Philips Sonicare DiamondClean: good vibrations

With oral health month wrapping up here locally in October, it seemed fitting to put up a little something in honour of our mouths. Philips dropped off their Sonicare DiamondClean electric toothbrush for me to review and, well, spoiler alert, the inside of my mouth has never felt cleaner.

In an interview with local dentist Dr Bongiwe Nhlangulela aka Dr Bee, she reiterated that oral health month should not just be once a year – oral health should be a concern all year round, which is why I’ve cheekily (mind the pun) managed to postpone this post on the blog… Dr Bee says every month, so there!

We have neglected our mouths for far too long, says Dr Bee and leaving an irritation can result in huge and costly surgeries etc in the long run. “If you’re coming for your check-up consistently, you might avoid those costly visits in the long run.”…And if you’re brushing your teeth properly, you might not need as much from your dentist.

But let’s get into the Philips toothbrush and its tech.

Before you brush your teeth, you need to charge the toothbrush and this one has two nifty ways for you to get that gadget ready for action.

The first way to charge your toothbrush is the charger glass.

Plug the glass into the socket and all you really do is pop your toothbrush into the glass. Supposedly, upright is also the best way to store your toothbrush, so your glass stores it correctly and charges it at the same time…

The second way to charge the toothbrush is in its travel case. The travel case can be connected via USB port or a wall outlet. Pop your toothbrush into the case, plug in the case and that is it!

Battery life is impressive. On one full charge, the toothbrush has lasted me over three weeks, which is a great benefit to those traveling a lot… A three week charge is ideal.

So let’s look at the brush itself.

Not only is the Philips Sonicare DiamondClean stylish and sleek looking but it’s lightweight and easy to hold. The grip feels quite ergonomic and the brush is weighted well, especially when those mandatory two minutes become tedious, which they never will because you’ll love brushing your teeth with this thing. But really, you don’t want to be schlepping a heavy toothbrush around.

Settings/modes

There are also five settings/modes to choose from and each of these modes cleans your teeth in different ways.  If you only use the Clean mode, you’ll get a superb clean every time. But if you want to change things up to best suit your needs, there are more to choose from.

Clean

Clean is your toothbrush’ workhorse mode. 62 000 sonic brush movements per minute expertly sweep away plaque and whisk fluid to create caring microbubbles that reach deeper. It removes plaque with superior efficiency in a two-minute programme. The Clean mode is the base setting on every Sonicare toothbrush. If you’re going to stick to one mode, make it this one.

White

In White mode, your toothbrush works a bit harder to remove surface stains caused by things like coffee and tea. After the standard two-minute program is completed, you’ll get an extra thirty seconds to focus on polishing your front teeth, so you get a healthy smile that really shines.

Gum Health

The Gum Health mode adds an extra minute of reduced power brushing to the end of the standard two-minute program. Use it to gently massage your gums for a better circulation and ultimately better gum health.

Sensitive

If you’ve got sensitive teeth or gums, or you just find the sonic vibrations a little overwhelming at first, switch to the Sensitive mode. In this mode, your toothbrush vibrates with lower intensity, going easier on your teeth and gums.

Polish

Getting ready for a night out? Select the Polish mode for a quick one-minute touch up of your front teeth. It’s all you need to make a dazzling entrance.

Deep Clean

Sometimes you just want your teeth cleaner than clean. For those moments, there’s the Deep Clean mode. The unique motion of the brush head in this extended three-minute mode is more powerful than any other mode, making it the ideal choice for when you want to pay extra attention to trouble spots.

When you press the power button you can feel and hear precise, high frequency sonic vibrations. These are powered by an electromagnetic pulse drive to gently care for your teeth and gums.

Quadpacer

If the wireless charging and modes weren’t enough, Philips have introduced some more innovative technology with this toothbrush. Every 30 seconds, a stronger vibration goes off in your mouth reminding you to change to a new quadrant of your mouth. So you consciously spend 30 seconds brushing one part of your mouth.

Automatic stop

After two minutes, the brush stops of its own accord. Dr Bee tells me that brushing for longer than two minutes comes with a whole heap of new problems so the auto stop not only takes the guess work out of the time you spend brushing but keeps your mouth safe too.

So I think we’ve figured out that Philips have hit the nail on the head with this one, as I mentioned, my mouth and teeth have never felt cleaner.

The only downside to this toothbrush, if you’re on a limited budget, is the price. The recommended retail price is around R3500. BUT I’ve spied some great deals on this toothbrush and you could save yourself a grand if you shop around for a bit. I promise – it’s worth it!

This is a purchase you won’t ever regret making and let’s be completely honest, investing in your teeth as soon as possible can only help you save time and money. So yes, initial outlay on this brush is costly but well, well, WELL worth it, I promise.

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