My First Look at the Dyson CameraJet Toothbrush Was Disappointing at Best

I’ve never had a problem getting a toothbrush to work before the CameraJet. In fact, few products have stumped me the way this one has. Brushing teeth is, for most, a very simple everyday task. Do we really need to make it more complicated? 

Here are the challenges—big and small—that I experienced:

It’s hard to get started: Right out of the box, I had difficulty figuring out how to get the toothbrush going. There are just three buttons on the device—power, jet, and brush intensity—but the instruction manual is lengthy. There are several LED lights on the brush, and the color and duration of the lights have different meanings. Even after I read through the instructions, I kept the manual in the bathroom with me to go over the instructions again as I got ready to brush my teeth. 

Dyson has a recommended brushing method: The lengthy list of LED light indicators is not the only thing that makes using this toothbrush confusing. The usual toothbrushing method won’t work with the CameraJet. Most electric toothbrushes I’ve used before work in four, 30-second intervals. Instead of breaking up the teeth into four equal quadrants, Dyson instructs users to split the teeth into three sections—left, right, and center. This isn’t too significant in the grand scheme of things, but it is certainly something that could take some time to get used to if you’ve been brushing your teeth using the quadrant method.

Special toothpaste recommended: Dyson recommends using nonfoaming toothpaste and mouth rinse with the CameraJet. I wasn’t sure if my mouth rinse was nonfoaming, so I instead opted to fill the water tank with tap water. After filling the water reservoir and applying a small amount of toothpaste to the toothbrush head, I was finally ready to begin. 

The first failure: I turned it on and confirmed it was in Auto mode, which would automatically spray water into my mouth when it detected a gap between my teeth. The toothbrush started working—vibrating and spraying water as I moved the brush around my mouth. The combination of vibrations and water sprays feels almost ticklish on the gums, but it was not an unpleasant feeling. Because water was accumulating in my mouth, it made the process a bit messier than usual. Just 30 seconds later, one final, especially aggressive spray of water was released, and the toothbrush stopped brushing. 

That leads me to another displeasing feature of the CameraJet. The charging base serves as a reservoir for nonfoaming mouth rinse (in my case, tap water) and occupies a significant amount of counter space. It measures 12.4x4.13x1.97 inches (HxLxW). Thankfully, because the water tank on the brush can be filled manually without the charging base reservoir, the CameraJet includes a second charger that takes up no space and connects directly to the toothbrush. You should not brush your teeth while the brush is connected to the charger.

The travel case is just a clear plastic shield that locks onto the charging base, allowing you to travel with the toothbrush without exposing the brush head to other items in your bag. While the idea of including a travel case with the pricey toothbrush is a good one, the case is large and inflexible. It requires much more space than any other electric toothbrush I’ve traveled with before. 

The next day: After allowing the toothbrush to charge overnight, I was again ready to brush my teeth. This time, I started by trying to connect the device to the myDyson app on my phone. After six failed attempts to connect, I gave up, because by this point, I was running out of time to finish my morning routine. I clicked the power button, waited for the toothbrush to start, and nothing. A few LED lights turned on and off, and the toothbrush beeped at me, but no brushing. 

I tried again, and this time the brush’s lights lit up in a way I had not seen before. According to the manual, this new light pattern indicated that no brush head was attached to the toothbrush. I removed and reattached the brush head several times before this error finally stopped appearing. That was not the end of my problems, though.

After trying every combination of button presses I could, I thought that maybe during my attempts to connect it to the myDyson app, the brush’s battery had been depleted. So again, I placed it on the charging base and brushed my teeth with my everyday electric toothbrush. 

Later that day, when I was ready to brush my teeth before bed, I picked up the toothbrush and pressed the power button. This time, nothing happened. There were no beeps, lights, or vibrations at all. I placed the device back on the charging base, but still nothing. I moved the charging base through each outlet in my home, and still, nothing. My $499 smart toothbrush was dead. 

I wasn’t sure what I had done wrong, so I turned to Google to see if there were any answers on the internet. Instead, I found two Reddit threads of fellow Dyson CameraJet users who had the same unpleasant experience: shortly after receiving their toothbrush, the device died.

I contacted Dyson for comment on my experience and to ask whether they’re aware of other users who have faced similar issues with their toothbrush. A Dyson spokesperson said, “We have had a very positive reaction to the new Dyson CameraJet and are experiencing strong demand globally. We are seeing some shortages of supply as we are in the process of scaling up production. Additionally, we are aware that a small number of early batches of Dyson CameraJet products may have experienced a component issue. We are isolating those batches and are taking all the necessary steps to support our customers.” Additionally, they said, “anyone who has concerns about their product should contact Dyson customer service.”

I suspect that the model I received is among the batches with a component issue, but I can’t be certain of this without their confirmation (I sent an email but did not hear back by the time this article was published). They also let us know that they would send us another model when they have more in stock. When we receive it, we’ll test and update this story.

My bathroom is the last place I want a camera, but I was intrigued by the concept of the CameraJet. Unfortunately for me, my excitement was short-lived. Aside from being unable to use Dyson’s toothbrush because it died, it has a steep learning curve, is super bulky, takes up too much counter space, and requires special toothpaste and mouthwash. But who knows? Maybe a retest will change my stance.