Philips Sonicare 9900 Prestige review: Top of the toothbrushes

Introduction

The Philips Sonicare 9900 is not for people who want a budget electric toothbrush – it’ll set you back a teeth-gnashing $379/£550. However, it’s unlike any other toothbrush I’ve tested, and proved to be a truly excellent bit of kit. I now think of it as a mobile dental hygienist, as that’s the level of clean you get every day. Well, twice a day. And yes, it does notice if you skip a session… 

The 9900 Prestige’s SenseIQ tech is meant to adapt to your mouth for a personalised approach to brushing. This works with the Philips Sonicare app, which uses AI assistance to give real-time guidance as you brush, and then tailored recommendations on how you can improve your brushing habits afterwards. Philips also says the 9900 Prestige’s “clinically proven” brush head removes up to 20x more plaque, provides up to 15x healthier gums and, impressively, up to 100% less stains than a manual brush in less than 2 days.

It’s not even the most expensive toothbrush on the market; at full price the AI-powered Oral-B iO10 will set you back over £800. Considering the cost of dentistry in general (and cosmetic dentistry in particular), the price suddenly becomes less painful than a tooth extraction, with a side order of teeth whitening.

Design & build: properly premium

The 9900 Prestige comes with a compact travel case, is wrapped in soft-touch vegan leather and makes it easy to take the brush with you when you travel. The case even includes an integrated USB-C port and USB charging cable, so you can easily recharge the toothbrush without removing it from its case.

The toothbrush is certainly a looker, available in a Champagne colour as seen here and also in black. It won’t need hiding away – even the gold charging stand looks luxe.

As well as looking very sleek, the brush feels great when you use it – well made and high-end. It also looks the same after two months on test as it did when it was box fresh, which isn’t always the case for grooming tech products. 

Despite this being a high-tech scrubber, it’s really easy to use. A push of the power button lets you start brushing immediately.

Features & app: AI brushing 

The last time I saw my dentist, I got a ticking off for scrubbing my teeth too hard and a warning that if I continued, I would likely do permanent damage to my gums. I’ve been trying to keep my OTT scrubbing tendencies in check, but was excited to see what the Philips Sonicare 9900 Prestige thought of my technique. Low and behold, even on my best behaviour, the brush did detect some scrubbing, as part of its real-time guidance on pressure, motion, position, duration, and frequency of brushing. Since using the Philips Sonicare app for guided cleaning, I was able to rectify my technique each time I got a bit carried away and let the toothbrush do the work instead. 

Being as I’m an adult, I’ve always assumed I don’t need to set a timer for my toothbrushing sessions, but the 9900 Prestige has proved me wrong – sometimes I was brushing too long, other times not long enough. The guided cleans seem to have got me back on track in terms of time and technique.

One I the things I love about the toothbrush is that you don’t have to take your smartphone into the bathroom every time you brush –it auto-syncs, so your brushing is kept up data up-to-date, even when you don’t brush with the app by your side and it proved to me that without help I actually brush for too long (sorry, dentist). 

You get in-app progress reports by day, week, month, and year, offering recommendations and actionable steps for better brushing, totally unique to you. It’s great for people like me, who need to make a change to their dental routine.

Performance: gleaming clean 

I can’t fault the clean I’ve got with the Sonicare 9900 Prestige. I’ve tested the toothbrush properly over a period of a few months and have, as with anything, gradually got used to having my teeth feeling extremely clean. In the first two weeks of use, I was acutely aware of how clean my teeth felt – the exact same sensation I get when I’ve seen a hygienist at the dentist. This is compared to an older (non AI) electric tooth brush, which until I started this review I had no intention of upgrading. 

The brush head is excellent and I found that that it really does a superior job in terms of plaque and stain removal (hello coffee and red wine). It is, however, the communication between toothbrush and app that benefitted me most – just knowing when I’m applying too much pressure has allowed me to ease off and I have seen no blood from my gums due to my overzealous brushing nature since starting this review. Phew. 

Philips Sonicare 9900 Prestige verdict 

There’s nothing I don’t like about this toothbrush, from the way it looks to the expert clean it provides – thanks partly to its AI and partly to the brush head, which just seems to get everywhere. Nothing that is, except the price.

Do I think it’s worth the money? If you can afford it, then certainly – I’m just mindful that it costs as much as new laptop. Hopefully our teeth are with us for life though, and as I said earlier the brush is so good, I do believe it could save users on fillings in the long run. It’ll certainly boost your cred with your dentist when they see what an expert brusher you’ve become at your next appointment.