In this SURI toothbrush review, I’ll dive into the sustainability features of this toothbrush and whether it lives up to its promise of keeping our teeth in tip-top condition. I’ll also discuss why, after 2 years and 2 replacements, I still think the SURI toothbrush is worth it.
Summary
Slim, lightweight, sleek and powerful. The battery life is incredible, the optional self-cleaning travel case is super handy, the teeth clean is next level and the toothbrush is repairable (kind of) and truly recyclable. Honestly, I’m telling the tooth truth when I say my SURI toothbrush is almost the best thing since sourdough bread.
Nevertheless, it’s not perfect and I would recommend drying your toothbrush after use and storing it on the mirror mount to avoid any charging issues. And I’m not sure that SURI fully lives up to its promise of being repairable.
That said, it’s still way more sustainable than your average toothbrush, it’s competitively priced, and I certainly don’t regret my purchase.
Pros
- Love the 40 day battery life
- I like its simplicity
- It cleans my teeth effectively
- Competitively priced
- No gimmicks
- More sustainable than other electric toothbrushes
Cons
- Mine was replaced twice
- Battery should be slow charged
- Needs correct storage to avoid damage
What is a sonic toothbrush?
Well, the audible hum of a sonic toothbrush tells you that the bristles on the brush head are vibrating rapidly – at up to 50,000 movements per minute. These vibrations move the toothpaste around and between your teeth using fluid dynamics (if you want to get nerdy about it).
And scientific studies have consistently demonstrated that sonic toothbrushes are highly effective at plaque removal and reducing gingivitis compared to their manual counterparts which is why so many dentists recommend them.
My experience using the SURI toothbrush
I’ve had my SURI sonic toothbrush for nearly 3 years and despite a couple of issues, I’m a big fan and would never go back to a manual, or even a standard electric one. And this particular brand has a lot going for it, so in this review I look at what I love – and don’t love – about using it.
What I love about SURI
Suuuuuuuuper long battery life
Charging, or should I say, not having to constantly charge my SURI toothbrush is an absolute dream. It consistently lasts longer than the 40+ days that SURI promises, even though I also use the more power-hungry polish mode on a weekly basis.
And because I go away quite often (see my Trusted Housesitters review to find out why), SURI’s battery life makes it the perfect travelling companion (especially with the optional travel case); I invariably forget to pack chargers, but at least I have clean teeth whilst I’m away!
My SURI toothbrush is simple and straightforward
I love the sleek, slimline design and they come in a great range of colours too – I’m particularly fond of my Winter Fern green one. In fact, I’d go as far as to say it’s ridiculously good looking, although maybe I need to get out more…
But it’s also simple and straightforward to use, which is really important. There’s no app, no gimmicks, and no need for Bluetooth capability, just fabulously clean teeth after using it!
It has 2 brushing modes – everyday clean (white light), and polish mode (blue light) which I use once a week for a deeper clean – and a timer which tells me when to brush the next quadrant of my mouth. I find that last feature particularly useful because it makes my brushing more consistent and even.
And after 2 minutes in total, it switches off. Simple.
It's effective
The clean I get from this brush is undoubtedly next level and it definitely lives up to my expectations (and my dentist’s, who always comments on how well I look after my teeth)! I use the ‘everyday mode’…well, every day as you’d probably expect. And on a weekly basis I use the ‘polish’ mode, which just steps things up a level and really gives my teeth that sparkly clean feeling.
I never get complaints from my overly sensitive gums either, which is great. The bristles on the plant-based heads are medium/soft and feel pretty gentle, in spite of the awesome cleaning power from the sonic technology the SURI toothbrush uses.
SURI toothbrushes are made sustainably
It worries me to even think about how many plastic toothbrushes I must have thrown away in my life, so multiply that by a few billion people and…well, it’s a lot of toothbrushes in landfill. So, just one more reason why I love this product.
The body of this toothbrush is made from aluminium and can be easily recycled; the brush heads are completely plant-based, bristles and all, and I return the used ones to SURI who recycle them (this service is available in the UK & US). Even the packaging is eco-friendly.
Helped by the fact that I don’t need to keep charging it, the battery should last me for many years with normal use (amazing). And even when it does eventually give up, SURI will replace the battery with a new one because the toothbrush is designed to be repairable (a nominal fee may be payable).
And when my toothbrush went wrong, SURI replaced it and took back the broken one so they could recycle and reuse the parts. I really can’t fault the service I’ve had from this brand.
Reduce your impact even further with these eco-friendly vegan bathroom products!
I think it’s competitively priced
Don’t take that the wrong way – it’s not a cheap product. However, 2 things occur to me:
- Compared to many of its competitors, the SURI toothbrush is fairly-priced. Whilst it’s difficult to exactly compare like for like, this product is competitive at £75, and they often have discounts in place too.
- Although there is the initial outlay, I’ve not had to buy a new toothbrush for nearly 3 years and counting, so it has already outlasted any electric toothbrush I have ever bought.
What I think SURI could do better
I’ve had 2 replacements
My SURI toothbrush has broken twice in 3 years and on both occasions needed to be replaced, not repaired.
Now, I’m not going to complain about their service, which was commendable throughout and replacements were sent immediately with absolutely no quibble. But, one of the reasons I invested in this product was because sustainability is an important factor for me, and my experience suggests the product might not be quite as robust as it should be.
That said, the fact that they replace the product and take back the old one to recycle and reuse does suggest that they have confidence in the longevity of their toothbrushes overall, so maybe I was just unlucky. Again, a nominal fee may be payable if you are out of the warranty period, but £25 for a brand new one doesn’t feel like I’m being ripped off. Nonetheless, I was disappointed in experiencing issues that necessitated 2 replacements.
It needs storing correctly
OK, this may have been my mistake, but I was storing the toothbrush upright (and possibly without drying it first!) so I experienced issues with charging because the port is at the bottom of the brush. It also meant that some of the paint on the base started to chip away too.
And yes, SURI do provide a mirror mount which avoids this problem, but I travel a lot so that’s not a practical solution because once you stick it to a mirror, that’s where it stays. Also, a lot of people are used to storing theirs in a toothbrush mug or holder and carry on doing that.
Anyway, silly me, but maybe some clearer messaging on the packaging might help avoid this problem because they do state that the toothbrush is 100% waterproof. And it is, so you can even use it in the shower, but don’t leave the base standing in water…I now store mine flat, and I give the handle a wipe with my towel too.
Battery longevity & charging: something worth knowing
One thing I think is worth mentioning (especially for long-term users) is battery longevity over time. Whilst SURI’s battery life is genuinely excellent when the toothbrush is new, I’ve noticed that this can reduce after extended use if the toothbrush is regularly charged using a standard wall plug charger.
Both my ex-partner and I experienced the same issue: after about a year of use, our toothbrushes suddenly seemed to need charging far more frequently than expected. At first, I assumed this was just normal battery degradation, but interestingly, my sister hasn’t had this problem at all.
The key difference? She charges her SURI toothbrush via her laptop rather than a wall plug.
I’ve since started doing the same (charging my replacement toothbrush by connecting it to my laptop’s USB port) and I’ve genuinely noticed an improvement. The battery now holds its charge for much longer, and I’m no longer feeling like it constantly needs topping up.
This is, of course, anecdotal, but given that multiple people in my life have had different experiences depending on how they charge their toothbrush, it feels like a useful tip to share. If you’re investing in a premium electric toothbrush and want to maximise battery longevity, charging via a laptop (or another low-output USB source) might be worth trying.
Where can you buy Suri?
You can buy a SURI toothbrush direct from the trysuri.com website!
Vegan Sisters verdict
With its sleek, elegant, slimline design, you might be deceived into thinking that the SURI toothbrush is a lightweight in the world of sonic oral healthcare, but believe me, it isn’t.
In my experience it is a sustainable and very effective product which compares well to its competitors in almost every area and has a great battery life. And because I also bought the optional travel case with its built-in UV-C light cleaning function, I have a pristine, super-hygienic toothbrush wherever I go too!
Whilst I did experience a couple of problems with the product early on, the service was outstanding on both occasions and the benefits of that, and the efficacy of the toothbrush, far outweigh the issues.
So my fully plant-based SURI toothbrush might not be the cheapest thing I have ever bought, but it has been a worthwhile investment in every way and I wouldn’t go back to a manual or traditional electric toothbrush ever again.
2 Responses
Are you sure it’s plastic-free? It’s not and Suri are very misleading about this.
Is it plant-based plastic? Yes
Does it release microplastics into our mouths? Probably, and probably more than than most harder-wearing nylon bristles.
Suri claims microplastics are not released (without any evidence), but all the known science points to plant plastics releasing up to 3.6 x more microplastics than their petrochemical counterparts. Indeed, for toothbrush bristles which endure heavy friction against our teeth, and with softer PLAs vs traditional (harder-wearing) nylon, the difference is plausibly even greater.
Several companies, including Suri and Truthbrush etc are using caster-oil based polymers for their bristles.
(These are also known as ‘PLA’, ‘biopolymer’, ‘bioplastic’, ‘phytopolymer’ etc… for their bristles.)
Yes, unlike petrochemical plastics bioplastics are biodegradable, but quite variable, and under certain conditions, not necessarily when thrown into a waste or recycling bin. Also none of this prevents microplastics being leached from bioplastics into our bodies whilst products are in use (and impacting soil and marine life too)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1385894723023513
Yes, Suri has taken an apparently ecologically-focussed approach. But it is being deeply disingenuous in how it talks about and represents it’s plastic use and appears to be downright lying (or mislead) about microplastics from its products.
I can taste the plastics when I use traditional nylon heads and when I use Suri.
It is for sure leaching microplastics into us.
Readers would be advised to consider this carefully.
Electric toothbrushes are better for tooth decay than manual brushing. However, there is, currently, no natural bristles for electric toothbrushes that I’m aware of. There are animal-bristle brushes for manual toothbrushes.
Thanks for the info! Definitely something to be aware of. As a vegan, I wouldn’t opt for the animal bristle brushes but I am on the look out for plant-based toothbrushes that are not made from plant plastics. If you find any, please let me know!