I Tested Shyn's Sonic Toothbrush and It Outperformed Brushes Twice Its Price For less than $40, this brush is a steal.
By Entrepreneur Store Edited by Jason Fell
Disclosure: Our goal is to feature products and services that we think you'll find interesting and useful. If you purchase them, Entrepreneur may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners.
This article was written by Katy Peer — writer, editor, and contributor to the Entrepreneur Store.
Only a few years ago, the electric toothbrush industry was dominated by a few big-name players and outlandishly high price tags. For better or worse, the market is now flooded with options. But it begs the question: Are they all just as effective? After using a Philips Sonicare for years, I decided to try one of the popular electric toothbrush startups flooding my social media feed, Shyn (pronounced: shine,) to see for myself.
On sale for just $40 for the brush and four anti-plaque brushes, it's one of the more affordable options out there while also being American Dental Association-approved. But after years of using a Sonicare, I had my doubts about how it would match up.
To test it, I used the Shyn brush for seven days straight while keeping the rest of my dental hygiene routine the same (toothpaste, floss, flossers, and dental wash). Here's how it went:
The look and feel: The Shyn package was delivered directly inside my mailbox thanks to its minimalist, cardboard packaging. I was happy to not get the usual hunk of wasteful plastic you'd expect from a product like this. The box itself was not much bigger than a small paperback and was protected by a simple plastic bag. Inside, I found the toothbrush handle, four individually-wrapped toothbrush heads with covers, a wall charger, a plastic travel case, and a clever travel package of flossers.
The toothbrush handle itself, which I ordered in black, is about the same size as the Sonicare. Its design, however, is much sleeker with simple silver accents. My bathroom vanity is in my bedroom, so I appreciate the luxe design that doesn't clutter my space. The brush head easily popped on and I was ready to charge.
Brushing and charging: As the to-the-point instruction manual noted, I charged the toothbrush for 16 hours before using it. For those of you with bathroom vanities that shine into your bedroom, I suggest doing this in the daytime as the charging lights are fairly bright.
As expected, the brush was fully charged and ready to go after the 16 hours and I put it right to use in clean mode for my initial test. The brush features four modes in total, which is one more than my Sonicare: whitening, clean, massage, and sensitive. From there, you can adjust between five intensity levels depending on personal preference. I stuck with something down the middle — around a three or four, but adjusted it based on the mode as some are more intense than others.
I noticed right away that the brush felt both thorough and surprisingly quiet. I didn't feel like I needed to apply any pressure to get a good clean, but it does have a cool feature that beeps when you apply too much pressure so you don't accidentally damage your gums. The brush also features a built-in timer that confirms that you've brushed for the ADA-recommended time. You'll feel a slight vibration once your two minutes of brushing is complete.
Over the week, I cycled between the different modes and was satisfied with each one. In the end, I prefer the clean mode as it feels to me like it gives the most thorough clean (and I don't have sensitive teeth). However, it's certainly nice to have options to cycle through depending on the day. Shyn claims to emit 31,000 vibrations per minute and remove 7x more plaque than a manual brush — which stacks up to or exceeds the top competitors in the market.
In terms of the charge, the brush was still running full speed at the conclusion of the test — but I can't account for whether it lasts for the full 14 days as it claims.
The verdict: There's a lot to love about Shyn's product. From its sleek design to its four modes to how quiet it is while brushing, it's a great overall toothbrush experience. And if you've been heeding CDC guidelines and passing up biannual cleanings during the pandemic, it might just deliver that professional clean feeling you've been missing.
Of course, it's also hard to beat the price. You can get the base in black or white with four plaque-fighting brush heads for $39.99 right now (down from $130) or eight whitening brush heads for $47.99 (down from $170). Plus, you can sign up for a subscription on their site so you never run out of new brush heads or use one past its prime.
Of course, it also doesn't hurt to skip the brand name and support another fellow entrepreneur along the way to healthier teeth, too.
