Philips Sonicare Sonic Electric Rechargeable Toothbrush for Kids, HX6311/07

Ever since my husband and I got Sonicares for ourselves, our kids (9 and 7) have been asking if they could both get one too. I know from how much cleaner my teeth have been during my last two dental appointments (less staining from coffee/tea and a lot less plaque behind my lower front teeth) that these toothbrushes work, but I was worried that our kids weren't ready to use them as instructed. (Okay, I'll be honest. I didn't want toothpaste flying all over the bathroom if they didn't keep the brushes in their mouths.) Anyway, my kids both got one of these for Christmas, and they are working out just fine. No toothpaste flying out of their mouths--yet. The best thing about this product is the timer that beeps every thirty seconds, telling the user to move on to another quadrant of the mouth. I had to explain to the 7 year old how to divide his mouth into quadrants but he got the hang of it quickly. Not only does this timer ensure that all teeth get a good scrub, but it also keeps kids engaged while they wait for the beep. They just don't have time to mess around because they're too busy waiting for the beep! Another cool thing about the Sonicare for kids is the decorative clings. These easy-to-apply stickers are fun and ensure that my kids won't get their toothbrushes mixed up.

My toddler is 2 1/2 years old and has the attention span of a squirrel for anything that is task-related. He has a full dentition and a great appetite though and I frequently notice him struggling to take out bits of food stuck between his teeth. While he knows how to rinse and spit for quite a while now, this has a pure entertainment value. Until now, I couldn't find a way to make brushing fun so that it's even remotely useful for the purpose of oral hygiene. 7 minutes of sweating and issuing orders through my progressively clenchier teeth, with spit water dripping down both of us, for what ? The main accomplishment of brushing seemed to be my toddler eating just a moderate amount of toothpaste. I found myself avoiding brushing time more often, then dreading it, then abandoning it to husband (who does no better), then feeling totally defeated and depressed. We were quietly heading into the dungeons of bad oral hygiene. I was having nightmares with children's dentists at night.Until we got the Sonicare brush. I had planned to give it to him as a toy for a while, and only when he is comfortable to reintroduce it as a toothbrush. The buzzing attracted him instantly (I was counting on that), and to my surprise, he made an effortless cognitive leap to understanding what it's for. In fact, the first night he got it, he was trying to brush as he was chewing his dinner. Counting on the distraction, I fed him broccoli, mushrooms and other foods with suspicious textures. Then I had no problem getting him to the sink to use the brush for what it's designed to do. The tooth paste pulverizes quickly as the head is set in the ultrasonic motion, so the opportunity to eat the paste quickly passes in the first few seconds. And that's something good. The head is smaller that that of our regular tooth brush, so his lateral teeth finally met a toothbrush for the first time. Never before did a toothbrush fit on the inside of his cheeks, or did any useful job there, because there simply is not enough room in a toddler mouth, or enough coordination on his part to stay relaxed, to go around in sweeping motions on the inside of the cheeks. Are other people's toddlers different in that respect ?I turned him towards me, and with just a couple of breaks to swish water and spit, we were done with a real, thorough toothbrushing, that actually brushed teeth on ALL surfaces and left them CLEAN. As clean as I can get my own teeth by brushing with a regular brush, no quality adjustments made for toddler behaviour. Dentist nightmares are gone. I am looking forward to a lifetime of happy dental checkups (fingers crossed, I had poor dentition as a child).Bonus of an ultrasonic brush: keep it vibrating head down in water+vinegar after use, it self cleans and the gunk that usually accumulates at the base of a regular toothbrush with time, never gets a chance to accumulate on an ultrasonic brush head. Much more hygienic than a hand toothbrush. I am experimenting with taping my hand toothbrush to the Philips socket so that ultrasonic vibrations are transmitted to it and clean the said gunk. Water + alcohol, water + few drops of grapefruit seed extract (GSE in health stores), water + baking soda, water +peroxide also work, anything that is food grade and disinfectant. Make sure to only dip the brush head though, not the Sonicare body in liquid, to keep liquid from seeping into electrical parts.Now about being Sonicare, not just any electric brush: head is significantly smaller than that of a regular children's toothbrush (non-electric), and this is a blessing, because it fits just well in the toddler's mouth. Included stickers don't stick to the brush for very long, but that has no impact on the brush's appeal, or its effectiveness. The musical timers and automatic turn off may be good for older children, but for now we disregard these and we are taking numerous breaks to swish and spit. We use 2-3 two minute cycles on an average brushing, and countless cycles while playing with it at dinnertime. The brush is extremely long, the aspect ratio is close or identical to that of an adult brush, which makes it harder for the toddler to manoeuver it himself, but I won't trust it to him for now anyway. The gentle vibrating mode is very useful for making brushing tolerable to the young child. Overall, it was a significantly less frustrating experience for both of us than hand brushing, and, very importantly, an experience that ended up in a thoroughly clean mouth, by my high standards as a mother.Note about Li-ion batteries in general, not just Sonicare: charge fully before first brushing, then allow full discharge before charging again. Let the battery cycle between extreme states of charge and discharge each time, rather than charging after just a few uses. This will prolong the battery life, as each charging destroys a little bit the microstructure of the electrodes, so you want to cause as few charging cycles as possible during the lifetime of the battery. Valid also for your phone, tablet, electric car (if you dare) and any other devices using lithium ion batteries.One BIG BLACK DOT for Philips, for not making the rechargeable battery also removable: when the battery reaches the end of its lifetime, you'd have to throw away the toothbrush. Please correct me if I'm wrong, I would very much like to think I can replace with a different rechargeable battery. Designing a brush with removable , replaceable battery is NOT such a huge technological feat !! I am looking forward to consumer electronics that are durable, serviceable and repairable, and that will not trash our planet. This is the reason of four stars instead of five.

My kids really love the toothbrush. I have a gaggle of kids - a 7 year old special needs child, 5 year old boy, and a 2 year old boy. I got one for each. The 2 settings are nice to be more gentle and less scary for the kids.It is hard to brush my oldest's teeth due to her special needs. After a bit of time she eventually got use to the vibration. I like it because brushing is much more efficient, especially since it is difficult for her to open her mouth and follow commands. I also hope the vibration is good for her sensory stimulation - but I really won't be able to see the difference.For the boys, the 5 year old got use to the vibration after a couple of days. He can last the whole cycle now. The color plates are a bit limited but he likes them.The 2 year old might be too young for an electric toothbrush. He's spoiled. Most days he lets me brush with it on, some days he is fussy. But compared to a regular toothbrush, it is so much more efficient and effective.Previous to the Sonicare, we had the cheaper battery powered Oral B rotating toothbrush. The designs of Cars or Jake were cute. But I feel that the Sonicare gives a better clean. Plus the heads for those could not be changed out.Also, I chose the toothbrush without the Bluetooth app because I didn't want my tablet in the bathroom with all that water around. My kids are too crazy and knowing them, they would knock it into the sink. Also, the face plates designs were not as nice to me.