My wife bought new toothbrush heads on her way home from work today.
They didn’t fit. She bought the “Oral B IO” heads, but we have a “regular” Oral B toothbrush, not the Shiny Fancy IO design.
And this is after she bought replacement heads last week at another store – which turned out to be “compatible for” a different brand :(
Ugh.
I bought extra heads when I bought the toothbrush because they always stop making them and forcing me to replace it… Instead the charging dock thing was completely corroded and there’s no way to charge the actual toothbrush anymore… I miss the replaceable battery ones at this point
Now I kinda wish I’d done that! I really miss the old electric toothbrush I had back in the mid-2000s. It had a nice little caddy for toothbrush heads between uses. Sadly, that one left the house with my ex, so I had to buy a new one.
And then another new one.
And yet ANOTHER new one.
But I’m not sure if I’m at 3 or 4 cycles since then. I had purchased a Phillips model that crapped out absurdly quickly (but still outside the warranty window, of course).
Guh, toothbrush purchases ought to be something boring, not something you have to carefully research and compare parts list numbers!
That’s every purchase in 2026 unfortunately. If you just buy something carelessly it’ll be bad and not work
:/
I specifically made sure there are cheap alternatives to the original heads before I bought my tooth brush. Many companies didn’t enshittify because they were shit from the beginning.
Ooh, good idea
Many companies didn’t enshittify because they were shit from the beginning.
Clever, I like this.
I “solved” this problem by losing my original OralB (non-IO) and being forced to replace it with an OralB IO, then finding my original OralB. I keep one in the upstairs bathroom and one in the downstairs, and now I can use either type, lol!
Oof, that could be a post entirely on its own!
You know what never has this problem? Good old fashioned tooth brushes that you can get in a 6 pack for like $8.
Electric toothbrushes are genuinely better for toothbrushing, though.
Yeah, one of the few electrified versions of traditional products that genuinely has a good reason to be electrified. There’s a lot of evidence showing they’re way better at cleaning your teeth than a regular toothbrush.
Anecdotally, after using an electric tooth brush, using a “normal” toothbrush leaves my teeth feeling fuzzy not matter how well I brush.
Also, it used to be that my teeth would feel super clean and smooth after the dentist. I barely notice the difference anymore because my electric toothbrush does such a good job.
I barely notice the difference between my hygienist and my manual toothbrush
Not really that much difference if you brush correctly
Or have Parkinson’s.
Never ever had a dentist recommend an electric toothbrush to me. Why is that? 🤷♂️
I genuinely don’t know, because every dentist I’ve ever had has recommended electric. There are studies as well. I’m not trying to say your teeth aren’t immaculate because I don’t know you, but for the average person electric toothbrushes are better, sincerely.
This is def the case for me. I used to bring the old fashioned toothbrushes for camping (well, for any travel). I noticed a HUGE difference when I’d get home again.
Now I just bring the normal toothbrush. The battery lasts long enough for most trips that it’s fine.
I believe you, but I’m also interested in the studies, how much worth it it actually is.
Like, is it worth it because people in general have poor brushing technique and the electric brush “solves” this just by how it works, or is it better even with proper brushing technique with manual brush?
Those are some of the questions I have. 😁
Here’s just one of said studies. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3652371/
From that study:
A randomized double-blind clinical trial was conducted
LOL! I do not think that means what they thought it means. Kinda hard to keep the participants from knowing which study group they’re in.
Still, interesting setup. 60 dental students makes sure that the control group brushing manually is doing so with proper technique. They were getting the best-case scenario for manual brushing.
Can it not still be double blind if the participants don’t know precisely what is being measured or studied? For example, perhaps they know they are involved in a toothbrush study, but not that one group will have different brushes, or precisely what measurements are being taken.
Because you have a shit dentist. I’ve had them recommended to me by my dentist for at least 25 years.
See my other comment. It’s not just one.
Shitty dentist 🤷♂️
There’s been plenty. Dentists, dental hygienists, it’s been almost 4 decades and no-one has recommended it, so I don’t think it’s that. They have, however, shown me how I should use a normal, manual toothbrush most effectively, and I’ve followed that advice to success. Haven’t had a cavity since my first cavity as a teenager, it’s been over 20 years since then.
Are y’all based in America? I bet dentists there are paid to endorse the electric toothbrush industry there. But maybe not.
Maybe there are scientific studies that show that electric toothbrushes are objectively better for dental and oral health? If so, I’d love to see them and maybe I’ll consider getting one.
For now, I’m just sick of having yet another thing that has a damn battery that needs to be charged god-damnit.
Are y’all based in America? I bet dentists there are paid to endorse…
It’s a little frightening how plausible this is. And yes, I’m American.
😅 I know right. I don’t want to bet a fortune on it, willing to give the benefit of the doubt, but I’d still put a little bit on it. 🫣
No bet.
Probably an American thing, many of the dentists I’ve had tried to sell me an electric toothbrush. I claim I already have one (which I do, I just prefer not to use it).
Could you share a bit about why you prefer not to use it? 🙏
I find I brush more thouroughly with a manual brush and spend more time than when using a powered one. I think it’s probably more a “what I’m used to” situation where the electric brushes are a bit overstimulating and I forget to keep them charged.
Very cool story about his you choose to code in PHP because it’s totally as good as everything else if you know what your doing 🙄
Hey, I actually liked PHP back when I was working in it.
People have lots of criticisms for it, and – yes, they’re all true. I still enjoyed working in the language back in the day.
Sorry, what?
He said that the toothbrush should be developed in C++, which it probably is already.
You mean the acoustic ones?
No the analog ones
I really prefer solid state these days
Tube toothbrushes is where it’s at yo
And they are shit. Jesus Christ what a stupid thing to say.
Hey, be nice. Maybe Trebs was a little snarky, but I don’t think you need to go straight to the jugular.
I found some toothbrushes that are really pretty good. I’m travelling with one now. It’s smaller than an electric one, cleans my teeth very well and I don’t have to cart around a charger.
After this, switching back to the dinosaur type is tempting for sure!
You know what never has this problem? Basically literacy skills, 6 pack for like $10
Did you mean “basic?”
I did, so this was an ironic autocorrect, given the subject.
I do stand by the fact that reading would solve the problem - iO brushes literally have a massive iO on the packaging, so there should be absolutely no reason to buy the wrong ones, and they aren’t that expensive either if you buy in bulk from somewhere like Amazon.
Plus, if we’re talking toothbrushes, electric ones are much better for their consistent cleaning abilities compared to manual ones and every dentist will agree - they can tell instantly what you use as soon as they check your teeth. What is more expensive is dental care required due to improper oral hygiene, so spending a bit more on a decent toothbrush is cheaper in the long run.
I did this once after getting these toothbrushes for my kids. Of course we didn’t figure it out before opening the package. Thankfully I found someone in the school community who could use them. Sorry it happened to you, too!
Thanks. Hopefully we can pass these on to someone who can actually use them.
