A closer look at mail order toothbrush subscriptions.
quip toothbrush
Don’t want to go to the store to buy a toothbrush? These days, you can get one delivered right to your door through subscriptions to Quip, Boka, ToothbrushHub, and others.
“I do think it’s kind of nice to have that reminder,” says Dr. Amber DeWeerd, a dentist with Smiles of Virginia in Winchester, of the need to change your toothbrush regularly. She notes that the ADA recommends replacing your toothbrush every three to four months—although, she says, it’s easy to forget.
Subscribers choose how frequently to have their boxes delivered and whether they want regular toothbrushes or electric replacement heads. Add-ons like floss and toothpaste are available with the click of a button.
At Christmas, some of DeWeerd’s patients were looking into buying their elderly parents an electric toothbrush subscription—Quip for instance, charges $25 for the brush, then $5 every three months for the replacement heads. “I think electric toothbrushes are really helpful for people with dexterity issues from things like severe arthritis or MS,” she says.
Whether the service is for the young, the old, or the somewhere-in-between, “as a dental professional, I’m always happy when people get excited about their mouth and cleaning. I’d say anything that’s bringing preventative dental stuff to the forefront—I think that’s positive.”
