HomeGrown Reviews

This is a compensated review from BlogHer and Sonicare for Kids

We are a family full of gadget and gizmo lovers. With a software architect dad and semi-geek mom how can our kids not love gadgets as well? They can’t. It seems my biggest gadget lover is my three year old boy. Not suprising! He has been asking to “check his email” every morning since he has been old enough to talk. He has even now begun asking for his own cell phone. Gah!

When I go into a store I have to walk very fast past the toy section as most moms do. I have to hurry past the aisles in the electronics department because he wants to not only play all the video games on display he wants to change the channels on the tv’s and listen to the stereos and print out a sample page on a display pc. The list is endless. But it doesn’t stop there. No, it doesn’t.

You know the health and beauty section at the departments stores? The departments with shavers, blow dryers, hot irons, curlers, nose hair trimmers and electric toothbrushes? Those departments cause a bigger stir than the toy department on most days.

You see, my three year old likes to brush his teeth. Alot. A whole lot. If the house goes quiet and he isn’t to be found he is in the bathroom. Brushing his teeth. Gargling. Using fluoride rinse. Making watery messes on the counter top. And the floor. But that isn’t all. He doesn’t seem to care if the tooth brush is not his. He’ll use anyone’s tooth brush if you don’t guard it with your life. Which makes it hard to charge your own toothbrush and have it ready and waiting for your own tooth brushing needs.

So, I tried to solve that by giving him one (or four) of the cheaper tooth brushes made for kids so that he had a selection to choose from daily. They play music and make buzzy noises but those do not satisfy the tooth brushing desires of my son. He knows those are for kids. He knows they aren’t the coveted King of all Toothbrushes that belong to the adult parents. He wants our Sonicare toothbrushes. He won’t take no for answer. (For better understanding see above where I wrote how he will use anybody’s toothbrush.) We have often left the bathroom is a mass of blubbering tears because he needs to “brush my teeths!”

When I first learned Sonicare had come out with Sonicare for Kids I almost squealed in glee. The heavens had opened and a light came beaming down on my bathroom vanity. When I was asked if I wanted to participate in a review program for the new toothbrush I truly did squeal with glee. When the product arrived in the mail and my son saw it was THE toothbrush he became more than a bit noticeably excited. When he realized it was The King of all Toothbrushes he was so excited his little body was almost vibrating with anticipation and joy. My halo appeared above my head at that very moment.

We took it to the bathroom, unplugged Dad’s electric razor and set it up to charge. All the while this little boy is chattering and telling me how he was going to brush his teeth every day followed by, “Actually, when I eat something I will brush my teeths!”.

Waiting for this beautiful toothbrushing appliance to charge required many trips to the bathroom to see if the little light was on. We had to look and make sure it was seated just so on the charge base. We had to check not once but four times that we had plenty of toothpaste to go with it.

During our wait time we read the instructional pamphlet so that we understood the brush had two heads and two settings to meet the needs of the child/children who would be using it. This feature was one that really impressed me. The toothbrush is designed with two settings for cleaning. One setting for children in the 4,5,6 age range and another setting for the 7 -12 age range. The brush heads are also designed to meet the needs of those varying aged mouths and teeth. Knowing how trusted the Sonicare brand is I shouldn’t have been surprised that they had covered the grounds so completely in producing a product that best suits a range of children in age and their needs.

Once the brush was charge we applied a small pearl of toothpaste and explained to Steven how this was a different toothbrush and he must check to be certain it is on the proper setting for his needs. Also? Do NOT press the button that turns it on until is it safely in your mouth. That part took a couple of tries but we have worked out those kinks. One thing I don’t like is the setting ‘button’. I would like it much better if there was a locking switch so that when set for the the younger age the setting cannot be changed by the child while in use.

He uses this toothbrush religiously. We never have to remind him to brush his teeth. He has no interest in any other toothbrush in the history of all his toothbrushes. Which makes me ask where was this toothbrush when I was raising a feisty little girl who hated to brush her teeth. A little girl who I often had to hold down and manually brush her teeth for her? I NEEDED this toothbrush a decade ago.

Here is a bit of our routine. Wake up. Brushing of the teeth. Have breakfast. Must brush teeth. Have a juice box mid morning. Teeth must be brushed. Have lunch. brushing of the teeth must begin ASAP! Afternoon snack time. The teeth are being brushes almost before the lunch is eaten. You can pretty much guess the routine for the afternoon and evening up to bedtime.

He loves this toothbrush. I love this toothbrush. I don’t have to remind him to brush his teeth. I don’t have to hide my toothbrush any longer.

The toothbrush handle comes with an interchangeable front face plate so that you can change the color of the instrument to suit the tastes of your child. I like this so much because you don’t have to hunt down a ‘blue’ tooth brush for a boy as opposed to more girlish color which boys don’t like.

I like that the brush has a timer. My son quickly learned to brush his teeth until the timer went off so that I know he has at least a full two minutes of brushing. One thing I am not sure about is the exact purpose of the odd noises it makes during the brushing time. It beeps and buzzes and make musical sounds during brushing. I suppose that is for entertainment but I would prefer if they were timed for 30 second intervals to indicate brushing time is running out.

I like that it has its own recharging base which means I don’t have to buy batteries.

Most of all I like that it is a Sonicare. My own experience has taught me that Sonicare is the leader in this type of toothbrush. I can’t imagine using any other. Each time you brush it is like getting a dental cleaning in your dentists’ office. Knowing that it is the Sonicare family but not using the kids toothbrush myself I can rest assured my son is getting the same performance and cleaning that we get from our own adult Sonicare instruments.

As a mom and an advocate of early dental intervention I have to give the Sonicare Kids appliance an A+.

When it is time to replace your kids’ current toothbrushes consider a new Sonicare Kids toothbrush. Let me tell you how!

You can enter to win a $100 gift card from Sonicare AND a chance to win a Sonicare prize pack from Blogher.com

Answer this question:

How do you handle your kids’ dental hygiene?

Then follow the instructions below for a total of 10 (ten) chances to win.

To enter, leave me a comment below and tell me How do you handle your kids’ dental hygiene? – or you may leave a link to your post on your own blog in the comments below. The contest will begin at 9:00 a.m. (PST) 10/15/2009 and will end 5:00 p.m. (PST) 11/15/2009.. Make sure that the e-mail address you leave is correct.

Rules:

* No duplicate comments.
* You may receive an additional entry by linking on twitter and leaving a link in the comments.
* You may receive an additional entry by blogging about this contest and leaving a link in the comments.
* This giveaway is open to US-residents, 18 years of age or older
* Winners will be selected via random draw, and will notified by e-mail.
* You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
* Please see the official rules here: Official rules

Check all the other BlogHer Reviewers and how other parents encourage good dental hygiene with their kids.

Thank you Blogher and Sonicare for having me as a part of your review team.

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