The Y-Brush should be able to brush your teeth sparkling clean in ten seconds. ntv.de has tried out whether this is actually possible or whether the manufacturer has talked too much about its advertising promises.
You can listen to music, watch TV or look at yourself in the mirror – brushing your teeth is still boring, two minutes become an eternity. How tempting is the promise of the French manufacturer Fasteesh to achieve a thorough, gentle cleaning in just ten seconds with its Y-Brush. Is that really possible? ntv.de tried it out.
The principle of the Y-Brush makes sense: Instead of gradually brushing teeth from all sides with a small brush head as usual, it cleans all areas at once. To do this, the electric toothbrush uses a brush head that is reminiscent of the shapes that dentists use to take impressions of teeth. Inside are 35,000 nylon bristles, which are driven by an ultrasonic motor in the handle and vibrate at up to 20,000 vibrations per minute.
According to the manufacturer, the Y-Brush removes even more plaque than a conventional toothbrush without damaging the gums. This is said to be because the bristles are positioned at a 45 degree angle to the teeth. This is recommended by dentists, writes the manufacturer.
ntv.de received the NylonBlack version of the Y-Brush from Fasteesh for the test, which costs around 130 euros. She brushes in four different intensities (5, 10, 15 seconds, unlimited). The scope of delivery also includes an attachable toothpaste dispenser.
NylonBlack sounds fancy, but there’s no other way to put it: the Y-Brush not only looks weird, it’s a downright ugly electric toothbrush. The brush head made of medical plastic grins at you with sober functionality. It looks like a 3D printed prototype. Nothing is obscured, you can clearly see where the bristles were used and welded, and there was no color at all.
For what’s on offer, the price of 35 euros seems to be pretty steep. However, you should only have to change the brush head every six months. In this respect, the annual costs are kept within acceptable limits.
The handle is also not a design miracle and seems rather roughly processed. But it is solid, protected from splash water and has a non-slip rubber coating to hold it securely. Here, too, the uncompromising rule applies: design follows function.
On the left under a cover is a micro-USB port for charging the battery. Due to the short duration of use, you only have to do this every few weeks. There is an on/off switch on the front, which can also be used to set the duration of the vibration. A white ring surrounding it uses three light fields to indicate which mode is set.
As simple as the principle of the Y-Brush appears – the completely different way of brushing teeth has to be learned and practiced. The manufacturer recommends an acclimatization period of one to two weeks. With the DynamicBlack variant, the modes help, with the standard model you have to count the seconds yourself.
In the first week you should brush until you feel like you have cleaned all your teeth. It shouldn’t be more than 30 seconds. After 15 seconds, the Y-Brush reminds you to change your row of teeth with short interruptions. The rule is always that you turn the brush head back and forth five times on a row of teeth while making ten chewing movements.
In the second week you brush 15 seconds per row of teeth, after that you can choose the normal mode in which the Y-Brush vibrates for ten seconds, so a total of 20 seconds. The 5-second mode should be the exception if you are in a hurry. So the ten second toothbrush is more like a 20 second toothbrush.
There’s something else you have to learn first: The consumption of toothpaste is higher with the Y-Brush, because you have to distribute it over the entire width of the brush head. The – also not very pretty – doser is supposed to help, but you can also do it without any problems.
Overall, the use of the Y-Brush is quite complicated, especially the interaction between turning and chewing movements is not easy. If you follow the instructions meticulously, you will have internalized it to some extent after a while.
A more permanent problem can be when the brush head doesn’t fit. Theoretically, the teeth can be too long and the brushes do not reach the gum line. It is more common – also in the case of ntv.de – that the form does not fit properly. Although the brush head is elastic and adapts, its edges in the rear area can then press uncomfortably. The bristles may also not reach the back molars.
You can’t change much about it, there is only a choice between children’s and adult sizes. You have to endure the pressure, and it may be necessary to clean the back molars with a conventional brush. However, the time saved is more or less gone.
Despite an imperfect fit on the upper row of teeth, the ntv.de was spared. And so the results of the quick cleanings are now pleasing. The teeth feel pleasantly clean and smooth with the tongue. And irritated gums, as can happen again and again due to hectic brushing with a normal toothbrush under time pressure, are history.
But what the Y-Brush does not save you from is regular cleaning of the spaces between the teeth and the tongue with alternative instruments. In addition, you can’t get rid of the suspicion that the strange toothbrush doesn’t clean so well after all. Consultation with the dentist is probably not a bad idea. ntv.de has found its own compromise: In the mornings, when things are urgent, the Y-Brush is used, in the evenings, when thoroughness is important, the conventional electric toothbrush.
