It hasn’t even been a month since Dyson announced its new launch, the CameraJet electric toothbrush. Yet despite the bold claims, the £419 device has already run into its first set of problems.
Dyson has confirmed to The Independent that a small number of CameraJet products from specific early batches “may have experienced a component issue”, although it insists this does not amount to a product recall. The company says it is isolating the affected batches and taking steps to support customers, including offering a full refund to those with an impacted unit.
The CameraJet is currently out of stock at the same time as these issues and, while Dyson says “[we] are experiencing strong demand globally [and] are seeing some shortages of supply as we are in the process of scaling up production,” the timing is of this stock shortage is certainly interesting. The brand has added that it expects the next wave of products to arrive in the coming weeks and advises customers with questions about their toothbrush, or anyone experiencing issues, should contact customer service for support.
At the CameraJet launch event in Paris, James Dyson spoke to me about the toothbrush’s water resistance during a roundtable conversation, noting that the device has an IPX7 water resistance rating, meaning it can be submerged in water up to one metre deep for up to 30 minutes. Or so it was supposed to.
In fact, numerous users have reported that their device has suffered water damage, charging failures and overheating problems. In a recent Reddit thread, one person remarked, “I took the battery out and saw liquid on the inside”, while another added: “Feel like I’m beta testing at best, maybe even alpha testing. Dock faults, jet failures and general issues.”
The CameraJet promised to revolutionise your daily toothbrushing by combining flossing, mouthwashing and brushing routines within one session. This functionality works by using a wide-angle lens camera combined with AI technology to automatically spot the gaps between your teeth and, even better, the plaque sitting within them. In response to these flagged plaque zones, the toothbrush will then use a conical jet to spurt mouthwash onto the area and, in theory, bust away the plaque.
I’ve been using the toothbrush for 16 days and can confirm it effectively detects every gap between my teeth. However, I – like other users – have experienced some bug bears.
Referring back to Reddit, I found one user who asked: “Has anyone also had to clean their entire bathroom every time after using it? It sprays everywhere.” This is the exact problem I’m facing, as there’s no way to undergo the full two-minute session without opening your mouth. In fact, if you purse your lips closed, it feels as though the camera does not have enough room to find the gaps between your teeth and the mouthwash spurts stop as a result. Likewise, it’s not exactly easy to hold 12.5ml of mouthwash in your mouth while brushing, as little as that may sound.
On the issue of charging, I put my own gripes with the dock down to potential faults with my extension lead – despite all the other plugs on it working as usual. But following this new speculation regarding the charging issues, I now think my toothbrush falls within the faulty batch Dyson has acknowledged.
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