Knowledgeable's Ranking
Professionals
- Interactive video games
- Nice efficiency
- Brushing statistics
- Lengthy battery life
Cons
- Subscription mannequin
- Place detection lag
- No shaver plug
Our Verdict
The Gum Playbrush is an efficient device to encourage kids to brush their tooth correctly, but it surely’ll solely work in case your youngster is snug with the comb’s sonic vibrations.
Value When Reviewed
Not at present accessible within the US
It’s vibrant and chunky. There’s a cute inexperienced dragon. It’s bought video games.
The Gum playbrush is a smart-enabled sonic toothbrush designed particularly to immediate kids to wash their tooth correctly. That's, brush for a minimum of two minutes and all of their tooth, not simply the molars at either side.
And it does this by way of gamification and rewards in a specifically designed app. Each time your youngster makes use of the comb, they'll play an interactive sport and gather cash.
However does it work? And the way does it work?
Let’s discover out.
Design and options
- Youngsters and Junior fashions
- Comes with a charger and person guide
- 8 week battery life
Contained in the field, you get the Gum sonic Playbrush and a brush head with further tender bristles enclosed in a clear plastic journey cap. The comb head is out there in two sizes: Youngsters 3+ and Junior 6+. We’re testing the Junior mannequin.
You’ll additionally get a charger that plugs right into a UK energy socket, and a person guide.
We went for the Junior 6+ in pink and aquamarine, however there’s additionally a blue and aquamarine mannequin. The toothbrush is 23cm lengthy from the highest of the comb to the underside of the bottom, and the bottom is 3cm in diameter, so it's fairly chunky to carry. The comb head itself is 2.3cm lengthy and 1cm vast with the bristles reduce straight down with two barely elongated units on the prime.
In case your youngster is joyful to make use of a sonic toothbrush, we don’t see how the efficiency of the Playbrush might be improved
The facility button is on a rubberised panel on entrance that encompasses a grippy, raised bubble design; the again additionally encompasses a matching rubberised, bubble design panel.
![Gum Playbrush on a windowsill](https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/gum_playbrush_2.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200)
Alex Greenwood / Foundry
The charger is in white onerous plastic with a pin that secures the toothbrush base to the charging plate, and it boasts a cable that's unusually lengthy for a toothbrush charger – we made it to be about 117cm.
As we talked about earlier, the charger plugs right into a UK plug socket, not a shaving socket, so it is a brush that you simply’ll have to cost in a bed room, kitchen or utility room, relying on how you've arrange your youngster’s morning and night routines.
Gum states the battery will last as long as 8 weeks from a single cost.
Arrange and efficiency
- Two brushing modes
- Interactive brushing coach
- Choice of video games
The arrange is pretty easy. Obtain the Playbrush app from both the Apple app retailer or Google Play – Gum provides a QR code – and also you register on the app by supplying your electronic mail deal with, and a password. Then cost the comb. A inexperienced gentle will pulse whereas it's charging; as soon as it's constantly lit, the battery is full.
If you take away the comb from the charger, it’ll begin to blink blue. You activate Bluetooth in your telephone, and open the Playbrush app. The comb ought to then robotically pair right away. You'll be able to inform when the comb and app are linked as a result of the blue gentle shall be stable blue and the little toothbrush icon on the prime right-hand aspect of the app display will pop up in full color.
You'll be able to then modify the comb’s settings. You've got a selection between energy mode and delicate mode, which mainly adjusts the pace of the comb, and you'll set the brushing time. It's also possible to arrange a profile particularly on your youngster, and you've got a most of six profiles.
You open the app, decide up the comb, decide your profile, and select a sport.
First, there's an interactive brushing coach. You get a real-time, 3D cartoon, dental simulation of a pair of tooth, and the place sensor within the brush updates the graphic to point out you the place you’re brushing. As you sweep, little cartoon micro organism disappear.
We discovered the coach slightly complicated, nonetheless, as the comb place within the app didn't appear to correspond to the place the comb was within the mouth on the time, so among the prompts to alter sides left us darting the comb throughout the mouth. It appears as if there's a delay within the movement sensor sign to the app.
Then there are brushing video games. The primary one we tried was a straightforward one, Utootha Paint, the place your tooth brushing slowly colors in an image. It’s a remarkably efficient strategy to get a toddler to extend their toothbrushing session as a result of they simply wish to “end colouring within the fowl”.
It’s an ingenious concept that begins to alter the associations kids might have about brushing their tooth
The second sport we tried was a medium one, referred to as Superstars, the place your brushing fills up a sequence of columns so you'll be able to catch stars and earn factors.
In each video games, your brushing instructions and mouth quadrants appeared to direct the exercise, however we discovered it complicated as to which a part of the mouth to brush.
![GUM Playbrush app pages](https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/gum_playbrush_app_pages.jpg?quality=50&strip=all&w=1200)
Foundry
Then there's the headline sport My Buddy Dayo. Dayo is a cute cartoon dragon and a toothbrushing model of a Tamagotchi. Dayo is a digital pet that you simply hatch, feed, gown, and take care of, all utilizing cash that you simply earn by way of brushing periods. It’s an ingenious thought, to be honest, and begins to alter the associations some kids might have about brushing their tooth – brushing turns into much less of a chore.
There are additionally premium video games. These are video games that that you must subscribe to Playbrush to entry. The Playbrush works and not using a subscription, however you'll be able to’t really purchase the Playbrush with out additionally signing up for a subscription package deal.
The superior settings embody detailed brushing statistics, together with brushing time, regularity and accuracy.
Efficiency
Gum says the Playbrush delivers 17,000 motion per minute. Now we clearly can’t take a look at this declare, however what we are going to say is that the Playbrush leaves tooth feeling actually clear.
A part of this could be that the video games present kids with a reward system so they really brush their tooth for 2 minutes – somewhat than one minute three seconds, say, as a result of they're bored of standing within the toilet and wish to leap up and down on the mattress as an alternative.
Add to that the truth that the video games additionally present them with prompts to maneuver the comb to a different a part of the mouth and, all collectively, it's that change in toothbrushing behaviour, in addition to the sonic nature of the comb, that delivers such a improbable consequence.
After all, there's a elementary challenge with the Playbrush: you want a toddler that can use a sonic toothbrush. Some kids, significantly these with sensory processing points, usually are not going to manage effectively with the vibrations towards their tooth. But when your youngster is joyful to make use of a sonic toothbrush, we don’t see how the efficiency of the Playbrush might be improved.
Value and availability
The Gum Playbrush is out there in Europe and the UK. It’s not at present on the market within the US. We’re testing the Junior brush, which is for kids aged 6 and above. You should purchase it from Gum for £29.99. Together with the comb, you’ll additionally get a 30 day trial run of the app. After this, it prices £24.99 per 12 months. That's an extra value to contemplate however you'll be able to take a look at the app for a month and in case your youngster likes it, spending £25 for a 12 months of pain-free brushing is one thing most dad and mom would in all probability think about worthwhile.
However Gum additionally makes a Playbrush for teenagers aged over three. You should purchase it from Amazon or direct from Gum. Each Playbrushes are available in a pink or blue colourway. Gum additionally makes an grownup’s sensible brush that apparently additionally has mini video games.
Then there’s the subscription value. The All-Spherical Carefree plan is at present £3.33 a month, with a 30-day free trial interval, billed yearly at £39.99, and also you get free alternative brush heads, twelve video games, statistics, superior settings, and full entry to My Buddy Dayo.
The Motivational Plan provides you all this with out the alternative brush heads, and you'll both pay £2.83 a month, billed each quarter at £8.49, or £2.12 a month, billed yearly at £25.49.
Verdict
We actually preferred the Playbrush. It’s vibrant, it pairs simply to the app and there are video games to maintain kids concerned – it’s a terrific device for teenagers.
Okay, you want to enroll in a subscription to each buy the Playbrush and entry premium video games. Plus, to fully take away the stress of toothbrush time in your toilet, you’ll wish to create a everlasting secure spot by your sink to web site a telephone or pill, however, all in all, we do assume the Playbrush is an affordable funding in your youngster’s dental well being, significantly contemplating the present value of dentistry.
In truth, we’d go to this point to say that we’d somewhat like a model for adults.
To see different electrical toothbrushes we suggest, take a look at our round-up of the very best electrical toothbrushes we’ve examined.