I decided to try out and compare two bamboo toothbrushes – Brush with Bamboo and Mother’s Vault. It turns out that they are pretty similar in terms of function. The overall design is very similar and I found them both comfortable to grip and the head shape and size made the brushing experience pretty good. Both heads are around 1 inch long, so young children may find them a little big, but both companies make a smaller toothbrush for kids. In terms of hardness, I found the bristles on both toothbrushes to be closer to medium rather than soft. Soft bristles are most recommended for your teeth and gums. Some reviewers had commented that the bristles are too soft – I don’t agree (perhaps they made them harder in response to these comments or people are just used to overly-hard bristles). No bristles came loose or went out of shape during the first few weeks of use, so they seem well-made. Besides the regular rating, I’m going to give them a “green” star rating, based on social and environmental impact. Having looked into sustainability of toothbrushes (see blog post on greenstarsproject.org) I think bamboo toothbrushes are the best option (with the possible exception of chewing sticks, depending on how they are packaged), followed by Preserve recycled plastic toothbrushes, then Fuchs Ekotek toothbrushes with replaceable heads, and then in last place, over-engineered mainstream toothbrushes with thermoplastic handles. I will be avoiding the bestselling WowE bamboo toothbrushes because the company also sells shaving brushes made from badger hair and personally I don’t want to support that. Brush with Bamboo toothbrushes (and packaging) has evolved over time to become more sustainable and they are now a Green America certified business. They are vegan (no animal materials) and not tested on animals. Pretty much all toothbrush bristles are made from nylon (except those made from hog hair) but the Brush with Bamboo nylon is a step better, being made mostly from renewable castor oil. Inside the cardboard box (which contains no glue), they are wrapped in a plant-based (PLA) wrapper that’s also compostable. The bamboo is harvested from the mountains of China, where it is grown without chemicals or irrigation and is rapidly renewed (as long as they continue to harvest it sustainably). Mother’s Vault has less to say on their website about some things like bamboo sourcing. Their bristles are made from regular nylon (made from petrochemicals) so they are a little less sustainable than the Brush with Bamboo bristles, but on par with other bamboo toothbrushes. The packaging is kept to a bare minimum – just a cardboard box (no inner wrapper), so it’s slightly better than Brush with bamboo (which uses the bioplastic wrapper). Mother’s Vault do emphasize that a portion of sales is donated to Earth Justice. They didn’t say what proportion (it could be 0.00001%) so I wrote to them to ask. Here’s their response: “We are currently doing yearly donations of 15 percent of sales. On the (social) side we do have other projects in the pipeline for donating post production scrap soap to homeless shelters and participating in various local related events. In the near future we will integrate a tracker into our website for our customers to reference.” Overall, each company its own strengths and I think that in terms of social and environmental impact they are both in the top 20% and both deserve 5/5 green stars. Read more
I bought another brand thinking it was this one, Bite, and I hated it. This is by far the best toothbrush ever. I am hopeful that you never change this toothbrush. I think lots of people have tried to imitate this one and failed miserably. I like the thicker bamboo brush and the adult soft bristles not too small but just right for an adult. My dentist said my teeth are much healthier and to keep doing what I am doing and its just been using this brush. It takes plaque off and is soft but not too soft. Just right. I will always buy this toothbrush. I gave up my phillips sonic electric toothbrush because i didn't want to put plastic in my mouth any longer. Fortunately I found this toothbrush. I am a forever fan. Thank you for such a fantastic product. Read more
Takes a little to get used to shoving a wooden stick in your mouth but once you get past that all is good. Especially like the fact that the bristles - while plastic - are made from castor beans and not from big oil. Nice and soft too and they last just as long. Read more
These are great! I’m still going to change it after 3 months for bacteria reasons, but honestly the bristles stay strong way longer than other toothbrushes. I don’t like my bristles too soft and I think the hardness in these are perfect; stiff, but don’t scratch your teeth. It’s a little awkward brushing in the back at first because the brush is thicker than most plastic ones, but it’s pretty easy to get used to. This brand is the best eco friendly toothbrush brand for sure; if a brand tells you their brush is 100% compostable, they’re lying, or the bristles are made of boar hair (which you have to sanitize often and ain’t nobody got time for that.) The only exception I could find anywhere is one really niche toothbrush brand that makes the bristles from a root, but I think the shape of their brush could use some work before it’s sold. Read more
This brush is great! Sturdy, just right bristle stiffness, and of course, sustainable! My only complaint is that the handle becomes a bit dry, which feels strange and squeaky inside the mouth. I have fixed this problem by rubbing a bit of oil (Anykind--coconut, olive, avocado, jojoba, whatever kind) into the wood part and it becomes nice and smooth and solves that problem completely. Every month or so, I soak the bristle end in a hot water, tea tree oil mixture to cleanse of any bacteria buildup, and the brush is good as new. I replace the brush once every 5 months. Works like a charm! Read more
This toothbrush has a fairly pronounced concave area in the middle of the toothbrush. Consequently I could not get the toothbrush to make contact with all of my teeth. It could be because I have a small mouth - the head of the toothbrush is fairly large (longer and higher than any of other brush I've used). I took some very sharp scissors and cut the bristles till they were all the same height. It works fine now. However to brush the back of my teeth, in the middle front teeth, I have to turn the brush vertical and brush those teeth with just the tip of the head of the brush. My consensus is this. I've used one other brand of natural toothbrushes. This one is better made and I think will last a while. The entire brush is very high quality and the bamboo smells nice. So even though the brush is made for people with a bigger mouth and I have to go through a few hoops to make it work, I will buy this one again. Read more
I got into these brushes when I got serious about reducing plastics in my life. As a toothbrush, they work fine. I don't feel like there are any drawbacks or compromises to this brush. The bristles are soft like dentists recommend. They last about the same amount of time as a typical toothbrush before the bristles get too bent and frayed. The part I like: When it's time for a new brush, I take the old one, pull out the bristles with a pair of pliers, cut the handle into small pieces, and dispose of it all in the mulch bedding in my yard. Read more
