Today is the day! Though it may sound a bit nerdy (guilty as charged). I've been wanting to do electric toothbrush reviews for ages, and I'm finally doing one. In today's review we're going to do a thorough, no-funny-business, review of my favorite brush. For those who want to skip the review and get a Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Smart for yourself, you can go here.
For everyone else, this is the Ultimate DiamondClean Smart Review...
Why I'm Doing This DiamondClean Smart Review
The main reason I'm doing this review is to show that living in Japan doesn't mean that you're going to end up with bad dental hygiene and bad teeth (contrary to popular belief).
Another reason I'm doing this review is because my current Sonicare Flexcare has been broken for about two weeks now. Apparently, there's an issue with the thin, metal, vibrating rod extends from the hand piece. That vibrating rod is essentially how a Sonicare achieves its high brushing speed.
Since I'd had the Flexcare brush for while, instead of going through the hassle of sending the toothbrush somewhere for repairs, I'd just buy the new model.
I've been getting great results from Sonicare electric toothbrushes for more than 15 years now. Yes! Even here in Japan!
Whether you're living in the US, or a US expat living abroad, this is an effective way to stay on top of your dental hygiene.
Sonicare is a brand I trust.
AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE
Yes, this review DOES contain affiliate links. When you click the links and make purchases, I do earn a commission. However, I do personally own this toothbrush. I will NEVER recommend any product on this site that I haven't personally tried myself. Also not that these links will be updated to the most current DiamondClean Smart Model.
It is my personal goal to be 100% honest about what's genuinely good about this electric toothbrush and what genuinely sucks about it. No pulling punches, just because it's a review.
Now that all that is finished, let's get to it!
Sonicare DiamondClean Smart Review - Quick Assessment Chart
PRICE At the time of this writing, the Sonicare Diamond Clean is the most expensive offering that Sonicare has. Starting around $270, this isn't just a casual purchase for most people, it's a small investment. | EASE OF USE This Sonicare uses the same, easy-to-use features as prior models (and then some). For example, the Quadpacer, easy to toggle mode options, and more make this electric toothbrush crazy easy to use. I got a little confused by the app the very first time I used it. | EFFECTIVENESS Donald rubs his tongue across his teeth. Yep! Sonicares are still top-of-the-line, teeth cleaning machines. As the tech improves, brushes get more sophisticated and you get an even better clean. Without necessarily overdoing it. | VALUE This is one of the shortcomings of the Diamond Clean Smart. It doesn't offer as much value as the prior, original model, hence the 3.5 stars. We get more into that later in this review. |
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How Much Does the DiamondClean Smart Cost?
At the time of this post, the price of the Diamond Clean Smart retails from $229.99 (for the most basic package) to $269.99 (for the premium package which I believe includes extra brush heads) per the Philips Sonicare website.
Are There Any Deals?
Funny enough, I was browsing around to see what I could find. I saw that there are actually coupons available on the Philips site, under the "Electric Toothbrushes" tab. I think this may be a great option for those of you who are buying your toothbrushes in person (it makes sense to save money if the option is available to you).
I also saw that some sellers over on Amazon running promotions and discounts on the Diamond Clean Smart. It's hard to tell when these offers will expire, but take advantage when you see them.
Price can and will change over time. As with most electronic devices, the DiamondClean Smart's price will probably reduce as new models are released.
Sonicare DiamondClean Smart Review- What's In The Box?
This is literally my first day owning this Sonicare model. I'm as excited as you are. This is a true unboxing session. What's in the box??
Sonicare Diamond Clean Smart Review- Features & Functions
A. ROD
This is the secret to this (and all) Sonicare's speed. The quickly vibrating rod is what allow your brush to have as much as 31,000 strokes per minute. Good luck trying to achieve that with a manual toothbrush.
B. BRUSH HEAD
The Smart model I purchased came with three different brush heads: a standard brush head, a gum care brush head, and a tongue scraper.
C. BRUSH HEAD CONNECTIVITY SYMBOL
Currently, this symbol exists only on Diamond Clean Smart brush heads. It lets you know that your brush has the chip inside necessary to connect to the Sonicare App on your phone.
D. HAND PIECE/BODY
This is where all of the electric toothbrush goodness happens. The hand piece/body is where all of the brush functions are housed, right at your fingertips.
E. POWER BUTTON
Nothing complicated to explain here. You press this button to turn the brush on and turn the brush off.
F. INTENSITY INDICATOR
These three lights show which intensity level your brush is on - low, medium, or high.
G. TOGGLE BUTTION
When the Diamond Clean is off, this button toggles between one of the five modes. Turn the DiamondClean Smart on, and it toggles between the low, medium, and high intensities.
H. FIVE MODES
The Philips Sonicare Diamond Clean Smart employs the use of five different modes: 1) clean, 2) white+, 3) gum health, 4) deep clean+, and 5) tongue care.
I. BATTERY INDICATOR
This light let's you know how you're doing for charge. There's another symbol that you can barely see (unless you look VERY closely) that's just above your battery indicator. The symbol looks like a toothbrush head with two arrows encircling it. If that light comes on, it means it's time to charge. It's not shown in this case because my unit is fully charged.
K. USB TRAVELING/CARRYING CASE
The Diamond Clean Smart's carrying case has a USB cable housed in the bottom which allows you to charge when you're away from the your main cup charger.
LOADED WITH SMART FEATURES!
One of the reasons the DiamondClean Smart is so amazing is because of all of it functional features.
Click the button below to get one of your very own.
Eight Things I Like About the Sonicare DiamondClean Smart
1. 31,000 Brush Strokes Per Minute
All of the electronic toothbrushes from Sonicare have the ability to do a crazy amount of brushstrokes in a short period of time. Philips has been touting the "sonic technology" in their toothbrushes since their inception. What does more brush strokes mean? It means being able to achieve a cleaning that's very hard to achieve with a normal brush...in far less time. This is one of the reasons it's so hard to go back to a manual toothbrush* after using a Sonicare for a while.
*If a manual toothbrush is all you have, or all you can afford, PLEASE don't let that stop you from brushing regularly. You may just have to do more brushing sessions or longer ones to achieve what you could with an electric model like the Diamond Clean Smart. But remember, good dental hygiene habits trump the brush you're using. Yep, I said it - this is a review, but we still need to keep it real.
2. The Three Intensities
This is arguably my favorite Diamond Clean Smart feature. Yes, it's simple, but it matters. I honestly feel like the intensities are tantamount to the modes. While I'm a big fan of having the different modes on this electric toothbrush, I toggle intensities far more than I toggle modes. There are simply areas of the mouth that need less intensity (namely the tongue and gums).
Sonicares are powerful brushes, with the DiamondClean being the most powerful model on the market right now. Having control of brushing intensity gives you the freedom to tailor your brushing regimen to suit YOU!
3. The Design & Feel
Again, I apologize for the nerdiness here, but this Sonicare definitely looks the part. It's incredibly sleek and stylish looking. I sometimes walk by my bathroom multiple times in the morning, just to get a look at this thing. I look at it longingly before I use and think..."It's mine. Allllll mine" It's a design that makes you want to brush your teeth.
The Diamond Clean feels comfortable in your hands, even if your hand fall on the larger side (like mine). This may sound like a minor thing, but it matters. If you're going to be using this electric toothbrush day and night, day after day after day, doesn't it make sense to have one that "feels right" in your fingers. I like to think so.
4. USB Charging System
Although we're going to discuss the carrying case in the next section, it was great to see the Diamond clean employ a USB charging system in their carrying cases! YAHOO!
Why? It sucks having to carry around a travel charger. That's what I had to do with the FlexCare Sonicare that I had prior to this. It's not that the travel chargers were bulky - at least not the later models. The problem was that sometimes when you travel, it was having to rummage through your stuff searching for that blasted travel charger the only charging source that fits your toothbrush. And because I didn't use mine so often, there was the issue of remembering to take it at the end of my trip.
Having a USB charger built right into the case, is just downright useful. Even if I don't have my laptop on me, it's easy for me to use the USB wall plug adapter for my smart phone and plug the case straight into the wall.
5. Tongue Care Mode & Tongue Cleaner Attachment
This may seem rather specific, but I'm elated to have both a tongue cleaner and tongue care mode for my new Diamond care.
In Sonicare Diamond Clean Smart promotional materials, you're always going to see someone smiling. You'll see them using their toothbrush perfectly, in just the right lighting to make the brand feel like a high-end, luxury item. As far as toothbrushes go, that's exactly what it is, so no gripes there. But what you don't see, is that not everyone uses their toothbrush perfectly, and not everyone's mouth is the same size.
An issue I ran into with my previous Sonicares, especially when the toothbrush heads are brand new, when the bristles are stiffer, were tongue blisters. Yes, I know it sounds gross, but it's true. I tend to brush often. It's important to remember that while the tissues of the the tongue (and gums) are sensitive, but cleaning the tongue is an essential part of preventing halitosis.
Having a blister on your tongue from brushing your tongue too hard with your toothbrush head is not fun (it hurts actually). A lighter mode with a tongue-specific cleaner is a Godsend for me. Bye-bye tongue blisters!
When you go to a dentist, ever notice that the dental hygienists don't brush your tongue with their hand tool they use to brush your teeth? Maybe we should take note and to the same. I know some dental practices/offices make use of a special tongue scraper to remove bacteria from the tongue. So I think adding this feature to the Diamond Clean was...well...Smart.
6. The Sonicare Brushing App
Though I've only gotten to use this feature once, and even though I botched it the first time I tried it. And the second time. This is the major feature that separates the Diamond Clean from the Diamond Clean Smart.
Even though these are the earliest attempts at connecting brushing to app technology, I absolutely love the concept! We all have habits that we have acquired from years of brushing. Sometimes we might not even realize it. The beauty of this application is that you can see in real time, the quadrants of your mouth that need additional attention.
Beyond that, the implications for dental enthusiasts and dental professionals alike are HUGE. Being able to clearly share your brushing regimen with your dental care professional seems like a game changer to me. Apps like these - ones that promotes feedback of you how you brush- puts power in the hands of its users. This can help you better tailor your daily brushing routines.
Better brushing means better checkups and better overall dental health.
Not to mention that this app almost gamifies your brushing! The app shows yellow spots for areas of your mouth that you may have missed. As you brush them, the yellow areas turn white. It kinda makes brushing addictive The prompts asking "Have you flossed?," "Have Your rinsed?," and "Have you scraped?" are such simple questions, but it's like having a brushing accountability partner right on your phone.
Your brushing activities organized into simple app functions.
A breakdown of the app's teeth diagram and all of its component parts.
Knowing the problem areas in your mouth keeps you cognisant of how you brush.
Here's what you see while you're brushing in the standard, cleaning mode!
Yellow areas turn white as you brush. This "gamifies" your brushing sessions. The "touch up" portion of the session allows you to go back and hit spots you may have missed.
Simple reminder prompts like these keep you very aware of your brushing/flossing routine.
The App was designed to recognize your brush heads (it doesn't always work, though)
7. Quadpacer Function
The "Quadpacer," short for quadrant pacer, isn't a new feature of the Sonicare. Actually, most Sonicare models have it. It's a very simple idea. As you're brushing, your Diamond Clean Smart toothbrush will buzz at a different tone. This change in tone is your signal to know that is time to move on to another one of the four tooth quadrants.
If you follow the pacing, by the end of the two minutes, you will have brushed all areas of your mouth. This is a great feature for those of you who aren't as interested in using app while you're brushing. You can still brush very thoroughly, using only the brush itself.
8. Automatic Toothbrush Head Recognition
When you change from one toothbrush head to another, your DiamondClean Smart handpiece will automatically recognize it and change modes accordingly. Say for example I attach the tongue cleaning brush head. The handpiece will automatically switch to tongue care mode without me having to touch a single button. That's rather "smart" isn't it?
SEE WHY I LIKE IT?
Any one of these pros is a great reason to own a DiamondClean Smart. Do any of these positives resonate with you?
If so, buy a DiamondClean Smart of your own by clicking the button below!
Four Things I Don't Like About the Sonicare Diamond Clean Smart
It's no secret that I've been a Sonicare user for over a decade. However, just because I use a product often doesn't mean that I'm blind to it's faults. There is no such thing as a perfect product. Electric toothbrushes, even the good ones like the Diamond Clean Smart, are no exception. Here are three things I don't like about the Sonicare Diamond Clean Smart:
1. The New Carrying Case
While it's great the Diamond Clean series of toothbrushes give you the option of charging your electric toothbrush via USB port. They newest Diamond Clean (Smart Series), though more expensive, takes a step back when we look at carrying cases.
The 1st edition Diamond Clean had the the best carrying case that I've ever seen, for ANY electric toothbrush. It was sleek. AND is was as functional as it was stylish. This new case makes it seem like after they put the sensor chips in the brush, that they must've run out of budgeting. It looks like they just slapped a case together and threw a USB cable in the bottom of it. Just being honest. The toothbrush is amazing. The carrying case is not.
2. Too Many Brush Head Options?
This might just be me, but I'm not convinced that three different types of toothbrush heads are even necessary. If you need all of these different brush heads, what's the frickin' purpose of the six five different settings on the hand-piece? Do you have to use the gum care brush to get the full effect of the gum-health mode on the hand-piece? Hmm...
The only exception to this may be the tongue cleaner. I know dentists will use tongue scrapers sometimes to clean the tongue. But I don't even think a dentist's professional brushing tool has more than one type of head. There are heads to replace ones that wear out, but a dentist's brush head is the same each time.
In this case, I think the extra brush heads provide a slight illusion of more value. I'd gladly pay forty bucks less for just the one standard brush head with the Bluetooth chip in it.
3. No Interdental brush feature
With all of the different brush heads to choose from (at this price)it's crazy to me that there still isn't a proper, interdental brush head.
There is Airfloss, but it just uses air, water, or whatever mouthwash you choose to fill it with. That's on Sonicare product I'm VERY skeptical about. That's like me saying, "Hey I'll just jump in the shower and turn the water on extra high to clean my body." It doesn't work like that.
There needs to be something that gets in there, actually touches the interdental surfaces and removes the plaque that hides there.
I am still a fan of traditional dental floss, and probably always will be. But if Sonicare had a solution to quickly and effectively clean between the spaces in your teeth, the Sonicare would then be a complete electric toothbrush solution.
4. The Sonicare App
Wait a second! Isn't the the Sonicare App on the list of things I like about this DiamondClean Model? Yes, it is. Despite it being on the negatives list, It still think it's a wonderful idea.
But, it also falls on my list of negatives, because the app isn't perfect. The issue I have sometimes is that the app doesn't always recognize which brush head I'm using. For example, if I do a tongue scraping and decide to use the standard brush later, it will stay in the much shorter, tongue scraping mode when I want the brushing mode.
Another issue is that sometimes teeth quadrants don't turn from yellow to white on my app, even if I spend more time in those areas. I thought it might just be how I'm brushing, but I've tried multiple times.
My final issue is that there's no free brushing mode in the app, unless I'm just missing it. I hate that the app takes you through the different areas of your teeth the way IT wants you to go. Once the app has passed that section of your teeth, it doesn't backtrack until the "touchup" section at the end of your brushing program:
Why not just have a free brushing mode that's not tied to any of the set programs. You can brush how YOU want to and see the yellow areas of the tooth diagram turn from yellow to white as YOU get to them.
SEE WHY I DON'T LIKE IT?
Is the DiamondClean Smart the perfect electric toothbrush? Nope!
But if the negatives didn't scare you away and you still want a DiamondClean Smart, click the button below.
DiamondClean Smart Amazon Rating
For those interested in purchasing this particular electric toothbrush, you'll be happy to know that it got four out of five stars on Amazon. That means that most people really like it and most people think it's worth their money. However, it also means that there are some potential issues wit this brush.
Who The DiamondClean Smart
Is For...
Who The DiamondClean Smart Isn't For...
Sonicare Diamond Clean Smart Review - My Personal Rating
If I were to rank the Philips Sonicare Diamond Clean Smart using the grading system we had back in school, A-F (A being the best and F being "Fail" - the worst). I have to give this brush a solid...
B+
​(for those who are unfamiliar with the American grading system, a B+ is like saying 89% out of 100%)
Sonicare DiamondClean Review - The Wrap Up
Yes, I do think this model is a bit overpriced. I'm also uncertain as to how durable the brush is, as I am a new user. Only time will tell if the toothbrush I bought holds up. If it doesn't, I will come right back in here and downgrade the rating even further (as I don't believe in static reviews).
Philips touts the Sonicare DiamondClean Smart as its best electric toothbrush, but I have to disagree.
The most expensive doesn't always mean the best, or even the best value. In my humble opinion, I would have to say the predecessor, the original Diamond Clean is currently the best model on the market.
HOWEVER, don't be fooled into thinking that the DiamondClean Smart won't whip the pants off of just about any electric toothbrush out there (including many of the existing Sonicares).
It's one heck of a toothbrush (wouldn't get a B+ rating from me if it weren't) and if you're serious about your teeth, about your dental health, this is a great brush to have.
WANT TO SEE THE DIAMOND CLEAN SMART VIDEO REVIEW?
Click the "watch video review" button below to go straight to it 🙂