Review by Chris Towland, Gadget Editor

Well, where do I start with the Philips Sonicare DiamondClean?

First things first … this is easily the best toothbrush I’ve ever used!

I don’t say that though from the point of view of someone who has always used a manual brush and has suddenly discovered the extra cleanness you get from an electric brush. For several years I have used an electric brush and actually one of the Philips Sonicare range… but a £30 brush as opposed to the DiamondClean that currently retails around the £250 mark.

So where does the DiamondClean beat my normal electric brush?

Build Quality

The overall quality of the brush and case are very good. No cheap plastic unit here but a good solid feel to it.

Travel Case

The travel case again has a great build quality that will cope with the knocks it may get on your travels. Also, when the brush is in the case, a charging cable can be plugged into the outside of the case to recharge the brush either by wall socket or by the USB port of a computer.

Battery Life

Whilst I never quite managed to get the 3 weeks of battery life that was mentioned in the advertising for the DiamondClean I always get well over two weeks before I need to recharge.

Cleaning Modes

The DiamondClean has 5 different cleaning modes:

Clean – The standard two minute clean your teeth and plaque removal mode with a short pause every 30 seconds so you know to move to another ‘quadrant’ of your mouth.

White – The same as above but with a further 30 seconds specifically designed to whiten your front teeth.

Polish – A quick 1 minute mode to brighten and polish your front teeth.

Gum Care – The 2 minute Clean mode as above with an additional minute to massage your gums to improve gum health.
Sensitive – An extra gentle mode for people with sensitive teeth.

Without doubt, my favourite mode is the Gum Care mode. As someone who has regularly suffered with painful gums I can very happily report that I have not had a single gum problem for well over a month now (and I have been using the DiamondClean for just over five weeks). I have done nothing else different except change to the DiamondCare and use the Gum Care mode once a day but my gums have certainly noticed the difference!

Charging Cup

I’m really not sure whether most people would see this as a unique feature of this brush or maybe just a bit of a gimmick but to charge your DiamondCare at home, you simply drop it into the charging charging cup that you then plug into your wall socket.

Clean Teeth

The most important difference for me with the DiamondClean is how clean my teeth feel compared to my normal electric brush. Now this is not something I can quantify, but my teeth and my whole mouth just feel cleaner and fresher after using this brush.

So, what negatives did I find with the Philips Sonicare Diamondclean?

The Price

At around £250 this is certainly not a cheap electric brush and so will be out of reach for many people. For anyone who is happy with the cost though who is looking for the very best electric toothbrush available, this has to be a serious contender.

Switching Between Modes

Each time you start the brush it starts in the same mode that you last used it. This is great if, for example, you always use the Gum Care mode as one touch of the start button will always start you in this mode. However, if like me you want to use the Clean mode in the morning and the Gum Care mode at night, it’s not quite so simple!

Picture the scene – You hold your brush under the tap, then load it up with toothpaste. You put it in your mouth and hit the start button. As you know you’re not in the mode you want, you take the brush out of your mouth to look at the display and cycle through the modes but the toothpaste and water now sprays over your face and your shirt. This is hardly ideal so what you end up doing is starting the brush in your mouth, pressing the button to cycle through the modes until it stops the brush, when you hit the start button again it now starts at Clean mode and cycles through the others in order for each press of the button, so you need to remember the order and press the right number of times for the mode you want (twice for White mode, four times for Gum Care etc). All in all not a major inconvenience but something I would have thought would have been considered on a top end brush.

No Spare Brush Heads

The DiamondClean came with a normal sized brush head and a smaller sized head (there was no explanation of these either – was one a child’s brush or people with very small mouths maybe?) I would have expected at least one spare head in a brush of this quality.

My final verdict:

Without doubt this is not a cheap electric brush but you certainly get what you pay for. If you want the very best electric toothbrush available then the Philips Sonicare DiamondClean gets my highest recommendation.

Here is the official info from Philips:

Taking care of your oral health is easy with the Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Toothbrush. This rechargeable power toothbrush offers Sonicare’s best plaque removal and whitening system, featuring Sonic technology and brush heads with diamond-shaped bristles that gently brush away plaque. Five cleaning modes provide a custom cleaning experience, and the Smartimer and Quadpacer ensure you brush adequately and evenly. For your convenience, DiamondClean includes a sleek charging glass and a USB charging travel case.

Unlike a manual toothbrush, Philips Sonicare DiamondClean uses powerful Sonic technology to clean teeth with up to 31,000 brush strokes per minute. Sweeping motions drive fluids deep into the tight spaces between your teeth and along your gum line, resulting in a cleaner, healthier mouth.

Achieve better results with DiamondClean: naturally whiter teeth, improved gum health, and better plaque removal than a manual toothbrush. DiamondClean is clinically proven to improve gum health in just two weeks. The gentle brushing action of DiamondClean helps prevent gum recession and removes up to 100 percent more plaque in hard-to-reach areas compared to a manual toothbrush. Proven to brighten your smile in just one week, DiamondClean will also gently remove coffee, tea and tobacco, and red wine stains.

The Philips Sonicare DiamonClean is available from many High Street and internet retailers including Amazon.

Full disclosure: I received a free product to keep, for the purposes of this review but as ever, all reviews on Gadgets and Technology News are totally impartial and without bias.