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Comment by uxcolumbo | Hacker News Reader

It's a toothbrush. Why does it need all this tech and an app?

It's better to think about sustainability.

I had an Oral B IO electric toothbrush. The retail price is nuts and the brushes are expensive and can't really be recycled. Imagine millions of these out there slowly rotting.

I gave up on the IO and bought this one instead. Simple design and battery lasts longer too.

https://www.trysuri.com/

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Analogue/manual toothbrush is like 1-2 Euro. Product You are promoting is 85Euro. Assuming my normal toothbrush lasts 3 months for 85 Euro I have backup for 21 YEARS. Spare ones are for ~5.6 EUR piece. I will stay with using my hand ;-)

Electric toothbrushes are more efficient at removing plaque and help to avoid gum disease.

If your immune system doesn't react so aggressively to plaque then yes manual tooth brushes are cheaper and you have many sustainable options in this space, i.e. toothbrushes with a wood handle etc.

Not having fillings is worth a lot more than spending £96 every 5 years (electric toothbrush £40 + £2.80 head every 3 months).

> I will stay with using my hand

have to use your hands?? that's like a baby's toy!

This is a nice idea. The problem is longevity. I'd be willing to bet this product disappears after a few years (best case scenario) and you are left with no ability to buy new heads and end up binning the brush. So net net you probably waste more than buying a Philips/Oral-B brush that likely has 10+ years of support for brush heads, which have a far lower environmental impact than replacing the brush. In terms of cost, if you buy the well known brands when they are on sale, they're generally pretty cheap. I'll admit they do try to sting you if you buy at RRP.

If more people vote with their wallet then the longevity problem is not an issue.

That's why I bought this toothbrush to support them.

But if everyone thinks that this startup is not going to make it then yes they'll probably won't exist in a few years time.

They make third-party compostable bamboo brush heads for Philips now, e.g. https://thesustainabletomorrow.com/products/bamboo-heads-phi...

This is probably why they're doing all the electronic shenanigans, so they can later verify that you're using a Genuine Authentic® brush head.

Yeah, then on top of plastic pollution we can have more e-waste.

Some electric toothbrushes really are better than a manual one. Very light pressure and let the super high cyclic rate do the job.

I love my sonicare. The only thing I would change is the 2 minute shutoff. I have all of my wisdom teeth and never had braces, so I need more time for a good job, but the actual cleaning performance is great. I literally had a hygenist say "Your home care is excellent".

I don't know if it needs this much tech, but if people will buy it, they're gonna make it.

I mean, you can find disposable electric toothbrushes in stores ... sustainability does not seem to be among the primary design criteria.

Why do you need an electric tooth brush to begin with? Just get one of those old Jordan ones you can probably get one for as low as $2.

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