The tag is used to change the cleaning mode of the toothbrush automatically, to match the type of head you inserted. This makes very easy to change heads durring the same session.
It is also used to register how long you used that head. A warning is shown when the head should be replaced. After a few warnings you will no longer get them, just the led to replace the head remains on. You can continue to brush your teeth without any problems. What I've found is that the warning comes at the right time, you really feel a decrease in cleaning efficiency around that time.
You can use heads without the cip and they work. You just have to select the proper mode from the handle manually. Or not.
The early versions have a defect where when you push to insert the head, you also push to open the handle. With time, water will get in and the toothbrush will stop working. Not sure about the latest versions.
The bristles wear out. Their heads wear out but they also become soft from all the vibration so they dont't push as hard on the teeth. Also gunk might accumulate depending on how careful you rinse it.
Still better than a manual brush even in that state.
No, it doesn't appear so. It seems the bristles do wear out somehow, to me it appears that they simply become less stiff over time. The change to a new brush head is noticeable.
This should be relatively easy to verify. One could take a new brush head and forward its counter to the limit, directly comparing it to a new unmodified brush.
This is a good question, but people are pretty sensitive to pitch changes, I think we would detect the motor slowing down.
It would be super easy to reveal as well. A family member with the same toothbrush, your head finishes first. Motor slows down, pitch goes down. Compare the two. Replace the old head, now they're the same. Scummy practice revealed. Scandal.
That said. I'm not totally sure on the mechanism that all electric toothbrushes use.
It's much harder to detect subtle amplitude changes.
The tag is used to change the cleaning mode of the toothbrush automatically, to match the type of head you inserted. This makes very easy to change heads durring the same session.
It is also used to register how long you used that head. A warning is shown when the head should be replaced. After a few warnings you will no longer get them, just the led to replace the head remains on. You can continue to brush your teeth without any problems. What I've found is that the warning comes at the right time, you really feel a decrease in cleaning efficiency around that time.
You can use heads without the cip and they work. You just have to select the proper mode from the handle manually. Or not.
The early versions have a defect where when you push to insert the head, you also push to open the handle. With time, water will get in and the toothbrush will stop working. Not sure about the latest versions.