Talo Brush claims to clean the teeth in just 20 seconds, using nylon bristled brush heads that clean both rows of teeth on 1 side of the mouth at the same time.
We don't know when Talo brush will now ship. It has been delayed a couple of times. We have one on order and will update this page until a full hands-on review is available. You can pre-order Talo here on Indiegogo.
In the sections below I give my initial thoughts and reactions based on previous testing of similar products, and explain in detail what Talo is and how it works.
Jon's thoughts
Talo brush is the second J shaped toothbrush to fall within the category of automatic/mouthpiece style toothbrushes, although it works differently to the other, Encompass.
One of the biggest advantages that I see to this design approach is the fitting within the mouth and the fact that it uses nylon bristles to achieve effective cleaning of the teeth.
Unfortunately, the content from Talo so far does not include any plaque disclosing tests to really show the results of how well it cleans, but it has been developed in conjunction with dentists so one would hope well!
30 Second Smile is a more established product and works in a similar vein and achieves great results. I wonder if this was in part an inspiration for Talo?
I fear that the rail mechanism the brush heads move along could be quite fragile.
The 8 day battery life is also worryingly poor considering the standards of brushes today.
Timeline of updates
At the moment we do not know when Talo Brush will be shipping. It was due to ship in September 2020 but countless delays mean it is anticipated in the fall of 2023.
We will update this section of the page as time goes on with any further news on availability.
- May 9th 2023 - Estimated shipping time of fall 2023.
- July 22nd 2022 - Update on progress. Still no estimated delivery date.
- April 29th 2022 - Still no estimated shipping date.
- September 18th 2021 - Reconfirmed delays. No new delivery dates given. Delays have allowed for improvements in product. Wireless charging is now 45% quicker. 1 week battery life increased to about 1 and a half weeks. You can now pause Talo mid brushing session and resume where you finished. It will now let you know if you are biting too hard.
- July 25th 2021 - Shipping delayed. No new estimate given.
- June 5th 2021 - Shipping will begin in July 2021.
- May 13th 2021 - Apparently still on track for shipping in June. Feels unlikely at this point.
- February 9th 2021 - Shipment delayed until June 2021
- September 11th 2020 - Shipment delayed until January 2021
- June 29th 2020 - Electric Teeth ordered Talo brush
- May 2020 - Pre-order campaign moves to Indiegogo
- May 8th 2020 - Successful funding achieved on Kickstarter achieving $219,449 from 1,449 backers
- April 1st 2020 - Talo Brush launched on Kickstarter
Talo Brush explained
Despite the humble manual toothbrush being around for hundreds of years and the electric toothbrush for several decades a major problem still exists….
The vast majority of us don’t brush our teeth correctly, so we don’t gain the benefits of brushing that we really should.
Like other mouthpiece toothbrushes I have covered here at Electric Teeth, Talo is another attempt to perfect tooth cleaning.
Unlike the majority of other attempts, Talo uses a J shaped or half-mouth approach to clean the teeth.
The way this works is that you place the brush into one side of the mouth, for example the right side.
With Talo there is then a brush head that cups around the top and bottom row of teeth. These 2 brush heads are connected to the handle and move along the rail (or to give it the more technical name, cartridge) cleaning the top, front and back of the teeth as it goes.
So, one brush moves across the top teeth, whilst the other passes across the bottom teeth.
You then remove the brush, turn it over and clean the left side of the mouth where the process is repeated.
The total cleaning time is just 20 seconds, 10 seconds for each side of the mouth.
Compared to a regular toothbrush that cleans 1 surface of the teeth at any one time, Talo is cleaning 3. Because it is doing this for both the top and bottom jaw at the time, the total brushing time is significantly reduced.
The soft nylon bristles are angled at the recommended 45 degrees, to ensure they reach into the gumline and clean away the plaque, the very reason we brush our teeth.
Why not take a look at it in action in the following videos.
Talo brush has been designed in conjunction with dentists and is a one size fits all approach.
A rechargeable battery is built into the handle and offers just 8 days of battery life.
You do get a wireless charging stand to recharge the battery and there is the choice of colors, classic silver or metallic blue.
You can find out more by visiting Kickstarter or Indiegogo.
Understood sir. Funny karmic bit was that they just released an update on Kickstarter. Better lucky than good, right?
I'm wondering how the brush heads get replaced, unless you have to swap it out for an entirely new J-assembly (I don't see how you can remove them), seeing as the standard replacement time for brushes is three months. I, like many other that backed this on Kickstarter, are really getting annoyed with the lack of updates and constant technical and COVID-related delays. I finally just got tired of waiting for this an opted for the Oral-B iO9 and if this finally gets finished it's going to live in my locker at work.
Good question Chris. I suspect the brush head parts will be able to pop off/disconnect from the rail mechanism, but I am not sure myself as I have no additional insight. The delays are frustrating. I suspect you like me, have literally just received an update from the company by email. Still no date...