This $13 toothbrush has bristles on both sides, which makes it easier for my toddler to brush her own teeth

Courtesy of Alicia Betz / Business Insider

The Grabease Double Sided Toothbrush has a choke guard, short handle, and bristles on both sides to make it easy for toddlers to brush their own teeth — and let’s be real — for parents to do it for them.
I found that the toothbrush makes it quicker and easier for me to brush my toddler’s teeth because I can get to more teeth at once.
This $12.50 toothbrush was invented by an 8-year-old girl, and every purchase helps support a charitable organization.

My 1-year-old daughter Ellie loves to "brush" her teeth. And by "brush," I actually mean hold the toothbrush while she sucks off all the toothpaste.

When I try to brush them for her, she usually gets upset and almost always put her tongue in the way. My usual plan of attack is to let Ellie hold her own toothbrush to distract her while I try to get in there with another toothbrush. When she gets distracted or moves her tongue out of the way, I use that opportunity to brush as many teeth as I can.

So when I heard about the Grabease double sided toothbrush from a press release, I was genuinely curious and intrigued. It turns out that the toothbrush was invented by 8-year-old Alma, the daughter of Grabease founder Maya Shalev, when she saw her mom struggling to brush her little brother’s teeth.

When I was sent a sample of the toothbrush in the blush color, I was happy to try anything that might make brushing Ellie’s teeth easier.

Design

If you have questions about when to start brushing your child’s teeth or concerns about your child’s oral development at all, talk to your pediatrician or schedule an appointment with a pediatric dentist.

Every parents’ experience is going to be different, but I found that the design did help me have more success brushing Ellie’s teeth.

When you only have about 10 seconds to get a toothbrush in a child’s mouth, the more surface area there is, the more chances you have to actually brush a few teeth before a major meltdown happens. A lot of toddlers don’t have the patience to stand in the bathroom and brush their teeth — they think one quick swipe of the toothbrush will do it. If you have a toddler like that, this toothbrush can help cut the time they spend brushing in half.

That because the design of the Grabease toothbrush is really unique and efficient.

It has a long tapered brush head, which makes it easy to get the bristles to the back of your baby or toddler’s mouth, and double-sided bristles, which help you brush more teeth at once.

Whether I’m brushing Ellie’s teeth for her or she’s doing it herself, we can brush the top and bottom teeth at the same time and cut down on the overall time we need to spend brushing. The double-sided feature is also really helpful when Ellie bites down on the toothbrush. When she does that with a regular toothbrush, I can’t pull it out of her mouth, but with this one, if I try pulling it out, the bristles will make contact with a few teeth along the way.

The toothbrush also features a short handle that makes it easy for Ellie to grab herself, and a choke guard so little ones don’t choke or gag from getting the toothbrush too far into their mouths. Sometimes Ellie will run away from me with her toothbrush in her mouth, and the choke guard on this toothbrush makes that tiny act of rebellion at least a little bit safer.

The toothbrush also comes with a finger brush, which you can use for young babies who are just getting used to having their teeth brushed. The earlier you start this routine, the more receptive your baby might be to having their teeth brushed. You can even start brushing their gums gently with a finger brush before they have any teeth.

The toothbrush costs just $12.50 and comes in three colors — blush, teal, and gray. Ellie has a blush one.

Grabease

An added bonus

Grabease has also set up its own charity called PROJECT elli&nooli, and donates a portion of profits from sales and different campaigns to help women and children around the world. While the toothbrush isn’t part of a philanthopic campaign at the moment, each set of its utensil set provides two meals to a child in need.

Cons to consider

The choke guard is great when Ellie is trying to brush her teeth herself — and especially when she runs away from me with her toothbrush in her mouth — but I find that it can get in the way when I try to brush her teeth for her. Specifically, when I brush her front teeth from side to side, the edge of the choke guard sometimes hits her face and stops me from being able to brush where I want more freely.

The bottom line

Grabease really hit the mark with this toothbrush and has found a way to give toddlers the autonomy they want with a safe and effective toothbrush.

But if you’re not sold on this one, you can try the $19.99 Brusheez Electronic Toothbrush, which comes with a rinsing cup, sand timer, and a cute animal head to cover the toothbrush. This would be a fun option if you have an older toddler who doesn’t want to brush his or her teeth because it’s boring. The $10.98 Jordan Step 1 Baby Toothbrush is another option designed to prevent babies and toddlers from choking on the toothbrush, but also has an area for teething babies to chew on.

If you want to make the process of brushing your toddler’s teeth a little bit easier, the Grabease can help. Even just providing something different that’s new and exciting like this unique toothbrush can help your child get excited about brushing his or her teeth.

Pros: Reaches more teeth at once with double-sided brush head, choke guard makes it a safer product than traditional toothbrushes

Cons: Choke guard can sometimes gets in the way

Buy the Double Sided Toothbrush from Grabease for $12.50

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