There’s another subscription service on the market, people! We review one of the neatest additions in our Quip toothbrush review, literally.
These days, you can subscribe to pretty much everything. Take your pick from a slew of monthly fashion and jewelry boxes, beauty boxes, and food boxes — or subscribe to get a box of candles or stationery sent to you on the regular.
It seems as though anything you need can be delivered to your doorstep.
Enter quip, the new-ish kid on the block, an electric toothbrush that delivers healthy teeth and gums.
Design > Gimmick
Quip, launched in 2015, is a startup that makes a stylish, affordable, and easy-to-use electric toothbrush. What’s more is that quip enforces preventative habits by offering a subscription service, making theirs the “first subscription electric toothbrush accepted by the American Dental Association.”
It’s simple: Order your starter set — quip’s cute little electric toothbrush plus a tube of toothpaste — and then subscribe to a refill plan. Quip will send you a new toothbrush head and battery every three months, with free shipping.
If getting a new toothbrush head in your mailbox doesn’t encourage you to build healthier habits — which is the name of the game when it comes to oral care — then I don’t know what will.
“Quip was founded to prove that good design would have a bigger impact on oral health than quick fix gimmicks.”
Quip’s Features Review
The whole idea with quip is to set you up with everything the doctor ordered. Or in this case, the dentist.
The Brush
The body of the brush comes in either plastic or metal — take your pick — with loads of color options, including some sleek limited edition colors. Hoping to “help young brushers build pride and good brushing habits without childish gimmicks,” quip offers kids’ brushes in four color options.
Quip’s brushes are small, overall, especially when you compare them to some of the other electric toothbrushes out there. That said, the brush doesn’t offer quite as much power as a lot of the other brushes.
The quip brush is battery-powered and uses sonic vibrations to clean your teeth. It features a built-in 2-minute timer, and pauses briefly every 30 seconds to tell you when to move on to another part of your mouth.
Brilliant.
The Brush Heads
When you subscribe, quip will send you a new brush head every three months. The brush head features soft, round-tip bristles and silicone bristles, providing a deep clean. There’s also a textured tongue scraper on the back of the brush head.
The Accessories
Since the brush is battery-powered and you don’t have to charge it all the time, it takes up significantly less space on your countertop. In fact, you don’t even have to keep it on your countertop at all! Each kit comes with a toothbrush holder that sticks to most flat surfaces — your bathroom mirror, for example — and also serves as a travel cover.
The Toothpaste
Quip’s fluoride toothpaste — an optional add-on — is meant to last three months, which is ideal for subscribers. Just include a refill tube with your subscription, and you’re good to go. The toothpaste includes a portion and tube duration guide, and a stand-up cap to keep the tube clean. When bought separately, you can also get a two-week travel tube.
Quip’s Subscription Service
Like a lot of other subscription services, quip markets and sells their products almost exclusively online, directly to their customers. While you can now find starter sets at Target — which include a code for a free brush head replacement — the subscription service is still handled online, and you can’t buy replacement heads in-store.
Possibly the most unique aspect of quip’s service is their relationship with actual dentists.
As a subscriber, you can enter your dentist’s information, and quip will send you personalized tips and reminders to visit your dentist. And — just like when you visited the dentist as a kid — if your dentist is a quip provider, you’ll earn rewards for your visits.
Now we’re talking!
Good Stuff
What you’ll love about quip:
- The ADA-approved brush is stylishly slim and lightweight
- There’s just one cleaning mode — no need to complicate things
- The built-in 2-minute timer with incremental pauses ensures you’re brushing correctly, and for the right amount of time
- Removable batteries — no clunky charging stand
- The wall or mirror mount doubles as a travel case
- Optional subscription service
- Tips and reminders to help build healthy habits
- An affordable price compared to other electric brushes
- Automatic brush head refills every three months, with free shipping
- A kid-friendly kit option
- Rewards from your dentist (if they’re a quip partner)
Not-So-Good Stuff
Even a cool toothbrush has its flaws. Here are some things you might not love about quip:
- If you like a strong, intense clean, the brushing experience may feel a bit too gentle for you
- There’s no pressure sensor for aggressive brushers
- There’s no battery indicator to warn you when the juice is running low
- The toothpaste includes ingredients that some dentists abhor
- The head of the quip electric toothbrush is on the large side — it may be uncomfortable for smaller mouths
- There’s only one brush head available — you can’t have harder or softer bristles
- No option to change intensity or rotation — there’s just one setting and one position
- Battery-operated toothbrushes aren’t exactly environmentally friendly
To Subscribe? Or Not to Subscribe?
Depending on the color and design of your brush, you can get a quip starter set for $25, $40, or $55.
Subscribers will get a new brush head and battery every three months, with an option to include a new tube of toothpaste. The subscription costs $10 per delivery, with free shipping. You can also save a bit by prepaying for the first year.
The subscription is optional. If you don’t want to subscribe, you can order replacement heads or toothpaste as needed. The point of the subscription program, though, is that it builds healthier oral care habits. By not subscribing, you sort of defeat the purpose of quip’s system.
Who is Quip Up Against? Electric Toothbrush Competition
Quip has gained popularity recently, and starting at $25, it’s cheaper than most alternatives. But you do have other choices if it’s not your bag. Here are a few of quip’s main competitors:
- Goby: If you’re into the subscription-based electric toothbrush idea, Goby is worth looking into. With two cleaning modes and different choices for delivery frequency — every one, two, or three months — the Goby brush does offer a little more choice than quip’s brush. It’s also chargeable, so it’s more environmentally friendly than battery-powered alternatives.
- Sonicare: If you’re not concerned about having a subscription, Sonicare is one of the most popular electric toothbrush brands on the market. Sonicare’s brushes tend to vibrate at a faster rate, which may be more appealing to aggressive brushers. Their electric brushes offer a variety of brush heads, too, so you can customize your brush to your needs.
- Oral-B: Rather than simply vibrating, Oral-B’s brushes pulse and oscillate, which mimics the polishing procedure used in dentist cleanings. Their brushes also offer more of a variety of brush heads, so if you need a soft-bristled brush with an intense clean, you can have it.
The Quip Toothbrush Review Verdict
I recommend giving quip a try!
Most of us don’t brush correctly or for the right amount of time. Using even the simplest electric toothbrush — especially a brush that includes a timer — will ensure you’ll do a better job of taking care of your teeth. Add a subscription service on top of that, including customized tips and reminders, and you’re on your way to building some pretty solid habits for your pearly whites.
Quip’s system is straightforward and appeals to those of us that just want clean, healthy teeth without gimmicks and fancy schemes.
