I was quite pleased with these. I had wanted to order what I had before but these came up. I like that the bristles really are soft & the size nice! They are also partially compostable. I find these comforting & efficient to use. I do not know about the whitening factor; that’s not what I bought them for. Great product, in my opinion!They were very skinny. But works wellThe bristles are extra soft and it’s hard to get a deep cleaning. As one might expect the bamboo gets wet and will not last long. Good product if you don’t mind replacing them every couple of weeksAdequate as toothbrushes, if a bit unpolished. However, nylon is not biodegradable.Just to make sure, I emailed my local sanitation company, Recology, and asked them specifically about these. Key parts of their response, "Products labeled only `biodegradable` or `made from nature' have not been certified to break down in a compost facility." "Must clearly state `certified compostable' on product and be easily identifiable with a green stripe or similar identifier."And they said, in so many words: ". . . belong in the trash."--I.E., the regular black bin bound for the landfill.(The handles should be okay to compost--if you're willing to invest the time and effort to saw off the heads and dispose of them in the landfill bin.)After using plastic-handle toothbrushes for a many years I was kind of hesitant to try these Bamboo brushes. But being eco-aware we decided to try them. We have now been using them twice daily over 2 weeks and love them! The bamboo handles are comfortable on the lips and the charcoal-infused bristles are very soft, cleaning our teeth very well.At this relatively early stage of use we would highly recommended them!no idea why I was skeptical but these are fantastic.Best brush I’ve ever had I tried $100 toothbrushes before and this one did a better job also it feels really nice on my teeth and I love how it is whitening them over time I always forgot to put on whitening strips so this is betterthey are toothbrushes. yep