47s screaming “Vibrato!” and pointing to my bag.
At home, I use an electric toothbrush too (Sonicare FlexCare now), earlier I’m taking it on trips. But now I take manual toothbrushes to the trips, because I have a family of 4, all our electric toothbrushes take up space and so heavy… I’m sought electric toothbrushes for travels too, you can see my results here: http://tygiene.com/best-travel-electric-toothbrush.html