This is a seriously premium toothbrush, and the app provides a more grown-up experience than those of some rival brands. We also liked the real-time warnings on our phone when we were using too much of a scrubbing action these appeared more quickly than haptic feedback from the brush, so we were able to slow down our brushing straight away. We did, however, appreciate the ability to change the starting point for our daily brushing sessions (in our case, the bottom right), which allows you to tailor the experience to suit your brushing style. It’s a little frustrating.Īll configuration happens through the Sonicare app, which also guides you around your mouth in real time as you brush (Image credit: Future) The app shows whether you’re brushing the outer or inner side, which is a nice feature that helps ensure you don’t miss a spot, but your time is split equally between these two, which allows no time for biting and chewing surfaces until the very end, when you’re urged to make finishing touches. The app times you, and shows when it’s time to move around to the next part. Much like Oral-B’s smart toothbrush app, the Sonicare app presents you with a simple map of your mouth, divided into areas that change color on-screen as you clean each one. However, if you know what you like and want a consistent experience, there’s no need to spend time picking a setting every morning and night – after configuring it once, you can simply power it on and begin brushing. A display or a touch control on the handle would make the Sonicare 9900 Prestige more practical for anyone who wants to swap modes regularly (for an occasional gentle brush or deep clean, for example). Will the Sonicare 9900 Prestige suit you? It’s mostly a question of how much you enjoy tinkering. Philips recommends holding it gently, like a flute (Image credit: Future) The Sonicare 9900 Prestige is light and comfortable in the hand. It seemed necessary to angle the Sonicare 9900 Prestige quite steeply for it to register that we were brushing some lingual surfaces.
Philips sonicare series#
You’re advised to hold it gently, like a flute, but despite using a light touch, we found that the brush location wasn’t quite as accurate as that of the Oral-B iO Series 9. The brush feels smooth and comfortable in the hand thanks to its slender handle. We're not sure whether this is an intentional design feature, but it certainly adds to the 'premium' feeling. The Sonicare 9900 Prestige is remarkably quiet, and the sound fades gently in and out as you turn it on and off.
There’s also no light to show if you’re not applying enough pressure, though this is less of a concern. In our tests, this appeared much less sensitive than the pressure sensor of the Oral-B iO Series 9 (another premium electric toothbrush). If you scrub too hard, it can light up and vibrate to alert you (with a warning in the app as well), and if you apply too much pressure for too long then the handle will pause, then lower the intensity automatically so you don’t damage your gums. The brush can also take action to stop you getting too aggressive with your brushing. The brush’s default setting is ‘gentle’, but having tried all brushing intensities, we found ourselves favoring the ‘medium’ option in ‘clean’ mode, which left our teeth feeling smooth and allowed the brush to glide nicely. That said, the app gives you an impressive degree of control, letting you adjust the brush’s mode (clean, white+, gum health, deep clean, or sensitive) and intensity separately. The brush has a sleek design that's easy to keep clean (Image credit: Future)