I’m not into fancy tech, especially when it comes to mundane everyday tasks like brushing my teeth. Sure, my partner got me a basic electric toothbrush from the supermarket, but TBH, I’d be perfectly content going old school and using a manual toothbrush. Paying upwards up $100 for a tooth brush was a beyond wild concept to me. That is, until my dentist told me I need to improve the way I brush (aggressive scrubber things x). Shortly after, I was introduced to the Philips Sonicare 9900 Prestige Electric Toothbrush.
This is one of the bougiest toothbrushes on the market — and the price had me gawking. Retailing for $549, (except Amazon currently has it on sale for $329), this thing is basically the Dyson Airwrap of dental hygiene.
In the name of science — and good oral hygiene — I decided to put the Philips Sonicare 9900 Prestige to the test to see if a $550 toothbrush is worth the investment, or if you’re better off with your run of the mill manual situation.
Unboxing the Philips Sonicare 9900 Prestige Electric Toothbrush
Unboxing this toothbrush was akin to pass the parcel… except I was the only participant. The attachments just kept on coming.
Okay, so there’s a few different things going on once you shake everything out of the box. First up, you’ve got the classic toothbrush head and body. Then, there’s a bonus tongue scrubber, a travel case with a built in charging port, and a stand for your bathroom counter.
Then came the most whack aspect, in my humble opinion: you have to download the Philips Sonicare app and connect it your phone via bluetooth.
Call me old fashioned, but why on earth would you need an app for brushing your teeth?
Philips Sonicare 9900 Prestige: First Impressions
It turns out the Philips Sonicare app is pretty darn helpful.
Once I linked my toothbrush and set up the app, it encouraged me to do a test brush, so it could assess my oral health competency. As it turns out, I scrub when I should simply let the Philips Sonicare 9900 Prestige do the heavy lifting, and I was brushing my teeth way too hard. Oh, I also don’t brush my teeth for long enough. So it’s safe to say I have a lot to work on.
If you pull up the app while you brush your teeth (which I strongly advise you to do), it’ll show you a diagram of your teeth, including where to brush, and a timer for how long you should be brushing for. You start in the top right corner of your mouth — although you can customise this and change it in the app — and work your way around in 20 second intervals. The wild thing is the toothbrush can detect where it has cleaned, and the graphic will change from yellow to white as you move through your mouth, leaving spots you’ve missed yellow. Then, once your two minute timer is up, it’ll recommend you go back and do touch ups on the areas you missed, so you’re left with a squeaky clean mouth.
If you can’t be bothered grabbing your phone to use the app while you brush, don’t stress. The brush buzzes to let you know when it’s time to focus on a new section of your mouth.
The default pressure of the Philips Sonicare 9900 Prestige is very gentle, but you can customise this in the app, too. Are you a chronic rough brusher like me? The base of the brush lights up purple and vibrates when you’re sending it a little too hard, so you know when to rein it in.
There’s also a checklist on the app to make sure you’re staying on top of your oral hygiene. It tells you how often you should brush, and also lets you check off flossing, tongue cleaning and mouth wash.
The tongue cleaning attachment is also fun. The brush detects when you’ve swapped out the brushes, and puts a 30 second timer for three rounds so your mouth feels as fresh as a daisy… or a mint? Regardless, this tech is fancy, and I was very impressed.
Philips Sonicare 9900 Prestige: Final Thoughts
I’ve been using this brush for the past week, and I must say, it’s made me change my brushing habits for the better. I didn’t realise just how poor my skills were until the Philips Sonicare 9900 Prestige humbled me. And now that I’ve got a dental diary to refer to, it’s made me want to close my rings and turn that little diagram blue. Game-ify anything, and I’m sold.
There’s no denying this is an incredible toothbrush. But with that comes a HEFTY price tag. To be blatantly honest with you, I wouldn’t recommend you go out and impulsively spend $549 on a tooth brush, especially if you don’t have a whole heap of disposable income. But if oral health is a concern of yours, and you don’t want to lose all your teeth by the time you’re 60, I would be adding this to my wishlist if I were you, and adding it to your cart the moment it goes on sale. It issss 40 per cent off right now, and while $329 is still steep, it’s a lot better than $549.
While I haven’t been back to my dentist just yet, I’m hoping that she’ll be bloody impressed.
You can shop the Philips Sonicare 9900 Prestige Electric Toothbrush on Amazon.
Image credit: Alyssa Forato
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