SURI Electric Toothbrush Review: A Dentist's thoughts after Eight-months
As a dentist, I understand the importance of choosing the right toothbrush for maintaining oral health. Recently, I had the opportunity to test the Suri toothbrush for eight months.
This review is based on my professional insights and personal experience with this innovative toothbrush.
This article contains affiliate links; however, all the opinions are my genuine thoughts after trialling the toothbrush for four months at home and when travelling - Dr Zaeem Jafri BDS
*Updated 19th August 2024 after using for eight months
Pros and Cons of the SURI Toothbrush
In Summary
The Suri toothbrush isn’t as strong as my Philips Sonicare, but over time it has become my favourite toothbrush due to the design and battery life. It would also make an excellent gift for a traveller or someone who is style-conscious at home.
The only thing it lacks is a pressure sensor.
★★★★★
Pros
Great design, feels and looks great
Amazing battery life - 40 days on a single charge!
2-minute timer with haptic feedback
Will clinically clean your teeth enough to prevent diseases and decay
Sustainable materials that can be recycled
A commitment from Suri to repair rather than replace
Money-back guarantee
Easy to clean
Quieter than other electric brushes
USB-C charging
It stays a lot cleaner than other brushes if stuck to the mirror
Cons
Not as powerful as the Philips Sonicare
Doesn’t have a pressure sensor
The charging case is a bit bulkier than I would like
Do we need a UV disinfectant light? I don’t think so
It seems they do still prefer to just replace the brush rather than repair it
Design and Ergonomics
The Suri toothbrush boasts a sleek design that catches the eye immediately. Its elegant and minimalist aesthetic is not just about looks; it translates into a comfortable grip and an overall premium feel during use.
The mirror holder accessory adds a stylish touch to the bathroom decor and prevents your brush from having to sit on your sink gathering that horrid white build-up. It's a smart and convenient way to store the toothbrush, keeping it easily accessible and adding to the overall neatness of the space.
Having the SURI mounted on the mirror is much cleaner
The toothbrush heads are made from plant-based materials (cornstarch, with bristles derived from castor oil) and match the electric toothbrush's design. The bristles are medium/soft, the perfect balance between being practical and not too rough for your teeth.
After 8 months of use, hardly any build up
After 8 months
After 8 months
Cleaning Performance
While the Suri toothbrush is undoubtedly powerful, delivering effective cleaning performance. It falls slightly short of the fresh sensation that my Philips Sonicare brush provides.
This difference could be due to the specific brushing technology (The Suri is slightly less powerful than my Philips Sonicare) or bristle design. However, it's important to note that the Suri brush still offers a satisfactory cleaning experience and is suitable for daily use if you use it properly.
There is no clinical evidence that the Suri toothbrush will keep your teeth any healthier compared to other electric brushes, but SURI has carried out some tests to show that it provides more plaque removal compared to manual brushes.
Plenty of studies show that electric toothbrushes are better than manual toothbrushes in general.
Key Features
The Suri toothbrush is simple in its feature set. A simple on-and-off with two power modes. Good electric toothbrushes do not need several operating modes or Bluetooth apps. None of my patients ever use them.
The main features of an excellent electric toothbrush are:
A 2-minute timer split into four 30-second sections with haptic feedback to make sure you’re brushing for the correct amount of time
A pressure sensor
The Suri brush has a 2-minute timer, which warns you every 30 seconds, indicating that you can move on from that corner of your mouth, which is perfect.
The lack of a pressure sensor is the one thing holding me back from recommending it to everyone. Many people brush too hard, which causes recession of their gums, and a pressure sensor can prevent this.
Since writing this review, SURI have told me that they plan on releasing a model with a pressure sensor soon, so watch this space.
Travel-Friendly Features
While a thoughtful addition, the included travel case seems a bit bulky for my preference. The UV disinfectant light, although innovative, contributes to the case's larger size.
I prefer a more compact, sleeker case for easy transport, particularly for short trips or gym visits. I don’t see the tangible benefit of having the UV disinfectant light.
The case does, however, allow you to charge the brush with a USB C Cable, which means I don’t need to take my clunky Philips charger with me anymore.
The 40-day battery life of the Suri toothbrush is exceptional. This long-lasting battery life is highly convenient, reducing recharge frequency and making it an excellent choice for travellers or those with a busy lifestyle.
The brush charges up to full in 4 hours.
Another thing I noted when taking the Suri brush travelling was that it was much quieter than my wife’s rattling Oral B brush. SURI is brilliant if you’re sneaking around a hotel room trying not to wake people up.
SURI on the left, Ordo on the right
Sustainability
It’s in the name (Suri = SUstainable RItuals)
More and more people are looking for sustainable alternatives to the products they are used to using. From talking to many SURI users now, it’s clear this is one of the main reasons you might be considering buying a SURI toothbrush.
The brush heads are made from plant-based recyclable materials (cornstarch for the structure and castor oil for the bristles) and SURI will recycle these for you free of charge with prepaid postage labels (kind of like how Nespresso handle their pods)
The body is made from recyclable aluminium
The body is not sealed; therefore, it can be opened up and repaired when needed.
If you’ve lost the free postage envelope that comes with the brush, just put your old brush heads in an envelope, write "Freepost SURI" on it and stick it in the post box. They will take care of everything.
Replacement SURI brush heads with compostable packaging
If your brush stops working, it’s usually an issue with the motor inside. Suri will repair your brush for free (if it's in warranty), or they will give you a price (around £15-25) to repair the brush rather than binning it and asking you to buy a new one.
Companies that agree to repair their products will produce much less waste which is great for our planet.
*Update: After further research it seems that SURI do still prefer to just replace your brush rather than repair it.
SURI is a registered B Corporation meaning that it voluntarily agrees to meet certain standards for environmental and social impact, especially in regard to:
Workers
Environment
Community
Governance
Customers
You can read more about SURI’s B-Corp results here.
The one thing that could be better is that SURI brushes are manufactured in China and not locally, meaning that there is a large carbon footprint associated with getting them to the UK. However, this is the same with any other electric toothbrush brand (like Oral-B and Philips) too so there are no locally manufactured alternatives to choose from.
Price / Money-back Guarentee
I love companies that offer guarantees; if you’re not sure about the Suri brush, you can buy it and test it out for 100 days and simply give it back if you don’t like it. As long as the brush has not been damaged, Suri will give you a full refund.
The Suri toothbrush costs £75 on its own and £95 with the UV charging case. Both options come with a mirror mount and slimline pebble charger.
Replacement brush heads cost £14.40 per pack of 3 and Suri will send you packaging to return your old ones to them for free for recycling.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the Suri toothbrush is a commendable product with several noteworthy features, especially in design, battery life, and charging convenience. While it is not as powerful as the Philips Sonicare in terms of the freshness feel after brushing, it certainly earns a spot in my gym and travel bag.
Its portability and long battery life make it an ideal choice for travel and away-from-home use, complementing my regular at-home oral care routine with the Philips Sonicare.
Our overall verdict: Buy the SURI toothbrush if you travel a lot, appreciate good bathroom style and you know that you don’t brush your teeth too hard.
SURI Toothbrush Review - Video
Watch Dr Zaeem Jafri explain his thoughts on the SURI toothbrush in our video below
Sonic vs Rotating (Oscilating) vs Manual Brushes
A common question I get about toothbrushes is which one is best. The honest, simple answer is that any toothbrush, as long as you use it properly, is enough to keep your teeth free from decay and gum disease.
Several studies have shown that a rechargeable electric brush is much better at removing plaque than a manual brush … however, there is no evidence to show whether or not a specific type of electric brush is better than any other.
There are 2 main types of electric brushes:
Oscilating (rotating) heads (Oral-B)
Sonic (vibrating) heads (Philips Sonicare and SURI)
Both will leave you with clean and healthy teeth, but opinions are entirely split, even among dentists, about which is better. Try them out and use the one you feel most comfortable with.
SURI’s money-back guarantee allows you to give it a go, and if you don’t like the feeling of it, you can return it and try an Oral-B toothbrush instead.
FAQs about the SURI brush
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Yes, we think due to its long battery life and stylish appearance the SURI brush is definitely worth it. Their promise to repair the brush when it dies means that you may save a lot of money in the long run.
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Dr Jafri, our founder and practising dentist in London has been using the Suri brush since December 2023 and has recommended it in this article.
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You are advised to change your brush head every 3 months according to SURI as well as general guidance from dentists
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Both SURI and Philips are sonic brushes so they are very similar in how they work.
Philips is still my brush of choice just because it’s stylish and more powerful than SURI, but the battery life and sustainability of the SURI brush means that I will probably use my SURI one from now on. -
Oral B brushes are oscilating brushes with a round read that rotates instead of the sonic movement of the SURI brush.
I used to use Oral B brushes in the past but ther design is clunky, they don’t look nice in the bathroom and the oscilating head is really loud and doesn’t leave my mouth feeling as fresh.
Some people prefer the smaller heads of Oral B brushes (like my wife) but Oral B brushes are now last on my list. -
No, only the SURI brush heads will be compatible with the toothbrush. All electric brushes on the market have their own unique head design.
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The SURI toothbrush is manufactured in China which means it has a higher carbon footprint than locally manufactured products. However, most brushes (Oral-B and Philips) are also manufactured there too.
SURI work with Climate Partner to offset their carbon footprint for each order.
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SURI is based in London and their brushes are manufactured in China.
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How to use the SURI toothbrush properly
It’s important to note that the SURI toothbrush is not used in the same way as an Oral-B or Philips toothbrush.
The SURI toothbrush has been designed to be used similarly to a manual toothbrush using the ‘modified bass technique’.
Modified bass technique
Add a small pea-sized amount of toothpaste to the bristles of the brush
Turn the brush on
Point the bristle towards your gumline at a 45-degree angle
Make small, gently circular motions with the brush, cleaning one tooth at a time
When the brush vibrates, you can move onto another quadrant of your mouth.
What do you think?
If you’ve got a SURI toothbrush, we would love to know what you think of it. Have you enjoyed using it, have you had any problems?
Disagree with something in our review?
Let us know in the comments below!
