Quip Toothbrush Review by a Dentist

If you have looked on social media recently, Quip toothbrush reviews are everywhere. Youtube creators, Facebook and Instagram influencers, they have all jumped on the bandwagon to promote it. But let’s face it, what do they know about electric toothbrushes or oral health.

As a dentist with many years of reviewing electric toothbrushes, I feel qualified to discuss whether you should buy this electric toothbrush or not. So let’s jump right into the Quip toothbrush review.

Psst… just before we get started, I have teamed up with Quip to give Dentistryblogger readers a special discount coupon that is automatically added to your shopping cart. Just use the link below.

 

 

 

What is Quip and how is it different?

Quip is an innovative US based oral health company that promotes the use of toothbrushes and toothpastes via a subscription model. It does deliver outside the US but more on this later. Quip sometimes gets labeled as a toothbrush company BUT THIS IS WRONG! Quip delivers manual toothbrushes, electric toothbrushes and toothpastes on a regular basis to your doorstep.

One problem that I find with my patients is that they use the right equipment to clean their teeth but never change their toothbrush or brush heads, don’t buy toothpaste on time and forget to charge the electric toothbrush battery. I have previously stressed the importance of replacing brush heads every 3 months,  how important it is to brush your teeth twice a day and the importance of using an electric toothbrush.

Quip takes the hassle out of replacing your toothbrush by sending you a new toothbrush/ brush head, toothpaste and battery every 3 months. This means you literally have no excuse to brush your teeth because it is there! Also it means you can budget better for your oral health expenses and you are more likely to use it when it comes.

This is a completely different outlook to other electric toothbrush manufacturers, namely Oral-B and Philips. Where the consumer buys an electric toothbrush but is not encouraged to replace brush heads on a regular basis. This defeats the whole point of purchasing an electric toothbrush in the first place.

 

The Quip Electric Toothbrush review by a Dentist

Quip manufacture three main products, electric toothbrush, manual toothbrush and toothpaste. I will be covering the Quip electric toothbrush as this is what they are mainly known for and probably what you are most interested in.

1) Features – Quip toothbrush review by a dentist

Styling

The Quip styling is just WOW! Modern, sleek and elegant. Easy to hold and very light in hand.

The electric toothbrush handle that I am holding, is made out of metal. This makes it feel robust and sturdy. It does come in a cheaper plastic version but I would not recommend this as it is more likely to break if dropped.

The Quip electric toothbrush comes with an equally elegant multi-purpose toothbrush holder for you to stick it up on your bathroom mirror. The toothbrush holder can also double up as a travel cover as well.

The Quip toothbrush comes in a plethora of colours including:

• Silver Metal
• Slate Metal
• Copper Metal
• Gold Metal
• Red Metal
• All Black Metal
• Green Plastic
• Blue Plastic

This would definitely get a ten out of ten for styling.

Quip Toothbrush Handle

Despite the Quip electric toothbrush sleek design, it is a really simple electric toothbrush. It comes with one button. Yes, you read that right, just one button. On and off.

To be quite frank, that is all you really need.  The one electric toothbrush mode has a quad pacer timer. What does that mean in English? It means it buzzes every 30 seconds to let you know when to change area of your mouth.

It also switches off when it reaches 2 minutes, the recommended time to brush your teeth. It is simple and effective.

I would personally love it to have a pressure sensor but it doesn’t. This is redeemed by the brush head being made of soft plastic.

Top Part of the Handle

The soft plastic brush head limits the amount of pressure you can apply because it bends. The brush head is equally as sleek as the toothbrush handle.

The bristles are advertised as soft bristles but they feel about medium firmness. This is actually better because too soft bristles actually prevents the brush from cleaning well. Equally too firm bristles can cause recession of the gums if used too vigorously.

The brush size is slightly too big for my liking. I have seen larger brush sizes on other toothbrushes but this is definitely on the bigger side. Bigger brush sizes can be cumbersome to use particularly when reaching back to the far back molar teeth.

Quip Electric toothbrush removal of the brush head

Removing the brush head took me about a minute to figure out but once you have the knack of it, it is pretty easy. Grip the handle and brush head in opposite hands.

At the back of the handle there are some raised dots, place your thumbs on the dots and gently pull the head in a mild arc motion. The first time I did this, I was worried I was going to break the toothbrush but fortunately it is quite sturdy.

Once you have done this, if you want to replace the AAA battery it is pretty simple. Pull the motor out using the thumb notch or wings and then tip the battery out. Then put the new battery in and complete the whole process in reverse.

Quip Electric toothbrush Missing Features

The Quip electric toothbrush has a very simple design and that is part of it’s elegance. It does therefore sacrifice some features. A visible pressure sensor is definitely one which I would have liked to see it have.

Did you know you are only meant to brush with around 150g of pressure, which is about the weight of an orange? Most people brush with far more pressure than that which can lead to unnecessary recession of the gums.

Other electric toothbrushes out there do have multiple cleaning modes, Bluetooth connectivity to a smartphone, easy start features and all sorts of other cool gadgets. Most of these are not really necessary and have limited impact on oral health.

2) Mechanism Of Action – Quip Toothbrush Review by a Dentist

Quip Electric Toothbrush Sonic Movement

The Quip electric toothbrush works using a sonic movement. This means it works by the bristles of the toothbrush moving rapidly backwards and forwards.

The Quip bristles move backwards and forwards at a rate of 15,000 movements per second. This around half the power of a Philips Sonicare. Is this power difference significant? Difficult to say as there have been no clinical studies on this.

I view sonic movement inferior to oscillating rotating movement. If you want a detailed explanation of my view then click on this link.

How to use a Quip Electric Toothbrush

One odd thing about the Quip electric toothbrush is how you use it. Usually with electric toothbrushes, you hold the electric toothbrush still on the tooth and let it do the work.

With the Quip Electric Toothbrush, you have to make short tooth size strokes. This may be due to the lower powered sonic movement.

It does work, it just takes a bit of getting used to.

Quip Electric toothbrush Noise Test

The Quip electric toothbrush is actually really quiet to run especially compared to an oscillating rotating toothbrush. It also does not rattle around too much inside the mouth. It would be an easy transition for people who are used to manual toothbrushes.

Personal Clean Test

The Quip electric toothbrush definitely outperforms manual toothbrushes on the personal clean test. My teeth did feel clean after brushing with the Quip electric toothbrush for 2 minutes.

Quip Brush Head

There is only one type of brush head that can be used with the Quip electric toothbrush, which is the one sent to you by Quip. As alluded to earlier, it is a fairly decent brush head with medium firmness bristles and a soft bendy plastic that limits the amount of pressure you can apply to your teeth.

I would have preferred it if the brush head size was smaller though. A larger brush head size does limit the Quip electric toothbrushes manoeuvrability.

3) Battery life – Quip Toothbrush Review by a Dentist

Quip Electric Toothbrush Battery Life

There is nothing more frustrating than getting to your electric toothbrush and it has no charge. Fortunately for Quip, the battery life is amazing. It lasts for 3 months using it twice a day for two minutes. Normally electric toothbrushes last for 2 weeks maximum!

On top of this Quip sends you a new AAA battery every 3 months, meaning that all you have to do is replace the battery and you are set for the next 3 months. Quip definitely make things easy for you.

The only downside to a non-rechargeable battery is the impact it has on the environment.

4) Portability – Quip Toothbrush Review by a Dentist

Dimensions and weight with Brush Head

• Weight –
• Height – 19.2cm
• Width – 1.6cm
• Thickness – 1.6cm

*all figures are approximates

Dimensions and weight without Brush Head

• Weight –
• Height – 12.8cm
• Width – 1.6cm
• Thickness – 1.6cm

*all figures are approximates

The Quip toothbrush is incredibly portable and really light and easy to carry around with you. I think the Quip electric toothbrush is a fantastic travel toothbrush because it is small and light and the battery lasts for ages!

It comes with a multi purpose Quip travel cover which can even be used to mount the electric toothbrush on a mirror. Also if you keep the original plastic packaging (it looks like a plastic test tube) you can use that to carry the Quip electric toothbrush brush

5) Value for Money – Quip Toothbrush Review by a Dentist

Quip Price

The Quip electric toothbrush comes in three different types:

The electric set which includes the Quip electric toothbrush, toothpaste and multi-use cover/mount varies in price dependent on what colour you decide to go for. The cheapest electric set is the plastic handled version which you can get in blue or green. This only costs $25 and $10 refills every 3 months after. This represents superb value for money.

The metal handled electric version comes in multiple colours and is more sturdy than the plastic version. This costs $40 and $10 refills every 3 months after. This still represents good value for money especially compared to its rivals.

The most expensive Quip electric toothbrush is special edition all black ADA foundation Quip electric toothbrush. This definitely looks the most sleek however functionally there is no difference between this Quip and the others in the range. This costs $55 and $10 every 3 months after. I think this is an expensive amount to pay for a new paint job!

Quip warranty and satisfaction guarantee

Another area where the Quip shines is on its guarantee. As long as you have it on an active refill plan, there is a lifetime guarantee. Yes you read that right a lifetime guarantee. If you want to find out more information on the liftetime guarantee visit the Quip website.

Quip also does a 30 day risk free trial so you can trial the electric toothbrush for free. They accept returns within 30 days of purchase for a full product refund cost.

Quip Toothbrush Running Costs

A great service that not many electric toothbrush manufacturers offers is the refill plan. The refill plan can be either

• toothbrush head and AAA battery, once every 3 months
• AAA battery, toothpaste and toothbrush head, once every 3 months.

For AAA battery, toothbrush head and toothpaste the plan is $10 every 3 months. For AAA battery and brush head it is only $5 every 3 months. Since these prices include shipping which can be international, it represents great value for money.

The only other minor running costs will be the water used to wet the brush and clean it.

Quip Electric Toothbrush Reviews From Other Websites

On Quips website it has a 4.7 star rating out of 5 with over 5500 reviews, which is pretty insane. Consumer affairs has it rated at 4.1 star rating out of 5. Amazon does not currently stock this electric toothbrush and I doubt it ever will.

Overall – Quip Toothbrush Review

An overall score of 82 out of 100 for the Quip electric toothbrush is a good score. It scores competitively compared to its rivals. The one major advantage the Quip toothbrush has is its subscription model. The fact that the replacement brush heads and toothpaste are sent directly to your door is a massive time-saving. Coupled with it being a decent product means I can see why people are flocking to them in droves.

I do wish that the brush head size was smaller and the power output of the sonic cleaning was greater. Perhaps this could be done in a future model. For now, it is a solid effort with some flaws.

 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) for the Quip Electric toothbrush

What are Quip’s main offerings?

Quip mainly offers two inital starter sets:

• Electric set  which includes an electric toothbrush and toothpaste and you get a recurring toothpaste, brush head and AAA battery every 3 months. This costs an initial outlay of $40 and a $10 refill every 3 months afterwards
• Electric brush which includes an electric toothbrush and you get a recurring brush head and AAA battery every 3 months. This costs an initial outlay of $45 and a $5 refill every 3 months afterwards.

As you can see from the pricing structure they are clearly guiding you towards the electric set because of the lower initial outlay cost, which means it is better value for money. Also this offering is more convenient because you will never forget to buy toothpaste.

Please note that it is still recommended to buy floss and/or interdental brushes as electric toothbrushes do not effectively clean between teeth.

Quip prepay deals and Group sets

If you want to save some money and you are certain that you want to use Quip for the long term then you can prepay for 12 months of refills. This will cost you $65 for the electric set and a years worth of 3 monthly refills (saving you $15) and $55 for the electric brush and a years worth of 3 monthly refills (saving you $10).

You can also go for a group set if you want to purchase more than one Quip electric toothbrush. The couple set gets you two quip electric toothbrushes for $75 (saving you $5 over purchasing them individually) and the family set gets you four quip electric toothbrushes for $150 (saving you $10 over purchasing them individually).

I would only purchase these deals if you are sure that you will be using Quip for long term. If you need help making this decision, then please read on.

Does Quip deliver outside the US?

Although Quip is based in the US, you will be happy to know that from 2017 Quip started shipping internationally with no extra shipping costs for the automatic refills. This is fantastic news for international customers as the recurring cost of international delivery would be quite prohibitive.

There is an international charge for the for the initial starter set. Although at least this is a one off cost. The initial delivery charges are as follows (These prices are accurate as of December 2018):

• Basic shipping – Free in the US (3-7 Business Days)  and $15 dollars international shipping (estimated 15 working days)
• Express shipping – $25 in the US (1-2 Business Days) and $40 dollars international shipping (estimated 7 working days)

The Quip delivery small print for international customers

For customers inside the US, the delivery service runs like clockwork. Outside the US it is impossible for Quip to track the package once it lands on international soil. They are also unable to refund initial shipping costs for lost or returned items, which kind of sucks.

Although Quip is a relatively low-value item, it may be subject to custom and VAT charges depending on the country that you live in. Although this is a rare occurrence it would still be worth checking out your countries policy before buying.

Is the Quip Electric Toothbrush rechargeable?

No it uses disposable AAA batteries. The batteries do last a really long time though.

Where can you buy the Quip Electric Toothbrush?

Currently you can only buy the Quip electric toothbrush from the Quip website.

How does the Quip Electric Toothbrush compare to other electric toothbrushes?

So the main competitors to Quip are Oral-B and Sonicare. I compared Oral B vs Sonicare here. Although the stand alone Quip electric toothbrush is not quite on the same level as its competitor, it does have an innovative edge with the simplicity of its design and the refills being sent to your door for a relatively cheap amount.

At the end of the day, an electric toothbrush is only as effective as its bristles and how many times it is used. With a normal electric toothbrush 80% of bristles are not replaced on time plus with a “bazillion” cleaning modes and a relatively short battery life. Thus even though they may clean more effectively on clinical tests, do they actually clean more effectively in real life.

Quip is simple, user friendly and easy. It is like the Apple of the electric toothbrush world. Is it better? No it is just different.

Does the Quip Electric toothbrush come with a 2 minute timer?

Yes it does. The Quip electric toothbrush buzzes every 30 seconds and then completely turns off after 2 minutes. Simple and easy.

Does the Quip have bluetooth connectivity?

No it doesn’t. There is currently no Quip app.

Does Quip toothbrush have a visible pressure sensor?

Sadly it does not. It does however have a brush head that is flexible. This does limit the amount of pressure that you can apply to your teeth.

How many cleaning modes does the Quip toothbrush have?

It has one cleaning mode which keeps it nice and simple.

Quip Toothbrush Review by a Dentist Summary

The Quip electric toothbrush is an innovative new comer to the electric toothbrush market. It is simple and sleek in design and that is it’s main selling points. It is very user friendly especially with the brush head and toothpaste refills being delivered to you.

Because of it’s simplistic design, it does lack features. It doesn’t have a pressure sensor and the brush head is too big for my liking. But if it gets more people brushing twice a day for 2 minutes, changing their toothbrush head on time and taking their Quip Electric Toothbrush on their travels, then it is well worth it.