I purchased this toothbrush for my daughter and within 6 months is stopped working correctly. It now only works for the first cycle and stops when it is supposed to beep to let the child know to move on to the next section of teeth. I contacted Phillips Sonic Care customer service who had very nice and helpful customer service people. Every single one of them promise to send out a replacement one free with a return box to return the old defective toothbrush. I get a reference number, however NEVER receive the shipment. When I call back, I am told by another CS rep that they are not sure why the ticket was "closed" and then I am reissued another reference number with a promise to send a replacement one. This has been going on for almost 4 months now... with countless reference numbers. This company is a nightmare to deal with....
I've been using a Sonicare for a number of years and LOVE it so I was really excited when I found this Sonicare for kids at Target. The two different size brushes were perfect for my 8 & 6 year olds. Only two weeks into using the toothbrush, it stopped working. It seemed like the problem was caused by switching out the brushes for each of the kids. I was always the one doing the switch so I know that it wasn't being abused in any way. I returned to Target and happily exchanged for a new one. The same thing happened with the second one as well. It didn't last as long as the first one. I would NOT recommend this for anyone using it for more than one child.
First, let me say that I LOVE my adult Sonicare toothbrush. When the kids toothbrush came out, I was anxious to get it for my three boys, ages 7, 4, and 4, thinking it would help develop good brushing habits. We gave it to them at Easter. It is now late June, and I wanted to share my experiences and suggestions for improvement. The seven-year-old is doing fine with it, and he uses the "left" side for a gentler brushing. My complaints revolve around my younger boys. For some reason, the Sonicare brushes, at least in our family, generate a LOT of saliva. Even though we do the inside bottom last (where the salivary glands are), we have to make the child hang over the bowl to catch the volumes of drips. For some reason, this is not an issue with manual brushes, nor with other brands of electric toothbrushes. Yes, we only use a tiny dot of toothpaste. The trick is getting a fidgety four-year-old boy to stand still leaning over the sink for the full cycle. One of my boys can't stand the saliva build-up, and has to spit in between beeps. If I take the brush out of his mouth while it's still running, then the brush sprays saliva and toothpaste everywhere. If I turn it off, it forgets where it was in the cycle, and it thinks it's starting all over again, so we lose the built-in programming. On nights when they are extremely tired or grouchy, I can't do a quick brushing (just to maintain the rule of brushing every night). If I do, then I have to break another rule of going through the whole brushing sequence. Every parent knows that there are times that some things must be compromised (e.g. do I generate a bed time tantrum trying to make an exhausted child stand still for two minutes?) I understand that children should not be allowed to compromise the program. What I'd like to see is a 'refresh' button on the device, or a "secret" multi-button push that parents can use to get a shorter cycle. Lacking that, I'd suggest that you keep a manual brush available for those nights when you don't have the parental stamina to try to make your wiggly child stand still over the bowl for the full cycle. Or, get a drool cup :-) .
This toothbrush has been a real God-send for us. We use it on both our 3 year old daughter and our 2 year old boy (red head for the girl, blue for the boy). Despite diligent manual tooth-brushing, our daughter was having lots of pre-cavity symptoms like discoloration and white spots. After we started using this toothbrush her teeth cleaned right up and her gums look much healthier. The dentist was very pleased with her last check-up.
With our son the problem was a bit different. It took two of us to brush his teeth - one holding him down and the other trying to pry his mouth open and brush. After watching his sister getting brushed with the sonicare, he walked right up and popped his mouth open to be brushed too, and that has continued ever since! We just had his check-up and were told he has excellent oral hygiene.
One of the things that we like best about it is that the 4-7 year old size heads are just the right size, even for our 2 year old (who has been using it since he was 18 months). We had tried the cheaper oral-B electric toothbrushes and though the kids liked the characters on them, the brush heads were so bulky that it was difficult to get on the cheek side of the teeth and the quality of brushing doesn't even begin to compare to the sonicare. I know one of the reviews complains that the handle is too big, but we have not found that to be so. On the occasions that we let our 2 year old try to do his own teeth, he has no problem with the handle either. We are TOTALLY pleased with this toothbrush. We believe the initial cost and brush replacement costs are more than compensated for in savings at the dentists office. - Oral Hygiene - Electric Toothbrush - Philips - Kids'
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