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- When it comes to oral health, we should be investing our attention in the basics. With Quip, you don't have to spend much money to do so.
- Quip is an online oral care startup that sells electric toothbrushes (from $25) and refill plans (from $5 every three months) to improve how you brush your teeth. You can find my review of Quip below.
- These brushes are American Dental Association-accepted. They feature a built-in two-minute timer and one gentle vibration brushing mode to give you a thorough but gentle clean.
- They're also really light and slim and powered by a single AAA battery, making it easy to continue a good tooth-brushing habit on the go.
- See also: The best electric toothbrushes you can buy
Quip Metal Electric Toothbrush Check price at Quip Though my day looks vastly different from that of my neighbor, my parents, and my fellow subway passengers, I'm willing to bet that we all started it the same way: by brushing our teeth.
For such a basic, universally recognized habit, tooth brushing is also often not practiced properly. People brush too hard and damage their gums, brush for less than two minutes, forget to brush twice a day, and don't switch brushes or brush heads until they become an exhausted-looking poof of bristles.
There are even more common brushing mistakes, but I'm sure you're not here to get a laborious lecture on your oral health mistakes — you want to learn about what Quip is, and read a review that explains how it can improve the way you brush your teeth.
Launched in 2015, Quip is a direct-to-consumer oral care startup that has sold over 4 million of its American Dental Association (ADA)-accepted electric toothbrushes. In 2018, its brushes became available for purchase at Target, and it also acquired Afora, a startup that offers an alternative to traditional dental insurance. In 2019, it introduced kids electric toothbrushes to motivate children to establish healthy oral care habits, as well as floss that comes in a refillable canister.
The company is continuing to grow, but it has always run on a simple principle: to become your one-store solution for oral health.
The idea for a better electric toothbrush came about after a visit to the dentist's office.
Cofounder Simon Enever learned from his dentist that current brands were often highlighting distracting gimmicks rather than encouraging basic practices (like brushing for two minutes or switching brush heads). He advised Enever to find the cheapest vibrating brush with a two-minute timer, but Enever couldn't actually find any good ones that were also affordable.
Enever teamed up with fellow industrial designer Bill May to create a sleek and simple toothbrush that checked off all the boxes:
- Two-minute timer that buzzes every thirty seconds to tell you when to switch areas
- Soft bristles for gentle, non-irritating brushing
- Starts at just $25
They also baked healthy habit-building features into the design of Quip:
- An opt-in refill plan that automatically sends new batteries, brush heads, toothpaste, and floss
- A brush holder that attaches to your wall or mirror — both so your brush can air dry properly and so you'll have an immediate reminder day and night to brush your teeth
I've been using Quip for two years now, and though I often have to test other toothbrushes in between, Quip's brush is the one I always end up returning to.
Here's my review of what it's like to use a Quip toothbrush, and why I keep going back to it.
Original review: I own the Copper Metal brush ($40), part of Quip's most popular collection of metal brushes. It also sells plastic options, which are more affordable, and limited-edition colors, which are more expensive, but I personally like the metal ones the best. They're shiny, pretty, and honestly do make me look forward to brushing my teeth.
The Quip brush has just one mode, which you activate by pushing the button near the top of the handle. The brush head doesn't oscillate; instead, it just vibrates in place as you guide it over each quadrant of your mouth. It alerts you every 30 seconds to switch areas, then turns off automatically after two minutes. When I manually brush my teeth, my idea of two minutes tends to be shorter than it actually is, so I appreciate the incorporation of the timer.
Perhaps because it doesn't oscillate, the vibration intensity isn't as strong as you might be used to. In fact, the brush mode is fairly gentle. I don't think it detracts from the effectiveness of the clean, though. Critics of the brush often say it doesn't feel as thorough as other models, but I've found it does clean plaque well and my dentist has never had any complaints during my checkups.
The brush feels very light in my hand, and it's noticeably smaller and slimmer than other electric toothbrush models. This size and weight also make it easy to transport in the included travel case. At home, I slide it into the wall mount, which I attached to the side of my mirror. This storage solution prevents my brush from touching other things in my bathroom while still allowing it to dry and reminding me every time I look in the mirror, "Hey, have you brushed your teeth today yet?"
Its battery life is great, and it uses a AAA battery to reduce the clutter of a charging dock and cords. I'm not sure whether I'm using some type of magical battery or the brush doesn't suck up that much energy, but I've been using my Quip brush on the same battery for an exceptionally long time.
Though you can buy the toothbrush on its own (you'll have to add $5, plus $10 shipping to whichever option you choose), it's recommended that you join Quip's refill plan. The purpose of this subscription is to automate the often forgotten practice of replacing brush heads, something that's pretty important if you want your brush to clean effectively. By the time you've lost track of how long you've been using your current brush head, Quip will already have a fresh shipment en route to your house.
Every three months, as recommended by the ADA, it sends you a new brush head and battery for $5. Your first shipment includes a free toothpaste, but subsequent toothpaste refills are optional and cost an additional $5 on top of the brush head and battery refills. With all subscription orders, you receive free shipping. If you choose to pre-pay for the entire year, you'll receive 20% off the total cost of the refill plan.
February 2020 update: I'm impressed by the longevity and consistency of this toothbrush, which continues to work exactly as advertised.
In the age of Instagram brands, when aesthetic triumphs over function, I know a lot of people are wary to spend $40 on an electric toothbrush that may not work well or will fall apart after a few months. Quip is one of those brands that yes, does draw you in with pretty photos of its toothbrushes, but also actually delivers on its promise of creating better oral care habits with a well-designed product.
The bottom line
All in all, Quip combines convenience and good design into an effective oral care solution.
Its electric brushes prove that simple sometimes is better. When it comes to oral health, we should be investing our attention in the basics, and luckily with Quip, you don't have to invest too much money to do so.
Compare Quip to 3 other toothbrush startups here
Check price at Quip
Connie Chen Connie Chen is a former senior reporter on the Insider Reviews team, where she led coverage of home textiles, home entertaining, and food and drink. While at Insider, she specialized in all the things that enhance life at home, from the most comfortable bed sheets and fluffy pillows to cool online wine clubs and bartender-approved cocktail shakers. She combined rigorous testing methods, conversations with professionals, and active knowledge of the home and kitchen space to help readers get the most out of their money. When she's not changing duvet covers or washing towels twice a day for articles, she loves talking about and trying the newest snacks, drinks, and food gifts. You can see more of her testing process and other behind-the-scenes of being a product journalist on her Instagram @connayreviews. Connie joined Insider Reviews as an early member in 2017 and has also reported on products and services in the style, tech, fitness, travel, and e-learning spaces, with a particular interest and expertise in emerging startups. She has represented the team at CES and moderated panels on media business and the future of retail. Connie graduated from UC Berkeley with degrees in media studies and business administration, which help inform her perspective on and coverage of industry trends, as well as the competitive e-commerce landscape at large. Read some of her work: The 4 best cocktail shakers in 2021 The 7 best women's bathrobes in 2021 The 5 best wine openers and corkscrews we tested in 2021 The 5 best bed sheets we tested in 2021 The 5 best cordless vacuums we tested in 2021 12 direct-to-consumer kitchen startups that are changing the way we shop for cookware and knives 8 tableware startups changing the way we shop for dishes Even chefs experience cooking burnout — here's how they get re-inspired in the kitchen How businesses create successful virtual experiences 50 cookbooks from famous restaurants across the US that will help you recreate their best dishes at home Learn more about how our team of experts tests and reviews products at Insider here. Learn more about how we test kitchen products. Read more Read lessYou can purchase logo and accolade licensing to this story here.
Disclosure: Written and researched by the Insider Reviews team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our partners. We may receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at reviews@businessinsider.com.
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