This is the smart toothbrush that will transform your dental care

The AI-powered Phillips Sonicare 9900 Prestige Toothbrush will change your brushing habits for good.

Here is my confession. I used to dread brushing my teeth, and before you assume the worst, I brush them twice a day and sometimes more depending on meals and the day’s caffeine intake.

It’s a routine that I often associated with discomfort, as the plastic bristles scrubbing over my gums would result in bleeding. My teeth also never felt absolutely clean of plaque and stains.

Enter the electric toothbrush. While clearly superior to its manual counterpart, the creme de la creme of them is the Phillips Sonicare 9900 Prestige Toothbrush. It uses Artificial Intelligence to help you brush better. Called SenseIQ, it works in tandem with the Phillips Sonicare app to offer you a customised brushing experience.

How it works

Three brushing intensity levels are offered in ascending order; simply tap on the LED lights below the power button to switch between them. The brush head itself is designed to remove as plaque as much as possible. The angled bristles are said to remove up to 20 times more plaque as compared to a manual while the triangular tips are purposed to remove 100 times more stains in less than two days.

While the toothbrush can function its own without the Phillips Sonicare app, the experience will not be complete without it. Registration only takes a minute or so, and requires you to connect your toothbrush to the app via Bluetooth while you set up your profile, and indicate areas where you might experience issues like gum recession and bleeding.

Optimal brushing time is set at two minutes, with 30 seconds relegated to each of the zones. These settings can be tweaked through the app to others such as Sensitive, Deep Clean and White+.

The Sonicare 9900 Prestige also uses a Premium All-in One brush head with BrushSync Technology. As you brush, the sensor syncs in real time with the app to track the motion and pressure of your brushing. Once the two minutes are up, you’ll receive a summary about the zones that require more brushing. Guidance is also offered at every step of the way, with warnings such as “reduce pressure” and “use less motion”. It’s best to hold your brush gently.

To charge the brush, simply place it on the a translucent plastic upper that sits above a sleek charging pod equipped with a USB-C port and an accompanying cable. A smooth vegan leather travel case also doubles up as a charger.

As for design, it comes in two colours of Champagne (a soft nude and rose gold) and Midnight Blue. It is undeniably sleek, and even manages to look sexy on your bathroom counter.

Review

The first time I used the brush on my teeth, the sensations made my sensitive teeth ache but I soldiered on and the sensitivity went away after three brushes.

What I appreciate most about the toothbrush is its syncing with app, that shows a map of my mouth as I brush. With 30 seconds relegated to each zone, this covers 15 seconds each for both the outer and inner sides of each section of teeth. However, this means little left over for chewing parts and you will have to go back to them after the two-minute session is up.

The app also offers brushing tips for you to achieve optimal dental health. With a manual toothbrush, my gums often bleed, but since I’ve switched to the Sonicare 9900 Prestige, I no longer have this problem as the brush will warn you when you apply too much pressure or scrubbing motions. What I’ve also noticed is that I now use lesser toothpaste as the vibrations go a long way in spreading them, and the coffee and food stains on my teeth have remarkably reduced in appearance.

The only downside for me is that the brush only comes with one brush head. This is, however, just me nitpicking. Make no mistake, this brush is an excellent investment for your dental and oral hygiene.

All images are courtesy of Phillips 

Philips Sonicare 9900 Prestige is now available in Champagne and Midnight blue ($429) at the Philips e-store and all Philips-authorized resellers. For more information, head here.