Philips Sonicare Diamondclean 9000 review

Philips might not be the world's biggest and best electric toothbrush maker, but it comes close. The brand is second to Oral-B, who rules the roost, but has still managed to make a massive success of its toothbrush line through some innovative teeth-cleaning tech it calls Sonicare.

Instead of rotating and oscillating like its rival’s devices, Philips’ Sonicare toothbrushes make use of sonic technology to eliminate plaque from your gnashers by essentially vibrating brush heads that move bristles side-to-side at high speeds. This, the Dutch firm says, creates a fluid action that propels microbubbles between your teeth, giving you a deeper, clean feeling.

Coupling this with Bluetooth connectivity is the DiamondClean 9000, one of Philips’ top-of-the-range brushes that syncs with an app and gives guidance during brushing. But at just under £200, is it really worth the dosh? Let’s find out...

Philips Sonicare Diamondclean 9000: Price And Availability

The Philips DiamondClean 9000 was first released in May 2020 with an RRP of £339.99 / $475. Since that time it’s come down somewhat significantly in price, and can be picked up from Philips' official site in black, white or pink colourways for £169.99 / $238. 

The DiamondClean 9000 ships with one of Philips’ W3 Premium White brush heads, which features densely packed stain removal bristles to take away plaque and surface stains from food and drinks. These replacement brush heads, which are designed to last around three months, retail at about £29 for a pack of two (£14.50) a pop. If you like to buy in bulk, a pack of four should set you back no more than £36 (£4.50 each) if you shop around.

We should also note that the DiamondClean 9000 ships with a high-quality travel case bundled with a built-in USB charging cable and a wireless charging stand.

Philips Sonicare Diamondclean 9000: Design

The first thing that will strike you about the Sonicare DiamondClean 9000 is its super minimal and elegant design. While our pink review model does look a lot cheaper than its white or black counterparts, it still boasts a premium feel thanks to its matte finish. Conversely, this same finish won’t do you any favours if you’re a messy tooth scrubber as you might find any remnants of toothpaste can cause stains on the handle that can’t be cleaned off. This can be easily avoided, however, by simply giving the toothbrush a proper rinse after use. 

There are two buttons on the DiamondClean 9000, which are fairly easy to use. The top button turns the toothbrush on as well as switches between brushing modes, of which there are four: Clean, White+, Gum Health and Deep Clean+. Philips says Clean mode is for everyday cleaning, White+ is for removing stains, Gum Health provides a gentle yet effective clean for gums and no prizes for guessing that Deep Clean+ is said to give you an “invigorating deep clean”. The second button acts as an intensity selector, allowing you to choose between a higher setting to boost your clean and a lower one for more sensitive mouths.

Overall, we’re big fans of the DiamondClean 9000’s design and suspect most will love to have it sitting on their bathroom sink or window sill.

Philips Sonicare Diamondclean 9000: App And Connectivity 

The DiamondClean 9000 is smart in that it’s connected to an app that you’re supposed to view on your smartphone while brushing your teeth to help you improve your teeth-cleaning experience. But unlike the apps that Oral-B’s connected toothbrushes use, which focus on your technique, Philips’ app is more about organising your oral care. For example, when your toothbrush head will need replacing, setting up automatic head re-ordering, and your weekly brushing schedule and average brushing time.

It does, however, replicate what’s displayed on the toothbrush handle, too - such as battery life, mode and intensity selected - as well as displays you’ve got the time left during brushing. The latter is the most handy, as it'll also guide you on which segments of the mouth you should be cleaning and when - and if you're brushing too hard. 

The big drawback here, especially when compared to the likes of the Oral-B Genius X or iO, is that there’s no real-time brushing feedback in Philips’ app to help you improve your technique - it acts more as a guide. Still, it proves very helpful if you’re fine with including a smartphone in yet another part of your daily routine.

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Philips Sonicare Diamondclean 9000: Cleaning And Performance

In our experience, the DiamondClean 9000 boasts some really powerful cleaning. The sonic vibrations do a wonderful job cleaning your gnashers and leaving you with a fresh-feeling mouth for hours afterwards. 

If you’re not using the app, you’ll appreciate that the DiamondClean 9000 has a built-in timer that will pulse every 30 seconds to encourage you to move onto the next quadrant of your teeth and turn off after two minutes. 

In terms of battery life, you can expect to get 2-3 weeks of use between charges, which we think is more than decent. 

Philips Sonicare Diamondclean 9000: Verdict

One of the best electric toothbrushes that will leave you with a super clean-feeling mouth, but let down by its price, which - even with app connectivity - isn't quite justified. The connectivity doesn’t add enough to the brushing experience, in our opinion, and so it just ends up being a rather pricey electric toothbrush. 

Philips has other non-connected Sonicare offerings (such as the Protectiveclean 6100 at around £100) that are cheaper and do a very similar job, but, if you want the most stylish and top-of-the-range toothbrush from Philips – this is it.