When it comes to toothbrushing, consumers and dentists are confronted with such a vast range of choices and new products entering the market on a monthly basis, it becomes difficult to keep track of things. What is the best toothbrush out there? What is currently the most advanced technology? Which toothbrush is worth recommending to patients who want to improve their oral health? This series of reviews aims to answer these questions by evaluating innovations from the world of dentistry.
What’s in the box?
The Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Smart toothbrush set includes a toothbrush body, four different brush heads (Premium Plaque Defence, Premium Gum Care, Premium White and TongueCare+), a travel case, a Philips-branded glass, an induction charger and the Philips Sonicare app which is compatible with most common smartphones, and can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play Store, free of charge.
Design, accessories and functionality
At first sight, the Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Smart toothbrush convinces with a timelessly sleek, smooth and minimalist design. Its white casing, which is completely sealed—apart from the on/off and mode selection buttons—does not appear to collect as much bacteria as competing models might do.
The mode selection button lets patients choose between three brushing intensities (slow, medium and fast) and between five modes (clean, white+, gum health, deep clean+ and tongue care), which are all shown as illuminated symbols on the toothbrush body. Similarly, the battery life is shown as an illuminated symbol at the very bottom of the body. As for the charging options, the toothbrush can be charged via a glass induction charger. A fully charged battery lasts up to three weeks.
Because of its Sonicare technology, the toothbrush appears to be less noisy than other models on the market. Of course, this has no impact on the brushing performance but is something some patients might look out for and is certainly a benefit worth mentioning.
The Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Smart toothbrushes are available in different colours and match accompanying products such as the Philips Sonicare Airfloss.
Philips Sonicare app
The Philips Sonicare app was designed to provide patients with personalised coaching for better coverage, reduced scrubbing and ideal pressure. The setup of the Sonicare app is extremely simple. After downloading it onto a smartphone, brushing can start almost immediately.
After opening the app, the Smart Brush Head Recognition technology recognises the attached brush head and selects the appropriate mode that goes with the brush. Of course, the patient can manually select a different mode on the toothbrush.
Using the same smart sensor technology, the toothbrush and app exchange data to provide an overall clear picture of the patient’s brushing habits. The integrated location sensor helps avoid missed spots, the scrubbing sensor reduces unnecessary movements for a gentler clean and the pressure sensor gives visual and vibration feedback when too much pressure is applied. Lastly, the app and the toothbrush monitor brush head lifetime. When a brush head needs replacing, an orange symbol illuminates on the toothbrush body. On the app, patients can see how many sessions are left before the brush head is no longer effective.
A nice feature that might be helpful to patients who need motivation to complete their daily oral healthcare routine regularly is the smart timer and the “goals” section of the app. The patient can choose between four different goals (fresh breath goal, gum health goal, plaque removal goal and whitening goal) that last 21 days each. After each completed goal, the patient gets awarded points. The smart timer ensures that the recommended brushing time of two minutes or longer is completed.
The gallery shown below includes some screenshots and explanations of how the app looks and works.
Clinical evidence
The aim of Philips Oral Healthcare is to be an extension of the Dental Practitioner in patients’ homes, providing oral hygiene tools that meaningfully improve and sustain oral health. That’s why new product launches are evidence-based and can serve as decision-making foundations aimed at discovering which oral care procedures and regimens are best for each patient.
In a special issue of The Journal of Clinical Dentistry, Philips published five full manuscripts of evidence, detailing the outcomes of four clinical trials one meta-analysis. In these studies, the safety and efficacy profile of Sonicare innovations have been critically examined. In summary, it can be said that the effect of Philips’ products on surface plaque removal, gingival bleeding and inflammation is better in every tested aspect than with manual toothbrushing. The full clinical data can be accessed here.
Summary
Overall, the Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Smart toothbrush combines form and function and is worth recommending to patients who want to optimise their oral healthcare routine in a well-controlled and trackable manner. Both the toothbrush and the accompanying app are easy to use and support intuitive brushing. Especially the app is a useful feature if a patient feels like they are struggling with staying motivated to brush their teeth regularly.
Monthly overviews help patients to see progress and improvement.
A personalised overview can be used as a guide to give special attention to problematic areas.
When too much pressure is applied, the app and toothbrush will notify the patient with vibration, visual and audio signals.
With the brush head replacement reminder, forgetting to exchange brush heads is a thing of a past.
Different goals, for example, the plaque removal goal, can be chosen to improve a certain oral health issue.
In this overview, the yellow areas show that some areas were not given enough attention during the brushing session. After the brushing session, a reminder asks if the patient flossed, used mouthwash and cleaned their tongue.
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When it comes to toothbrushing, consumers and dentists are confronted with such a vast range of choices and new products entering the market on a monthly ...
When it comes to toothbrushing, consumers and dentists are confronted with such a vast range of choices and new products entering the market on a monthly ...
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When it comes to toothbrushing, consumers and dentists are confronted with such a vast range of choices and new products entering the market on a monthly ...
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