Customer Reviews

Sonicare PL-4 (4700) Sonic Toothbrush

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Fall 2001 Dental Visit, before Sonicare: My dental hygienist gave me the plaque lecture about how I need to brush better. My gums bled a little. :-(

Spring 2002 Dental Visit, after using Sonicare for 5 months: My hygienist complimented me on the great job I'm doing. No plaque nor bleeding gums. :-)

I'm achieving much better results with the Sonicare than with manual brushing, for 2 reasons: First, there's no way I come close to 31,000 brush strokes per minute by hand. Second, I rarely brushed for 2 full minutes with a manual toothbrush. I like the 30 second timer beep feature for each quadrant of the mouth, and brush them in this order: upper outer surface, lower outer, bottom teeth chewing surface + inside, upper teeth chewing surface + inside. Then I go in for overtime and brush my upper and lower gums. When I'm done, I hold the brush bristle side down and push the on button to wisk off the water. Every time I use the Sonicare, my teeth and gums feel professionally cleaned. Plus it's fun to use and I like the fact it has a plastic cover for the bristles.

I took the Sonicare on vacation for a week, and it held its charge just fine.

My main complaint is that the battery is not replaceable, forcing people to replace their Sonicare after several years and filling up the landfills with more toothbrushes than necessary. I grumble about the cost of new brush heads, but this toothbrush is so good, it's well worth the cost. BTW, it's important to regularly unscrew the toothbrush head and rinse off toothpaste that's accumulated between the nut and the head, as recommended in the instructions.

P.S. I have 6 friends who also have a Sonicare. I asked each one how they liked their toothbrush, and they all raved about it and the excellent results they're experiencing.

This is the best electric toothbrush I've ever owned. I'm not sure if I can name the other brands but I've used the popular names. I like this one for a few reasons. (1) It was recommended by my dentist who said it was safe for dental work. (2) It works very well. Cleans you teeth as well as an office visit. (3) You can use any tooth paste. One of my previous electric toothbrushes I had to use their paste. I did not and damaged the gears in the hand unit. (4) It cleans your teeth very well (had to say it again). I am amazed at how well this product works. Remember when you are considering purchasing this product that Sonicare recommends changing the brush heads every 6 months so there is an addition cost involved. I suggest the PL-4 since you get 3 brush heads.

There are two things I really hate doing. One is going to the dentist. The other is cleaning my oven. Fortunately, I can get my husband to clean my oven, but I can't get him to go to the dentist for me. I've never liked going, and in fact, have been known to avoid it for 7 years at a stretch.

Since we purchased this toothbrush, I've had the opportunity to use the PL-1 (thanks to the removeable brush heads, using a friend's toothbrush is no longer an issue). The pauses in vibration over the course of two minutes that the PL-4 gives is a great boon for me. I like it better than the simple shutoff of the PL-1 after two minutes. When I use the PL-1, I tend to rush through my brushing and find that I'm done before the toothbrush is. When I use the PL-4, I'm much better at completely brushing each section of my mouth and I find that I'm much more likely to continue brushing even after the unit has turned off just in case I feel I've missed a spot or two. I don't do that with the PL-1 model.

Getting used to a vibrating toothbrush was...interesting. For me, it tickled a bit. To be honest, it was rather startling at first to feel vibrations througout my mouth, on my gums especially, and a little into my sinuses because they're so near everything else in my head. Not painful, but very different. I suspect that people with tender mouths will really want to follow the directions they give you with the toothbrush to be sure they don't discourage themselves from using it again.

My teeth have always been reasonably healthy, but my gums have always been an issue for me. And going to the dentist in the past only created serious problems in that regard. That is, cleanings were excrutiating. I didn't want to go and I avoided it as often as possible. After two years of using this toothbrush, my teeth remain healthy with no losses or fillings, my gums have actually improved their health, cleanings are annoying but no longer unbearable, and my dentist thanks me. I've seen my xrays and they've shown improvement in bone health too. And while I don't fully understand how it's possible, I find it fascinating that simply changing a toothbrush can make this much difference.

My husband pushed us into buying this rather expensive "toy." At just under 100$US at the time we bought it, even the 20% off coupon we had didn't make me all that happy. I thought I'd regret paying that much money for something my dentist would give me for free, but having used the Sonicare PL-4 and seen the results for both of us, I can firmly say to friends and family that your dentist, your teeth, and your gums will thank you for spending this kind of money.

I love this toothbrush. It's easy to use, and it trains aggressive brushers (read: Type As) to treat their gums with a little more TLC. Your teeth feel cleaner longer after using a sonicare. It's almost like getting a full dental cleaning every time you brush.

The vibration will drive you crazy at first, especially on the roof of your mouth, but just fight through it. In less than one week it will feel completely natural. A light touch helps, and also gives more effective cleaning.

Although you can switch brush heads so more than one person can use the base, it gets tiring to do this multiple times a day, in different bathrooms, etc. The benefits are so good we bought one for each member of the family. Look at it this way, it's cheaper than a new filling...

I reserved one star because the batteries are not replaceable. Here's how to make them last: The worst thing you can do to Nickle-Cadnium (rechargeable) batteries is overcharge them. So don't leave the base plugged in all the time. Just charge it overnight once a week.

The replacement brush heads cost more than a regular toothbrush, but seem to last long enough.

As opposed to manual brushing, with the sonicare I actually find myself brushing for the full recommended two minutes.

The sonicare was recommended to my by my dentist after I started developing some deep pockets in my gums. After about 2 months use, the pockets were significantly reduced.

First of all, I am not a dental professional...

I didn't think much about it when my wife told me that she wanted a new toothbrush for Christmas...but I took notice when I found out how much the one was that she wanted. Around [price] for a toothbrush seemed a bit excessive to me at first! But we went ahead and got one anyway. My wife is a dental hygienist, and the dentist she works for highly recommends this product (and he rarely if ever recommends dental products!). As it turned out, we received a second toothbrush from my folks at Christmas, so we are the proud owners of two Sonicare toothbrushes.

I've been reserving judgement on this product until I've had a good chance to see how I like it. After a month of regular use I've got to say that it's GREAT! The internal timer is a good idea. It helps you to pace your tooth brushing, making sure that you spend enough time to insure adequate cleaning. Though one 2-minute cycle is long enough for a good brushing, I often brush for two of those cycles. I sometimes use the brush without toothpaste and sit and read while I brush for two or three cycles. The sonic cleaning really does a great job! When I'm done my teeth feel clean and smooth, as good or better than after I get done with a professional cleaning.

I can honestly say that my gums feel like they are in better shape than they used to be, and my teeth are cleaner on a regular basis.

After a full month of using a Sonicare brush I give it two thumbs up. Our children (ages 6, 8, 10) use it as well, and they enjoy it too.

The brush handle contains a rechargable battery, and the brushes are available in different sizes. I like the compact head better than the larger head. The handle takes a little getting used to, since it is much larger than a standard toothbrush's handle. It also takes a few brushings to get used to the rapid vibrations in your mouth -- it can really tickle -- and I imagine that if you have sensitive gums that it could cause some mild painat first, but will certainly firm up the gums and help their condition improve in good order. It really made my saliva run the first few times I used it, but that's not a problem now. Another thing that takes a little getting used to is the fact that you don't have to supply the muscle power to do the brushing. All you have to do is to hold the brush head gently against the teeth and the handle does the rest.

All in all, I'd say that Sonicare's brush is the best oral hygeine product I've ever used. Definitely in the 5-star category!

Brush on!

Alan Holyoak

The Sonicare toothbrush is really a breakthrough. I've had mine for almost a year (on the advice of my dentist as well as other Sonicare owners), and it works extremely well.

Not only does this device make brushing my teeth quicker and more relaxing, but they simply get cleaner. More important, my dentist says the health of my gums (leading cause of tooth loss) is extremely good since I started using the Sonicare.

The feature where it beeps every 30 seconds is pretty useless, and the auto-off after 2 minutes is downright annoying (I like to brush for 3-4 minutes).

The brush can run for a week between recharges, and the charging stand is small and attractive. The whole thing is easy to keep clean, quite well designed.

One caution: you need to replace the brush head every 6 months.... However, it's worth it for better dental and gum health.

I hate dentists. Nothing personal, but I just hate going to dentists. I hate those cleanings, the drills and all the other torture devices that dentists just love to use. And because of my fear of dentists, I always try to take really good care of my teeth. Every time some company puts out a new toothbrush, I buy it. When I first heard about Sonicare, I figured it was worth a try and so I bought it. I didn't realize this would be the last toothbrush I would buy.

I simply love my Sonicare toothbrush. Starting with 31,000 brush strokes per minute and sonic waves, this toothbrush does an incredible job of cleaning my teeth and gums. One cleaning cycle lasts 2 minutes and I love the internal timer that beeps every 30 seconds that allows you to focus on another part of your mouth.

When I first got my unit, it worked great for about 2-3 weeks and then it stopped charging. It would not hold its charge and die in about 10 seconds. I worked with Sonicare support and they got me a new brush and a new charger right away. I hated having this problem, but the responsiveness of their support staff was great and I had my new toothbrush in a matter of days. I would highly recommend this Sonicare toothbrush for anyone looking for healthy teeth and gums.

I was surprised how well the Sonicare cleans my teeth. I don't think I can ever go back to a regular toothbrush!
Things I like:
- 30 sec timed cycles give me the discipline to stay brushing for the recommended two minutes
- holds a charge long enough to take on vacation without the charging base
- travel case is a good design
- gets my teeth very clean
Things I don't like... the inside of the brush head, the threaded top of the handle and the base get dirty within a few weeks and are not easy to clean.
Overall, a very good product and one I would recommend.

I have had a sonicare toothbrush for two years. I like how it cleans and enjoy using it. I am presently on my third handle. Cracks keep appearing in the handles or part where the brush is screwed on. Sonicare has replaced them but tell me that they will no longer do this because I use baking soda or peroxide toothpaste. They claim paste with these ingredients cause the material to crack. You might want to be aware of this before purchasing.