… How To Get Your Kid To LIKE Brushing His Teeth. The Saga Begins…
Over the holidays, we got some fancy-schmancy toothbrushes for two of the kids. The Oral B Triumph with SmartGuide toothbrush, and the Oral B Pulsonic. Both toothbrushes come highly rated by our dentists and orthodondist’s office. I decided to try them out, and gave the Oral B Pulsonic to my 16 year old daughter (who wears braces) and the Oral B Triumph to my 12 year-old son, a reluctant brusher. I’ll review my son’s Triumph toothbrush in this post, and give my opinion about my daughter’s Pulsonic in a future one.
First off, I want to say that I am a freak of a mom, when it comes to brushing. The Wrath of Mother may come down from the Heavens if my children do not brush with frenetic fervor. You see, I had terrible dental hygiene as a kid. I rarely brushed, didn’t see a dentist until my late teens and subsequently I have seven teeth missing from my set (and a gold crowned tooth, which is very cool to show off to kids, lol). ANYWAY, as a mom I was determined that my kids would not be in the pain and agony that I was– they were going to have good teeth. My two daughters have marvelously clean teeth (the 16 year old has never had a cavity). I slacked off with my sons (too much candy flowing around here) and they have had cavities. Plus, my youngest never liked brushing very much. It IS a dull chore, I know….
So… what do you do with a kid who hates boring chores like toothbrushing but loves electronic gadgets? Blend the two! That’s what Oral B did, and I have to hand it to them– they did a fantastic job with this toothbrush. No longer do I have to stand over the sink like a vulture, watching my son to make sure he does it right and brushes long enough. Oral B does it for him, and makes it fun to do. It’s really cute, they must have had kids in mind with this.
Be prepared for sticker shock– it’s $149 at Walgreens (but it is on sale right now), so it’s no cheap fix. Amazon has it for about $100, which is more reasonable. But it makes a very nice gift (and I do prefer practical gifts for the kids). And ALWAYS look for coupons, rebates, and promo codes before buying. Last I heard, there was a $15 rebate on this toothbrush, and things go on sale from time to time, too.
So this gadget is pretty high tech for a toothbrush. There is wireless signal from the toothbrush (when activated) to the timer box. This is the most amazing thing about the Oral B Triumph, I think. My son loads up the toothbrush machine with his brush (there are two brushes that comes with the package) and activates the brush. The timer box has a screen that shows how long you must brush and where. When you have completed that section of the cleaning time (30 seconds per area), the timer box shows what you must attend to next. This MAKES SURE that my son brushes for at least two minutes– no more guessing about brushing time, and no more guessing about what part of his teeth he cleaned and what he forgot. I have to say I just love this gadget! The timer box works as a clock when it’s not in use for the brushing time, too.
When the entire cleaning procedure is done, a smiley-face appears on the timer box screen (adorable!). And if you continue brushing longer, a winky face eventually shows up. It’s really a perfect gadget for the reluctant toothbrusher. We’ve been using this toothbrush for over 30 days now, and there has been a noticeable difference with my son’s teeth (and his breath). And most importantly, my son’s dental hygiene HABIT has been changed– from an “I don’t feel like it/I think I brushed enough” to a “This is cool/I know I brushed everything completely” attitude. And that means no more nagging and fussing for me!
Other little things about the Triumph:
- The timer display box tells you when you will be needing to replace the brush.
- The timer box also tells you when you are brushing too hard!
- The timer box can be handheld, but it comes with a small case that has sticky-tape on the back. You can therefore attach the case with the timer box in it, on the wall to save space. Love this!
- There are multiple brush attachments you can use, including a nice polishing brush.
- It comes with a travel case.
- The Triumph is completely rechargable– needs no batteries.
- The toothbrush handle is waterproof.
Definitely the Oral B Triumph is an investment, but worth it. And like I said, this would make a really great gift. There’s a website about the Oral B Triumph toothbrush. It has manuals, a gallery, information, etc. And there’s a good site here more about how the Triumph works. I found it useful. If I get this for myself, I’d need to read the manual, but my gadget-savvy son picked up on the toothbrush very quickly, without reading anything! This is really great for kids!! Thanks, Oral B!! Thumbs up from the Mecombers!
Stay tuned for my review about the Oral B Pulsonic for my daughter…
30. January 2009 at 10:35 pm
Are you firmly convinced that Chinese Oral-B technology is help for your teeth? huh, I got a gingival abscess after use it
31. January 2009 at 12:26 am
how old is your kid?
4. August 2009 at 7:15 pm
It’s German technology, Oral B/Braun.