Will the Sonicare 9900 Prestige suit you? It’s mostly a question of how much you enjoy tinkering. Philips recommends holding it gently, like a flute (Image credit: Future) The Sonicare 9900 Prestige is light and comfortable in the hand. It seemed necessary to angle the Sonicare 9900 Prestige quite steeply for it to register that we were brushing some lingual surfaces.
PHILIPS TOOTHBRUSH SERIES
You’re advised to hold it gently, like a flute, but despite using a light touch, we found that the brush location wasn’t quite as accurate as that of the Oral-B iO Series 9. The brush feels smooth and comfortable in the hand thanks to its slender handle. We're not sure whether this is an intentional design feature, but it certainly adds to the 'premium' feeling. The Sonicare 9900 Prestige is remarkably quiet, and the sound fades gently in and out as you turn it on and off. There’s also no light to show if you’re not applying enough pressure, though this is less of a concern. In our tests, this appeared much less sensitive than the pressure sensor of the Oral-B iO Series 9 (another premium electric toothbrush). If you scrub too hard, it can light up and vibrate to alert you (with a warning in the app as well), and if you apply too much pressure for too long then the handle will pause, then lower the intensity automatically so you don’t damage your gums. The brush can also take action to stop you getting too aggressive with your brushing. The brush’s default setting is ‘gentle’, but having tried all brushing intensities, we found ourselves favoring the ‘medium’ option in ‘clean’ mode, which left our teeth feeling smooth and allowed the brush to glide nicely. That said, the app gives you an impressive degree of control, letting you adjust the brush’s mode (clean, white+, gum health, deep clean, or sensitive) and intensity separately. The brush has a sleek design that's easy to keep clean (Image credit: Future)