Customer Reviews

Philips Sonicare FlexCare Rechargeable Sonic Toothbrush

5 star:		(242)
4 star:		(55)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(28)

 

 

I want to stress that this brush works superbly. My 3 stars are for the value/bang for your buck aspect of this product.

I have used three other electric brushes besides this one. One was a very early model Sonicare, the other two were Braun Oral-B models. ALL of them worked great. The three other brushes I've used have all had excellent durability. And I never had a single cavity with any of them.

There are really just two major differences between these two brands. Brauns tend to have smaller heads and they have a kind of rotating pulsing motion. Sonicare models have more of a vibration motion and, in my experience, tend to tickle a bit more. Your mileage may vary. In my experience, Braun brush heads also tend to be a little cheaper.

All the electric toothbrush makers make claims about being the "best." However, as one major dental site commented, "There are currently no studies that we are aware of that compare objectively electric toothbrushes. The choice is really a personal one." If you look at multiple objective dental sources you'll find the same kind of advice - choose according to your own preference, not the PR spin of the companies making the brushes.

This specific model has 3 cleaning modes, 2 "routine" modes, 2 minute timer, a quad pacer (30 seconds per quarter of your mouth), and a few other lesser features. The thing is, all of these exist on many other brushes, many of them about $50 (or more) cheaper than this one. If you're looking for just a good electric brush then I can't recommend this model. For about $50 less you can get, for example, the Braun 8850 . . . or the Sonicare e5500, to name just two. They both have most of the exact same features as this model.

For the exact same money you can get the Oral-B Triumph 9900 with Smart Guide. That model tells you, graphically, when you're brushing too hard (which causes major permanent gum damage) and when you need to replace the brush head. Those are the kind of extras I'd be willing to pay for. All the extra modes and timers I find to be a bit useless.

Pros: This Sonicare model works and works well
Cons: It's over priced for the features. There are better choices on the market.

This is my second attempt at having an electric toothbrush. The first attempt was with an Ultreo Ultrasound Toothbrush. That was a terrible experience that left me with headaches after using it and teeth that didn't feel clean. (it's nw in a box in my closet collecting dust).

On the other hand this Phillips Sonicare Flexcare toothbrush is a great experience. The brush head is nice and compact, but still covers the entre tooth surface being cleaned. It provides a nice pause to remind you to switch quadrants of your mouth. It has three different modes to use. One for normal cleaning, one for sensitive teeth/gums and one that massages the gums.

There are also two other settings. MaxCare which is slightly longer than the normal setting and incorporates both regular and massage into each quadrant and GoCare which is a quick hit brushing when you are in a rush.

This package comes with everything you would expect. The toothbrush with one cleaning head (I would have liked to see one additional one included). It comes with a deluxe charging stand (I really like that you can wind the cord up inside the stand to get rid of some of the cords in the bathroom). A nice travel case (I wish it would have been more sturdy - it's basically a pouch). Three additional color rings to help know who's brush head is who's. (with the absence of more brush heads this addition is a little confusing).

The actual experience of brushing is great. Where the Ultreo was akin to torture for me, this was more like a spa for the teeth and gums. The head is small to where there is no jamming it into the back of your mouth, it leaves my mouth feeling fresh and almost like I just got done at the dentist. I usually brush my teeth twice a day, however, I have found myself wondering if I should brush more, just so I can use this toothbrush (sound corny I know - but it's the tooth! ok bad pun, sorry).

Like I said this is my second run at an electric toothbrush ad I am glad I tried again. This is what an experience with an electric toothbrush should be. I really enjoy this product and will be suggesting it to many people.

I have used many rechargeable toothbrushes in the recent years - many different models of Oral B and very recently the latest WaterPik Sensonic. This is actually the first time I'm using a Philips SonicCare. Here are my impressions/opinions:

Pro

- Brush body is light and highly portable. Many competitor models that offer comparable brush speed/features tend to be bulkier.
- Decent clean and polish. The model claims to be better than competitors, I have no way of verifying this claim myself. However, I find the brushing result to be at least as good as higher-end Oral-B and the WaterPik Sensonic.
- Essential timers - 2-minute brushing timer and 30-second quad timers. All other models have them, it is good these essential features are left untouched.
- Portable, all-voltage charger that's perfect for international travelers. While we are on the subject, folks who tend to travel internationally and are shopping around for a power toothbrush, should pay particular attention to this minor detail. Many models do not have international charger.

Con
- Too many useless modes. Speed setting is good, but I feel Philips has taken this too far and came up with a list of different "cleaning modes". Basically, all these modes are nothing but pre-programmed sequence of speed/time settings. Most other models have one button where you can toggle between the speed modes. Realistically, that's all I need. I don't need these cheap, cheesy, and completely useless simple IC logics.
- Price. Perhaps due to all the cleaning modes, this brush is priced at 130+. IMHO, there are equally good models you can buy for much less.
- Only one brushhead included in the package. Come on, for around 140 a pop, you can't throw in at least a pair of brushheads?

Conclusion
Decent, but overpriced.

I have been using the Sonicare Elite 7300 brush for a couple of years now, so it was no surprise to me that the FlexCare line is also a very good brush. All-in-all, using the new FlexCare is not all that much different than the Elite series, it feels about the same despite the advertised 80% less vibration. That being said the vibration does not bother me at all. The two biggest differences I noticed with the FlexCare are the significantly smaller handle size, which could be good if you have smaller hands and the somewhat larger brush head size, which I kind of like, because it seems to clean more areas faster. Of course the new ProResults brush head also means that I can't use the same brush heads that I have already bought for my older brush, but I like the new head design and also the way that it just presses on instead of screwing on like the older heads did.

As for all of the brushing modes and cleaning routines offered with this brush, I have not even bothered with them, I like brushing my normal 2 minutes (30 seconds each quadrant) which is what the standard clean mode does, so that is what I use. The charger station is also nice because it can hold two extra brush heads so that up to 3 people can share the same space easily. It also has a "travel charger" which is just the main charger without the extra brush head spaces and also a cloth-like travel case. The battery life also claims to be longer than any of the previous versions, so taking this on longer trips without even worrying about the charger is more of a possibility.

So, in conclusion, I never had any problems with my Elite series brush and I don't expect to have any with the new FlexCare either. It also seems to work just as well if not better and I have had wonderful dentist check-ups for the past several years with no cavities and very little plaque despite the fact that I only brush once a day, so I'm pretty happy with the Sonicare brushes and plan to use them for a long time to come. If you are switching from a regular manual brush up to this it does have a little bit of a weird feeling at first, but other than that first week or so of getting used to it, I really have nothing negative to say about this product.

BACKGROUND: This is my second high end electric toothbrush. Prior to this one, I have used the Ultreo Ultrasonic, and I make comparisons between the two throughout my review.

SETUP: There's nothing too complicated about getting this toothbrush ready for use. I popped the end off of the brush head, and switched to the blue color ring in anticipation of this being a multi-user brush. After attached the brush head to the main body, I plugged in the charging base and put the toothbrush on to charge. There is a contradiction between the quick start guide and the detailed instructions. The quick start guide says to charge for a minimum of 2 hours while the detailed instructions call for at least 24 hours. I charged mine for about 5 hours before my first use. I doubt that there will be a negative effect on the battery life since this device is used about 5 minutes a day and sits on the charger for the remainder of the time - unlike a cell phone or other portable electronic device where you are more likely to drain the battery between charges.

After charging, I went ahead and made a few personalization settings. The personalization button is just below the power button, and it lets you choose between three brushing modes (Clean, Sensitive, and Massage) and two brushing routines (Go Care and Max Care). I did find it unusual to have these split out this way, but I guess more options appeal to a larger audience. I chose the "Clean" brushing mode because there is a special note in the instructions that this mode must be used for clinical studies. To me this implied that this is the most effective of the options.

For people who have not used powered brushes before, Philips has added an "Easy Care" feature which gradually increases the power level in order to keep from overwhelming you with the difference with a manual brush. Since I have previously used a powered brush, I disabled this feature by holding the power button for 5 seconds while on the charging base until I heard a single beep as indicated in the instruction.

Finally, Philips has built in a "Quadpacer" which is a timer that beeps every 30 seconds to indicate that it is time to move from one zone to the next. The zones are outside upper, inside upper, outside lower, and inside lower. You can toggle this feature on or off. I wanted to make sure this was on so I held the personalization button for 5 seconds while on the charging base. The first time I did this I heard a single beep which indicated that this feature was turned off. I repeated this process a second time, and two beeps indicated that this feature was enabled.

The variety of adjustments is one area that sets this Philips Sonicare toothbrush apart from the Ultreo Ultrasonic. The Ultreo did not have a single thing that you could alter. You could put the brush head on and turn it on and off, but that's it. This is a clear advantage for the Philips model as it is anything but a one size fits all product.

USAGE: The Sonicare toothbrush gives a great overall user experience. The Quadpacer signal is subtle so you will have to pay attention during your first use in order to know when to move to the next zone. However, once you know what to listen for, it is easy.

The Sonicare brush head is smaller than that of the Ultreo Ultrasonic, and I think people with smaller mouths will find this to be a plus. I also found it interesting that while the Sonicare brush feels more powerful, the occasional bump against my teeth is nowhere near as painful as it was with the Ultreo. This allows the Sonicare toothbrush to be used with my mouth fully closed which is absolutely necessary. Whether it is from being more powerful or just a greater range of motion in the brush head, the Sonicare is extremely messy if you open your mouth after having started.

All this considered, the real question is how good of a job of actually cleaning your teeth will this do? While this is not fully scientific, I think that the Sonicare and Ultreo brushes are difficult to distinguish in this category; however, they both do a great job. Both provide the squeaky clean feel to your teeth that just isn't there when using a manual brush.

From an ongoing usage standpoint, replacement brush heads for the Sonicare brush are currently being sold at 3 for ~$25. This is essentially 1/3 the cost of the Ultreo. This seems like a pretty reasonable cost to pay since the brush heads last for about 3 months. So after the initial investment, you are looking at ~$32 a year on an ongoing basis.

DRAWBACKS: In the grand scheme of things, there aren't any serious drawbacks to this product. There may be a group of people for whom the degree of options is considered unnecessary and confusing. The only other thing to be aware of is the included travel case. It is a soft case, and I would not put the toothbrush in this case with the intention of checking your bag on an airplane. It will not give the toothbrush any protection from the manhandling that checked bags receive.

CONCLUSION: This is a great, easy to use product that has pretty reasonable ongoing costs for long term use. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking to take their tooth brushing experience to the next level for day to day care.

Prior to acquiring this model, I had over a year's experience with the Philips Sonicare Elite toothbrush, which I was using on my dentist's recommendation (and, frankly, after a fair amount of dental work). I needed something that would provide good brushing and I found the basic principles of the Sonicare system to be helpful, so I understood the system and what it could do.

This FlexCare model, however, is a big step up over the Elite series. This is less cumbersome and has some very useful (and easy) choices in modes of operation: it even has a "Go Care" 1-minute quickie routine if you're pressed for time. The charger, if reduced to its travel mode, is very small and it, and the brush/handle assembly, are very compact, much more so than the Elite. The "beep" that signals the time the user spends on each quadrant of his/her teeth is clever and means you will be spending the right amount of time on your teeth.

The toothbrush is cheaper to replace, is a lot simpler (the Elite toothbrush includes much of the mechanism) and, if more than one person uses Sonicare, means that you need have only one handle, a considerable savings as we've found the older Elite really needs one handle per user because of the clunky nature of the screw-on toothbrush. The FlexCare toothbrush is much smaller, has a nice series of colored rubber gaskets to distinguish one from another, and snaps on and off easily.

One point to stress that the manual does not: the Sonicare system really does need a light touch on the handle -- like holding a flute -- to save wear on the brushes. And a light touch is all that's needed, a lot better than using a manual toothbrush with too much force. Given the fact that dental work is costly, this toothbrush may save far more than you'd think. Highly recommend.

I've been using a competitor's electric toothbrush for years now; I swear by them. This is by far the best I've tried. It is full featured, easy to use, comfortable, and offers a great clean!

The toothbrush comes with the body, one head, deluxe charging station (which includes removable travel charger) and three color coded bands for identifying your brush head for multiple user households. There is also an attractive vinyl carrying case as well as a nice instruction booklet.

The tooth-brush has an easy-to-read display and controls. There is a battery indicator light that indicates how much battery power remains and blinks when the unit is charging, there is the on/off button as well as a selector button that lets you choose modes of operation.

The modes are as follows.

Three 2-minute timed modes:
Clean: Full power mode
Sensitive: A more gentle cleaning mode
Massage: A gentle pulsating mode for stimulating gum massage.

Additional Modes:
Go Care: Timed 1-minute cleaning mode for a quick mid-day or after meal clean.
Max-Care: 3-minute timed mode that alternates between Clean and Massaging modes.

During each of the modes there are short "bursts" every 30 seconds telling you to switch a quadrant in your mouth. After two minutes the unit automatically shuts off.

The unit also has an "Easy-Start" mode that starts at a lower power and slowly ramps up to full power over 14 uses, approximately 7 days of regular brushing. This can be deactivated or reactivated at any time.

The experience itself is very nice and invigorating. The sonic action stimulates gums and leaves teeth feeling clean, almost as if you just came from the dentist. The 30-second pulsing reminder is nice, as is the 2-minute and 3-minute timers.

For people used to electric toothbrushes, you will be amazed at the gentle power this unit has and you can probably go right into full power from the start. For those of you who are not used to electric toothbrushes, I recommend you utilize the easy-start to ease into the great experience.

I rarely give even great products 5 stars, but this toothbrush warrants a 5-star rating as it is perhaps the best oral care product I've tried.

I've owned a Philips Sonicare before this. I dont remember the model. But it was their top-of-the line brush about 4 yrs ago. It stopped working since the little green button got jammed. Both that model & this one have it sealed. So you cant fix it yourself, God forbid that happens. So go easy on that button.

As far as the brushing action is concerned, if you have NEVER used a sonic brush before, then yeah - its great. I've read some reviewers stating toothpaste flying about. You have to be a "leetle stoopid" not to figure around this, if you dont get it right the first time. Just apply the paste about on all your teeth till there's nothing sitting on the brush head. Then operate it.

Another comment was that the brush is a little loud. No its not. And I live in a quiet environment. Its not noiseless of course. Someone near you will hear it. Not the neighbours.

It has a massage mode that is quite nice. You still brush with the same bristles really. But the pulses are more controlled.

The 2 min brush cycle beeps every 30 secs or so to remind you to change position. Again, that's not a new feature over the old brush. Also, the most important point is IMO, the brushing action. I dont consider it to be superior to the prev Sonicare Elite. It did not feel that way at least.

It does have one advantage over the older model. No housing recess for the magnets. So there's no stinky gunk buildup in that chamber. You'll appreciate this if you owned the earlier models. Otherwise, disregard.

All in all, a good brush.

No I did not waste money on the sanitizer. Use Hydrogen Peroxide 3% from your friendly, or otherwise neighbourhood chemist. The sonic action with the peroxide should shake the hell off any bacteria in the bristles. Dont waste money on the sanitizer please.

This is my second Sonicare product and I remain very impressed. I previously used the Elite for two years and my only annoyance was the design of the Elite brush head and handle. The Elite brush consisted of a screw-on dome that no matter how hard I tried to keep it dry and clean on the inside, it would always get dirty and gross and there was no way to clean it. Similarly on the Elite handle, a deep well that the magnet from the brush head would insert when brush and handle were joined would also collect dirt and was impossible to keep clean. This wasn't a health issue but it was just gross to look at when you disassembled the brush after each use. I found that if I didnt disassemble, a black mold type substance would grow. Even taking it apart after every use would not deter this growth eventually.

The new Flexcare brush fixes all of these issues. Gone are the deep crevices and unreachable traps for dirt and moisture. The brush head simply inserts onto a pin on top of the handle. The handle on the Flexcare is smaller than the Elite. As for the reduction in sound and vibration, I can't agree with the packaging because it sounds and feels the same as the Elite to me. There are many more cleaning modes however I just use the clean mode as I did before.

Both products clean my teeth nearly as good as the dentist. I always thought an electronic TB was a waste and was finally convinced by my dentist to try one. If you never have used one, you will be amazed at the difference from a manual brush. It takes some getting used to but you will see and feel the difference. See for yourself. After a couple of weeks try a manual brush and your mouth just doesnt feel clean at all. The package contains a charger, travel pouch, travel charger, UV brush sanitizer, 1 regular and one small brush head. My only gripe is that the travel pouch is soft where the Elite had a hard plastic case that held and cradled both the handle and brush. The new cloth pouch offers no protection from crushing or keeping the brush from hitting and possibly scratching the handle.

The instructions say you can put the handle in the dishwasher however at this price, I'm not brave enough to try that one. A Great product. If you are shopping for an electric TB, this is the one to get. Your teeth and gums will thank you. I also endure less scraping at the dentist since using this product so that alone is worth the price of this product.

This is my 3rd Sonicare toothbrush, and I've been a big fan so far. I bought this one because my existing model had the problem with stuff building up inside the brush head and it was very hard to clean out.

I agree with all the positive reviews as far as the improved design, lighter weight, more options, and it's much easier to keep clean than the previous model. However, the metal shaft on mine came loose within a few months and got so bad that I finally called Norelco for service. I gave them the model number and serial number and they immediately offered to send a free replacement, with a postage-free box in which to return my broken one. That was over two weeks ago, and it hasn't arrived yet. I phoned back a couple days ago and was told it was on back-order and should arrive within a few more days.

The service representative was friendly and I didn't have to wait long on the phone, but I have noticed that several other reviewers here on Amazon have had the same problem I have had. I'm wondering how long my replacement will last.

So, when it worked, it was excellent, but it should not have broken so fast and the replacement shouldn't take so long to be shipped from Norelco. Meanwhile, I'm using my old model which I'm glad I didn't throw away. It still works fine after more than two years.

Edit, one week later: I just phoned the company again because after 3 weeks, I have still not received my replacement. I was told that the toothbrush is still on back-order and mine hasn't been shipped yet. They have no idea how long it will be, though they agreed that it shouldn't take as long as it has. I was also told that this model has had issues with the metal shaft "dislodging", which is what mine did. So, be warned that there is a known issue, and that in spite of the warranty, you may end up waiting a while for your replacement if you get a bad one. In Norelco's favor, all of the phone representatives I've spoken with have been polite and helpful, but unfortunately, there's nothing they can do to speed up the process. I'm not ready to say I'd never buy another Sonicare, but I will certainly look at the competition when I get my next toothbrush. This is just bad PR and bad product support from Norelco, which amounts to very bad business practice, especially during a recession. Are there really that many people shelling out $130+ for a toothbrush right now?