SURI Toothbrush Review

How SURI looks, feels and works

The SURI toothbrush comes packaged in one of the slimmest and most environmentally considerate retail boxes I have seen. This is of course intentional given the focus of the company.

An outer sleeve encases the box that contains the toothbrush, documentation and accessories.

I like that the sleeve has lots of information about the brush, and what it offers as well as a large color matched image of the toothbrush too. It stands out and you know what you are getting.

There are no unnecessary plastics as you might expect and even the brush head and USB cable are sealed inside a compostable wrapper.

The brush handle looks and feels great

This is one of the slimmest and best looking electric toothbrushes I have handled.

It is an aluminum handle, with an inner steel core.

Being metal it feels solid and gives off a premium vibe.

It is wider than it is deep. The handle isn’t a perfect cylinder. 

The front and back surfaces are rounded, but the sides are squared off a little. Not only does it give the brush a unique, slightly more industrial look, it actually helps make it feel comfortable and secure in the hand.

Some might find this a little more difficult to hold due to the smaller size. It isn’t as grippy as some brushes with textured surfaces and rubber grips, but it isn’t slippy in hand either. There is a certain resistance to the finish of the aluminum that makes it feel more grippy.

One of the benefits of this approach is that the brush is easier to keep clean. Although toothpaste residue etc does build up on the handle and under the head, it is far less awkward to remove than on brushes with lots of textured surfaces. 

The toothbrush lays quite happily on a countertop and isn’t prone to rolling. It will also stand upright too.

The overall design is minimal. There is just one button on the front of the brush handle. This turns the brush on and off and changes between the 2 cleaning modes. It is quite a firm button, with limited feedback and no clicking upon being pressed. It does the job.

Above it is a very small LED which will illuminate different colors depending on the cleaning mode and the status of the charge of the battery.

Towards the bottom of the handle is the SURI logo 

The base of the brush is flat, no recess for the charging stand like many other brushes. Instead, there are 2 gold pins that align with the magnetic charging stand. More on that shortly.

There is the smallest of screws that is placed between the 2 charging pins. This allows access to the rechargeable battery inside the handle as well as the motor and other components.

You don’t get this access normally. SURI has been designed intentionally to be repairable. Although as it stands those repairs do have to be completed by SURI. You can’t yet do a DIY fix without invalidating the warranty.

Extending from the top of the handle is a metal shaft that delivers vibrations to the bristles on the brush head. Around this is a chrome metal plate with the following words printed on it,  ‘keep smiling’, I like this.

Plant based brush heads

The plant based brush heads push onto and pull off the metal shaft. 

They look just like any other regular sonic toothbrush head. You wouldn’t know that the head and the bristles are made from plant-based material (corn starch and castor oil) rather than petroleum-based plastic. As a consequence, they are better for the planet.

Whilst corn starch PLA is still plastic, it is different to other toothbrush heads in that it is made from a renewable material and is industrially compostable.

The majority of electric toothbrush heads are made from petroleum-based plastic, which is a finite resource.

The bristles on SURI’s brush head are made from castor oil, which is also a bio-based plastic.

Again, it is still plastic but is made from a renewable resource rather than a finite one.

The 14 clusters of bristles have a W profile to them. SURI calls this 3DWave. This means longer bristles at the top, middle and bottom of the head. This is to help cup the teeth, reach the interdental spaces and give a good overall clean.

The 10 outer clusters are white in color and the 4 inner clusters are a light grey color.

They are a soft/medium firmness and from what I can tell they have been rounded at the tip to provide a soft brushing experience. I have found them very pleasant to use.

Just like a regular toothbrush or brush head with nylon bristles, the head should be replaced every 3 months.

Unfortunately, there are no fading bristles built into SURI. It will be up to you to remember when to replace them, rather than the head giving some form of visual clue.

That is unless the bristles look obviously worn or frayed.

Where most toothbrush heads get thrown into your regular rubbish bin, SURI has a recycling program available.

Included with the toothbrush is a prepaid biodegradable bag. This can be used to return the heads for recycling (preferably 3 or more at a time).

Theoretically, the cornstarch PLA can be industrially composted. However, there is a lack of facilities that can offer this at the moment, so SURI will send used brush heads to a specialist recycling partner. 

In defense of other brands, more recycling schemes are being introduced. The reality is, however, that at the time of review, they are not as effortless as the SURI scheme. That said, some do accept more waste streams, such as floss and interdental brushes.

It is worth noting that the heads (not the bristles) are color matched to the brush handle. Considering they are both made from different materials the match is very good.

There is too a handy tongue scraper on the back. A series of raised lines of different lengths and angles can be pulled over the tongue’s surface to rid it of bacteria. The tongue is a common cause of bad breath, so it is well worth making use of this.

Clinically proven cleaning results

SURI is a sonic toothbrush, which means it works in a similar way to brushes from the likes of Philips Sonicare.

The bristles move in a side to side, sweeping motion to clean the plaque off the teeth.

The MicroSonic magnetic motor offers up to 33,000 vibrations per minute. This creates an effect called ‘fluid dynamics’ which helps disrupt and lift the plaque off the teeth. 

This motor is also about one third of the size of a regular sonic motor, allowing for the handle to be as slim as it is.

You have 2 cleaning modes or speeds available on the brush. Your choices are:

• Everyday clean
• Polish

Everyday clean is the more gentle of the 2 modes offering 25,000 vibrations and is ideal for first time brush users. 

Polish mode offers a stronger clean and works well for more experienced users as it offers the 33,000 vibrations per minute.

Upon first turning on the brush, it will activate the everyday clean mode. A white light will be emitted from the LED above the power button.

A quick press of the button will change the mode to polish and the light will change to blue.

Thankfully the brush remembers the last mode used and will default to that. So, you don’t have to cycle through the 2 modes each time.

The light color is the way you identify which mode you have selected. There are no labels on the handle that get lit to identify the mode, like you do on some Sonicare models for example.

I personally preferred the polish mode. It is more intense and felt to me like it was giving the better clean.

There was a noticeable difference between each.

I am not aware of exactly how the motor has been tuned, but the cleaning experience was comparable to most other sonic brushes. The most premium Sonicare brushes do feel like they are cleaning slightly better. They feel more intense and powerful, in part because they offer up to 62,000 movements, but this is only noticeable if you have used such or comparing side by side.

And to be fair to SURI, I have tested no other sonic toothbrush with a form factor as slim as this that delivers a more powerful cleaning sensation. Most are weaker.

The cleaning results with SURI were more than satisfactory. My own plaque disclosing tests confirm that with the correct brushing technique it removes the plaque well. The plant based bristles appear to have no negative impact. I am more than happy.

Clinical testing has confirmed that the SURI toothbrush is 3 times more effective than a manual brush for whole mouth cleaning.

In hard-to-reach areas it has been found to be 5x more effective.

Although no clinical testing has yet compared it directly to other sonic brushes, these results are on par, if not better than the competition.

It will likely only be a matter of time before it achieves approval from the Oral Health Foundation approval and the American Dental Association if put forward.

The timer and pacer help you to brush for the right amount of time

Most dental professionals and health bodies recommend brushing the teeth twice a day, and to do so for at least 2 minutes each time.

This advice has existed for decades, yet too few brush for the right amount of time, if they even brush twice a day at all. 

Let’s be honest, there are more fun things to do than brushing your teeth. Even when you do, it is easy to get distracted or think you have been brushing for longer than you have.

With SURI you shouldn’t be able to get it wrong.

Firstly, the 2 minute timer is activated from the moment you turn the brush on.

In fact, the brush turns itself off automatically after a 2 minute brushing session. So, if you turn the brush off, you know you haven’t brushed for long enough.

It is all well and good brushing for 2 minutes, but no good if you only clean the front teeth.

The quadpacer or 30 second timer is designed to help you clean the teeth more evenly.

At 30 second intervals, the pacer kicks in. You will note a pause in the bristle motion, a change in sound and brushing sensation as well as the haptic feedback in the handle. This is your cue to move from one section of the mouth to another.

This then repeats every 30 seconds, until the brush gets to 120 seconds (2 minutes) at which point it will turn itself off.

The idea is that you break the mouth up into 4 sections: 

• upper right
• upper left
• lower right 
• lower left

You spend 30 seconds cleaning each section. As you do, you try to give equal attention to the front, back and biting surfaces of the teeth. 

If you do, come the 120 seconds (2 minutes) of brushing time, you should have achieved an even clean to the teeth and gums.

Of course, you don’t have to follow it, but it is good practice.

A small noteworthy point here. In the vast majority of toothbrushes, if you press the power button mid cycle, it will pause the brushing and the timer. If you resume brushing again within 30 seconds, it picks up from where you left off. 

However, with SURI, this isn’t implemented. Pressing the power button stops the timer and it is essentially reset when you power it on again. It isn’t a deal breaker but it is so common in other brushes I am surprised it isn’t present here too.

If only it had a pressure sensor

Ideally, the brushes we recommend here at Electric Teeth have a pressure sensor built-in. 

This is to alert you and help prevent you from doing unnecessary damage to the teeth and gums should you brush too hard. Sadly SURI has no such sensor.

When brushing your teeth, the bristles need only really skim the surface. You need just a little bit of pressure, not lots.

Quite a lot of people scrub their teeth under the impression hard and fast brushing is more effective, sadly it isn’t.

One thing going in SURI’s favor a little, is that often, the lighter the brush, the less pressure that is applied. And because SURI is lighter in hand you will feel less inclined to apply the extra, unnecessary force. 

It’s quiet in use

Like other sonic toothbrushes, the handle does vibrate when switched on and noise is produced. Whilst it isn’t as quiet as the Oclean X Pro Elite, it isn’t far behind producing about 54 decibels when in use. 

This was notably quieter than many other sonic toothbrushes I have used.

To put this into context, I can hear my wife talking to me when I brush, something that can’t be said when using Oral-B.

The handle is waterproof

Despite being metal and having a battery inside, the brush is IPX7 rated meaning it is waterproof.

This means a rinse under the tap and use in the shower is fine if you choose to.

It comes with a magnetic wall mount

I love this accessory, and I am sure many others will too.

You can mount the toothbrush on a wall or other flat surface using the adhesive magnetic mount.

The mount sticks to the wall with the provided adhesive pad and then the toothbrush magnetizes to it to be held in place.

It is a fantastically simple, but effective solution for storing the brush when not in use. It means it can be kept away from the sink and toilet for example and does not need to be sat in a container on a countertop. 

This is particularly useful when countertop or shelf space is at a premium.

The magnets offer a strong hold and the brush can’t be knocked all that easily.

It should be noted that the configuration has changed slightly since the initial launch and our review. Originally the charging stand doubled up as the wall mount, but this has now changed to be 2 separate items.

3 color options – pick the one you like most

SURI is available in 3 different colors. It comes with or without a travel case, subject to the package chosen.

Aside from the handle color and travel cases, there are no other technical differences. Your choices are:

• Winter Fern (soft green color)
• Midnight black
• Sea Mist (white/grey color)

The best travel case?

Supplied in the box with the SURI toothbrush is a travel case. (Not supplied with the brush only variant)

Cases are very useful even for the most infrequent of travelers. They allow the handle and head to be protected from damage, dirt and accidental activation.

Given the green credentials of SURI I am somewhat surprised they even chose to include one, particularly a case with electronics in. 

Not including one would have reduced the cost and the total shipping weight and of course the impact of the brush on the environment.

But, as much as I think it could potentially have been omitted, I am so pleased it wasn’t. It is one of the best travel cases I have used.

The case supplied holds the handle and 1 brush head.

Where often you remove the head and sit this separately in the case, you don’t here. The head remains attached to the handle.

As such the case is longer than some, but it is not as wide. It is of plastic construction. It is not made from bioplastics like the heads.

It has a 2 tone color design and is not color matched to the brush handle.

The lower half of the case is a mottled grey color, with the top or lid of the case being solid white.

It hinges on the left side to open like a book. It opens and closes very nicely with a magnet being used to help keep the case closed.

In the base of the case are 2 holes for ventilation and allowing moisture to escape. These are more important than you might think.

On the top of the case is the SURI logo in grey and then a single button, to activate the built-in UV-C light.

SURI says the light cleans the bristles of the brush head, killing off 99.9% of bacteria in 1 minute.

I can’t say this is a necessary feature to have, but I am aware many like such. I certainly see the benefit and given the implementation of such has no impact on the usability of the case, I am on board with it.

A single press of the button activates the cleaning cycle that lasts for just 60 seconds. 

Having assessed the clinical data in our best sanitizer article, 1 minute might not really be enough time to be effective. Although you can always run the cycle multiple times if you like. Something is certainly better than nothing.

When running there is a blue LED on the top to show this. There are also 3 small holes in the edge of the case that the light shines through, again confirming that it is functioning. The light automatically powers off when complete.

The big negative to this feature is that for it to work, you need to have the case connected to power. There is no battery within the case itself to run the cleaning cycle.

On the shorter edge of the case is a USB type c connector. Attach the included USB cable to the port and the other end of the USB cable to a power source and it will then work.

SURI suggest the lack of battery is for environmental issues, but I think a very small rechargeable would have been worth including. It just makes running the sanitizing cycle a bit more awkward without it.

With the USB cable connected, it will too recharge the toothbrush inside the case.

This is a very neat and useful feature. It means you don’t have to take the charging stand with you and can charge from the case rather than the stand if you prefer, even when at home.

There are very few brushes of this price that offer such features. It is quite rare for USB charging, even rarer to offer UV-C cleaning too. It is another feature that makes SURI stand out.

It does counter the eco-credentials a bit for sure. But what has been created is a more complete and useful ecosystem for the toothbrush that I think promotes longer term use and better integration into the lifestyles we now lead. 

If you don’t want it, opt for the travel case free option when buying SURI, it’s a little cheaper too.

There is no place to stow the USB cable inside the case. A similar issue exists with the top of the line Sonicare 9900 Prestige. Although being USB type c, even if you forget the cable it should be easy to access another.

It comes with a 100 day money back guarantee

Known as ‘The SURI Promise’ you can return the brush within the first 100 days should you not be satisfied for a full refund.

This is something we see more and more brands doing now and it is a nice touch as not all of us will get on with a product, despite our best intentions.

You do too have a 1 year (365 day) warranty, which gives extra peace of mind, but it isn’t as good as the more common 2 year warranty the vast majority of competitors offer.