Goby Toothbrush Review

I’ve been using an electric toothbrush for about twelve years. Now I’ve been trying out* this Goby toothbrush so I’ll review it for you. In the twelve years’ time I’ve used two generations of Philips Sonicare brand toothbrushes so that is my basis of reference, personally.

My first impression when I opened the the box was that this is a nice presentation. I know not everyone cares about presentation but it can be a sign that they are trying to make every part of your user experience pleasant. The box was extremely easy to open and get the stuff out. I did have a small concern that the toothbrush head didn’t have any sort of sterile protection on our around it, though the entire toothbrush was under a plastic cover.

Battery Life of Goby Toothbrush

The instructions recommend that you fully charge the battery before first use, which I did. I plugged it in before bed and it was charged when I got up in the morning. I then used it for three straight weeks before I needed to charge it again. When it was time to charge up I could tell as the motor was making that “I’m out of power, feed me fresh batteries” sound. Another overnight charge and I was good to go. I only brush in the evening before bed so the manufacturer estimate of two charges per month seems on target.

Charging the Goby is a breeze. There are two ways you can do this with the included two part charger/stand combo. The charger is a USB powered, magnetically connecting little dongle about an inch and a half long. You can either let it magnetically ‘snap’ to the toothbrush (this is perfect for easy travel with little bulk) or you can insert the magnetic part into the stand to charge while standing up. Because the charger is USB powered you don’t even need to bring the included charging ‘brick’ with you. Just plug into any powered USB port and attach to your toothbrush. The Goby charger shows the output at 5.0V 0.5A. The Goby toothbrush shows input at 1.2V.

Power On/Off and Modes

The Goby toothbrush could not have a more simple arrangement. The large slightly recessed button is easy to find and not hard to press. It takes a firm enough press that you won’t accidentally press it while brushing. Because the power/mode button is recessed the chances of the toothbrush turning on while in your suitcase are very low as well. Good job, Goby.

When you press the button once, the battery status lights indicate the power level for five seconds, then turn off. One press gets you to normal mode and a second press within five seconds of power on gets you to sensitive mode. A third press and you power off the toothbrush. If you press the power button at any point after the initial five seconds you’ll power off the toothbrush and will not advance through the modes. That is all, and it is that simple.

Goby Toothbrush Handle

The handle is a big deal to me. Having used Sonicare for so many years I didn’t think it even mattered what the handle was like, but it does. Going from a regular toothbrush with a small handle, to the appreciably larger Sonicare I can see how this detail could get overlooked. A handle is a handle, right? Wrong! The Goby handle is large and gently rounded, like a square balloon. It has distinct corners but they are not sharp. Because it is large it is very easy to grip and hold. I haven’t had an ‘almost dropped it’ moment yet and I’ve been using it for a month.

One bonus of the size of the handle is that when you lay the brush down on the counter the brush head will be elevated above the counter enough that it won’t pick up dust, hair, etc as long as it is on its back or one of the sides. Since it is basically square it won’t roll over from whatever position you lay it down.

Keeping the handle clean is very easy. It has ‘soft touch’ rubbery material on the color portion (excluding the power button and logo). The white portion is smooth plastic.

Goby Toothbrush Head

The most important part of brushing your teeth is the brush, obviously. The Goby brush head is round and measures 1/2 inch across the bristles. As far as I can tell the white inner and blue outer bristles are the same. I did notice that, while the feel of the bristles seems to be gentler than the generic brand heads I was using with my Sonicare, the cleaning is at least as good if not better. (I attribute this to the generic heads which I am dissatisfied with being poor quality, not the Sonicare itself.) My teeth feel sparkly clean.

The size of the head is important to me as well. I have a rather small mouth so if a brush head is large in any dimension it makes brushing difficult. This Goby brush head, while not thin in the dimension from the tip of the bristles to the opposing side (13/16″), is small enough that I have no issues maneuvering it into the best positions for optimum clean. Even the hard to reach ‘coves’ and ‘caverns’ can be reached and cleaned.

The head oscillates at an unknown-to-me rate, but seems quite fast. Much too fast to see it moving! The head rotates in one direction approximately 90° before reversing. I’ve found this rough measurement by manually twisting on the brush head with my fingers.

Unlike other types of ‘premium’ toothbrushes, the Goby toothbrush head does not tell you when it is time to replace itself. Instead, after three months of use the “G” on the power button will illuminate blue when you power on the brush. Since I haven’t had mine for that long I do not know how long it stays blue. The instructions say that to reset the three-month timer simply hold down the power button for five seconds.

Stand

The combo charger/stand is a very simple white plastic upper with a color-matched-to-your handle rubber base. The white portion of the stand has a hole in the bottom to collect any water that is on the toothbrush when place into the stand. The color rubber bottom portion comes off for emptying and cleaning. The angled toothbrush rests easily inside the stand and comes out smoothly. There is one slight drawback here, and that is that the stand is so light that it ‘grips’ onto the toothbrush (even without the magnetic charger attached) so it lifts up with the toothbrush. A gentle shake or a press of a finger and it easily stays behind.

Conclusion

If you are looking for better dental hygiene, then this is an easy decision. Get a Goby Toothbrush! It has a lifetime warranty and they’ll send you a new brush head automatically at the interval of your choice – every 1, 2 or 3 months. For me personally, they have one my business. The greatly reduced brush cost vs. Sonicare and the seemingly equal cleaning results has won my business. I’m switching to Goby.

This review is based on Model GBY-01H.

*Full Disclosure: Goby contacted me to see if I would be interested in reviewing their product. Goby provided one toothbrush kit without a replacement head subscription, and I am not being paid in any way for my review. I merely get to keep the kit they sent.

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