Sterilizing electric toothbrushes?
 

Or, well, battery-powered.

My son loves his little battery-powered toothbrush, but it seems like such a waste of money to just pitch it out and buy another one once it gets to that point where most people pitch out their old toothbrush and replace it with a new one.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to sterilize these things without ruining them? I REALLY REALLY want to clean this toothbrush but I'm assuming just rinsing under hot water isn't going to kill any of the bacteria.

Thanks for any help :)

I swish mine around in a bit of bleach, then rinse really well.(just the bristle part)

Would that be safe for a child though?

I didn't realize people even sterilized them.We throw them out after a couple months because the bristles are no longer effective.I assume the same applies to kids brushes as well.

My husband and I just bought electric toothbrushes (Oral B, $5.99 I think), and they have replaceable heads. I don't remember what the replacements cost, but they come 2 or 3 in the package.

I wouldn't recommend keeping them longer than 6 months just because the bristles wear down. If it is fewer than 6 months and you want to sterilize, how about using listerine? Or bleach and then rinsing out really well.

I just turn mine on and dip it in mouthwash about once a week.
That way its nice and fresh when I use it.

Thanks for the suggestions, maybe I'll try the mouthwash.

And replaceable heads, that's an idea. I need to buy one like that.

Thanks!

Oh my gosh! I'm looking at the toothbrushes you're talking about and then found the replacement heads. That's where they stick ya for the money. I'm seeing anywhere from $17 to $21 for the replacements.

Are your replacements that much?

I had a Crest battery powered with replaceable heads and would buy the two-pack replacements cheap. I think they were somewhere around $5 for two.

I have a sonicare and my head replacements are around $17. There are cheaper brushes though with cheaper replacement heads.

Ok, thanks girls!

I love my sonicare. I have been rinsing mine with hydrogen peroxide and letting it bubble any junk away and then rinsing it in very hot water. If I had a cheaper brush I'd just replace it every once in a while...

Nelie - how often do you replace your sonicare toothbrush head? Hubby and I have a disagreement on how often this should be done...

I replace mine every 6 months. That is usually when I notice that the bristles are no longer standing straight. I just replaced mine last night and it was a huge difference!

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Quote:
Originally Posted by LLV

Oh my gosh! I'm looking at the toothbrushes you're talking about and then found the replacement heads. That's where they stick ya for the money. I'm seeing anywhere from $17 to $21 for the replacements.

Are your replacements that much?
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We haven't bought replacement heads yet, but I think they were the same price as the toothbrush or a dollar less (for I believe three heads).

My husband actually bought them for us, as he had heard that Oral B and Crest were both coming out with electric toothbrushes under $8. They have dual rotating round brushes on the heads, and have a decent motor (all cheap electric toothbrushes I've ever tried before had such weak motors they nearly stopped when they touched the teeth, these are pretty good).