Exclusive: We Found Out Why Dyson's $500 Toothbrush Has Quietly Disappeared from Stores
The brand tells 'Marie Claire' how a defective batch halted production.
In September, Dyson launched the CameraJet: a toothbrush with a lens the size of a pencil tip and a jet that fires mouthwash into the gaps between your teeth. Plaque, according to the brand, didn't stand a chance. The device costs about $500, or £420 if you prefer your dental anxiety in British sterling, and arrives in Ceramic Ultra Blue or Ceramic Pink. The internet and dental offices everywhere were a buzz, wondering if this was the future of high-tech at-home dentistry.
Ten days later, on September 11, the flashy dental innovation seemed to all but vanish. It came off retailer's sites and off the shelves. The world’s first AI floss-cam had been removed with the discreet efficiency of a maître d’ sliding a bad oyster back into the kitchen.
For weeks, the company pushed softer vocabulary to explain the missing product: strong demand, scaling production, come back in a bit. We can now report, exclusively, what the disappearance actually was.
A Dyson spokesperson told Marie Claire that, “Unfortunately, one production batch of jet tubes had experienced a process issue, creating the potential for water seepage which affected the performance of a small number of products early on. We took what we believe to be the right decision to isolate impacted products, which resulted in a temporary out-of-stock position. We are sorry that we have let down our loyal customers and we will do all we can to support them.”
The Dyson spokesperson gave Marie Claire additional breaking news: No consumers in the United States were affected. The seepage, such as it was, reached only a small batch of consumers in the UK. The product is still available online in the U.S. with a “Notify Me” CTA button in both colorways.
The leakage issue surrounded the jettube. Essentially, it pushes out a directed squirt of mouthwash toward whatever the algorithm has decided is plaque. It is located next to the section that holds water and, unfortunately, resulted in that water sneaking into a cabinet it wasn’t supposed to enter. In a small number of early units, performance suffered, and Dyson quickly isolated those products.
The company is not calling this a recall; rather, a temporary out-of-stock position caused by doing, in Dyson's view, the right thing. The few customers who already had a damp unit are being told, in the spokesman’s words, that “Dyson is sorry and will do all it can [to remedy the situation].” The pricey high-tech toothbrush is expected to return—ideally with a jet tube that features stronger direction and better insulation.
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Other oral care brands appreciate the extra attention Dyson's CameraJet has brought to the industry, and feel sympathy for the brand's minor setback. "Product ideation, development, and lastly execution can be a painstaking process. We, for example, work for years with thousands of dental professionals and feedback prior to bringing a new product to market." Hamish Khayat, co-founder and CEO of Burst Oral Care tells Marie Claire. "But with all new technologies—like several of our patents—the unforeseen is always a variable."
Dyson built a toothbrush that afforded users the type of up close and personal view to their teeth typically reserved only for your dentist and dental hygienist, a massive innovation in the oral care space. The camera worked. The algorithm worked. The water proved to be a minor issue. It seems the high-tech toothbrush briefly forgot it was supposed to be waterproof, in a category where water is integral to usage.
Now, the rest of us eager consumers just have to bide our time until the sequel is released.
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A Russian-American girl, Tanya Akim is a New York City and Los Angeles–based journalist who covers beauty, wellness, culture, and the slightly unhinged things people will do in the name of looking (and feeling) better. Her words have appeared in Architectural Digest, Byrdie, Coveteur, The Cut, Eater, Forbes, Marie Claire, The New York Times, and elsewhere.
A longtime student of the skin’s ecosystem, she has a particular fondness for the microbiome, caring for her and other people's personal dermatitis, and any treatment that sounds faintly medieval until it works.
When she is not on a plane, reading medical journals for fun, or talking to strangers about their skincare routines, she can usually be found with a horse or on a beach. She has never had social media and never will.