Charcoal is the secret to a cleaner mouth with the Burst toothbrush

The professional-grade sonic toothbrush bears some resemblance to more familiar names like Quip, which also has folks sign up online to buy an electric toothbrush, and sends subscribers replacement heads on a monthly basis. This ends up being cheaper than buying a toothbrush from more established brands like Philips Sonicare or Oral B, which can run you up to $200. Burst, on the other hand, can either be bought online for $70 or through a dental professional for $40. And then, you’ll receive new brush heads every three months for an additional $6.

But while Burst may share a similar business model to Quip, the technology behind the brush is quite different. Sure, they’re both electric, but Burst has three different speeds (whitening, sensitive, and gum massage), the fastest of which gives you 33,000 sonic vibrations per minute. Quip, on the other hand, maxes out at 15,000 vibrations per minute. This, at least theoretically, should allow for a deeper clean with Burst. But the most notable difference comes in the bristles. All are coated in binchō-tan charcoal sourced from Wakayama, Japan. Supposedly, the charcoal helps absorb germs, bacteria, and remove plaque. Ultimately, however, it’s the softness of the bristles that makes the brush work.

“We have a very powerful motor … but if I had hard bristles I would [have to] make my motor softer,” Khayat told Forbes. “But we’ve got such soft bristles which this charcoal allows us to have, [and] is a great benefit for us.”

The brush also comes with a two-minute timer, which alerts you every 30 seconds as to how much time you have left. And thanks to a convenient USB charger, you can easily take the Burst on the road (though a single charge will last you up to four weeks, so you shouldn’t have to bring your charger with you).

Most recently, Burst entered the teeth whitening strips game. You can either buy a seven-day supply of these strips, which claim to “remove years of intrinsic stains in just a few days,” for a one-time purchase of $20, or in a subscription model for $15.