Review: Philips Sonicare DiamondClean 9000 electric toothbrush

Teeth are important. After our baby set are gone in our early formative years we get a single set that are meant to last our entire lives. Combined with the modern high sugar diet that does not bode well for decent teeth in later years. For this reason it is extremely important to look after the teeth you do have, before you start needing to have expensive replacements.

As someone who is on the downhill portion of his life I can say that my teeth have definitely seen better days — I won’t show you them because that’s just gross. I may have only had a couple of fillings in my time but I have had a root canal and have receding gums caused by poor cleaning habits over the years.

After a scare from the dentist late last year I decided to look into looking after my teeth better, to put off the requirement for falsies. My dentist recommended an electric toothbrush as a decent electric toothbrush can tell you if there is too much pressure, not enough and make sure you clean your teeth for long enough. When Philips released the DiamondClean 9000 sonic electric toothbrush I jumped at the chance to give it a go, to see what I had been missing out on for all these years.

So what is it?

The Philips Sonicare DiamondClean 9000 is their latest and greatest electric toothbrush that allows for four different modes for different types of cleans as well as three different intensities for different sensitivities. There are also various other functions that can be used and are all on by default, but can be turned off. These include:

• BrushPacer — indicates when you should move onto the next section of your teeth.
• Pressure Sensor — measures how hard you are pressing and to stop you pressing too hard will change its vibration alerting you to the fact until you change said pressure.
• Brush head replacement reminder — not only does the pap tell you how many brushes you should have left with that brush but there is an indicator light on the brush that lets you know to replace the cleaning head/brush.
• EasyStart — using an electric toothbrush can be daunting at first. This feature gently increases the power of the handle over the first 14 brushes to help you get used to the DiamondClean 9000.

In the box of the DiamondClean 9000 is the brush motor itself, two brush heads (a C3 Premium Plaque Control and a W3 Premium White brush), a travel charger/case, and a charging glass — yes a charging glass.

Let’s start with the brush handle itself. It is similar to other electric brushes in that it has a power button, a metal stalk (as I call it) to insert the brush head on to. This toothbrush though also has the mode selector button which, when the toothbrush is off selects the mode you want to use — clean, white+, gum health and deep clean.

Clean is your everyday cleaning mode, white+ is to remove stains, gum health is a gentle clean while Deep Clean+ is the invigorating deep clean. With this package there was two brush heads as mentioned above but there are other types of brush heads you can buy for the DiamondClean 9000 — there is also a G3 Premium Gum care brush and a T1 Tongue care+ brush.

When the toothbrush is on the mode selector button becomes the intensity level selector button. Hit that button each time you want to change the intensity while it is going.

The heads slide on to the top of the brush fairly easily — with a shaped stalk making sure you get the head on the correct way around. The brush does not go all the way down the stalk to sit flush with the handle — so don’t try and force it.

So how is it to use?

I am 46. Yes, at my age my Dad had two full sets of false teeth so I don’t have great genetics for teeth — although country football and no mouthguards could be partly to blame for his teeth. My gums are receding way too fast and my teeth are far too yellow for my liking. I can say that if I had started using this toothbrush 20 years ago I dare say I would not have the issues I have now.

The DiamondClean 9000 really does leave my teeth with an invigorating feeling — and without bleeding gums (ew.. gross again). Follow the instructions, watch the app and listen for the vibrations of the motor of the handle to let you know when you are pressing too hard and it will make a big difference for you too.

The app itself is strange — for some reason it has a security feature that does not allow you to take screenshots of it so you’ll have to make do with looking at photos. The app is fairly basic with a record kept of the number of times you brushed that day, how long you brushed for each time and how good the pressure you applied was — the options being good, too hard/too short/missed session and no data available.

There is also a count down for how many brushes you have left with that brush. There are of course also options to shop for accessories you require such as more brush heads etc as well as collaborate with your dental professional — the collaboration is to keep track of appointments and share your progress with your dentist.

The use of the app and the toothbrush is fairly simple. Pair your toothbrush with your phone and then each time you want to brush remove the brush from the charging glass, open the app and wait for it to connect. Occasionally it did not connect which was very annoying — I figured out that to get it to connect every time make sure the app is not in memory still. There was one time that I brushed without it connecting to the app — just to see what would happen. The brush itself obviously kept a record of it because when I brushed later that day the app recorded both brushes for the day.

Of course you do not need to use the app when brushing your teeth. Choose the desired mode on the brush handle and it will use the Brush Pacer to let you know when to change from one section of your mouth to another. The Pressure Sensor also works without the app with the vibration intensity of the brush changing and alerting you if you are pressing too hard.

When you are done, rinse it, clean the head and under it and place it back in the charging glass. The glass charger works using Qi wireless charging and it is extremely easy to use — just put it in the glass when you are done cleaning and it will charge. Seems almost magical that it can charge through the glass.

The travel charger is a solid case that flips open and inside there are places to clip the brush handle and brush heads in to hold them in place. It uses wireless charging as well to charge the brush handle. Underneath the case is a small compartment where a USB charging cable is located. Plug that USB cable into the wall, or a portable charger and the brush will charge when placed within the case.

Do I recommend it?

I dare say I have brushed my teeth much more than any of you — owing to my advanced years on this planet. As a result I can say that I wish I had a Philips Sonicare DiamondClean 9000 a LOT earlier in my life. I wouldn’t have had as many fillings, my gums would not be receding, and my teeth would be pearly white still.

The ease at which it cleaned by teeth effectively without damaging gums was amazing. A true test of a product is whether you would buy one of these yourself with your own funds — I would and I am going to. As soon as my wife and I are no longer stood down part time I will be buying one for her — if only it came in pink.

I highly highly highly recommend that you get yourself an electric toothbrush — and especially one that lets you know if the pressure you are using is too much or not. Having only tested this one I cannot say if it is better than others at the same price but I can say that the Philips Sonicare DiamondClean 9000 is feature packed and won’t let you down. The wireless charging glass and the travel case are reasons that make it stand out from the pack.

The Philips Sonicare DiamondClean 9000 is available in black and white colours for a RRP of $379. It is not the cheapest smart toothbrush on the block but it is one of the best.