If you’re in the market for an electric toothbrush, the Philips Sonicare 9900 Prestige is truly top-of-the-line. At its price point, you can’t expect anything less.
But is it worth the moolah? Read on to see our unbiased view.
SPECS
Price: S$429, available on Shopee and Lazada
Weight: 405g
Philips Sonicare is known for its consistent innovations in oral care. This toothbrush is no exception. It uses artificial intelligence to personalise your brushing experience.
Using SenseIQ technology, it’s able to detect the pressure you apply (it vibrates at 62,000 vibrating brush strokes per minute), the cleaning motion, and duration of each session. It claims to remove up to 20x more plague as compared to a manual toothbrush which equates to about a month’s worth of brushing in just 2 minutes. Using a combination of data, it’s able to give you real-time feedback on your brushing and provide you personalised guidance via the Sonicare App.
It comes in two colourways, Champagne and Midnight Blue (version reviewed).
The box comes with the device, a brush head, a tongue-cleaner head, the charging base and plug, a holder, travel case and a USB-C charging cable.
DESIGN
The toothbrush is super fancy looking. The contrast of the deep blue body and gold accents really give off a luxurious vibe. It’s minimalistic, with no display and a single power button. The toothbrush handle is slim and it just feels sleek overall.
The plastic body has a very premium feel. It doesn’t feel slippery in your hands, even when it’s wet.
The toothbrush has a hidden ring of LED at its base, which flashes different colours that mean different things. These include when your timing is done or when you’re brushing too hard.
The travel case also looks really luxurious. People who travel often will appreciate this as the toothbrush can be charged with the case, so you don’t have to bring the charging base everywhere. The case charges with USB-C.
Battery-life wise, the toothbrush is able to last 2 weeks with typical use. It takes 14 hours to fully charge.
FOR
– Good for travelling
– Luxurious look and feel
– Comprehensive Sonicare App
– Can give real-time feedback
AGAINST
– Very Expensive
– Features not very useful
PERFORMANCE
The toothbrush is truly meant to be used in tandem with the Sonicare app. This is where I feel most of its value comes from.
The toothbrush uses Bluetooth to pair with your phone. You can also track your usage daily, weekly and monthly. The data is nicely presented in calendar form.
In my opinion, this is not super useful because it’s not hard to remember to brush your teeth daily.
After a while of usage, the app will give you personalised brushing tips so you can get the most out of your daily tooth brushing sessions.
You can also use the app when you’re brushing. You’ll receive real time guidance on pressure and motion. You just have to remember to bring your phone into the toilet with you.
The app also displays a coverage function, where it tells you the different areas of your teeth to brush.
All in all, the Sonicare app is super comprehensive. But as the average consumer, I’m not sure how useful this data is to me.
I’ve used this toothbrush for a week. I’ve used those super cheap multi-pack toothbrushes my whole life, so the switch to electric was definitely…weird.
With the Philips Sonicare 9900 Prestige, you’re not supposed to scrub your teeth. You’re supposed to slowly move the brush head over your teeth and the vibration will take care of the rest.
This was hard to get used to. The first few times, I couldn’t help but feel like my mouth didn’t feel clean due to the lack of scrubbing.
When you use too much pressure, the LED ring on the base will flash purple and the handle will vibrate to let you know. My own toothbrush kinda scolds me for brushing how I want to, but you can turn this off from the app.
You’re supposed to change from the A3 brush head to the tongue-cleaning brush to brush your tongue. I feel like this is too many steps for something as routine as brushing your teeth.
The app also tracks the number of times you use the brush head using the BrushSync feature. After 3 months of use, the app will remind you to purchase new brush heads. A replacement for the A3 brush heads comes at S$59 for a pack of two.
CONCLUSION
Overall, I feel like The Philips Sonicare 9900 Prestige overcomplicates a simple task. It comes with many bells and whistles, but I’m not sure how they benefit me as the average consumer.
RATINGS
Features: 7/10
Design: 10/10
Performance: 7/10
Battery Life: 9/10
OVERALL: 7/10
