Philips Sonicare ProtectiveClean 6100 Rechargeable Electric Toothbrush, Whitening, Pink

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These significant discounts make the products look more appealing to you and I as consumers, hence we believe we are getting a deal. What I call ‘power’ is actually made up of 2 different variables. They are amplitude and frequency.

A very neat feature, that appeals to new electric toothbrush users, is the Easy-Start technology that Sonicare builds into brushes. Slightly disappointing accessories aside, particularly the bog-standard travel case, the Philips Sonicare ProtectiveClean 6100 is a top electric toothbrush. Yes, it’s comparatively expensive, but it’s smart brush-head technology and excellent cleaning ability make it a winner. If you want clean teeth with the minimum of fuss, this is the best sonic toothbrush that I’ve tested. Verdict

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It has five brushing modes (clean, white, sensitive, gum care and deep clean), but is only supplied with a single brush head.

These price drops tend to happen within a few days and weeks of launch. Given electric toothbrushes are generally on the market for 3-5 years before being replaced I don’t quite understand why they do it so soon or at all even. It was Philips, under the Sonicare brand, that first brought this to market in 1992, although others like Colgate & Omron now use this technology too. However, we should note that this probably won’t last very long, especially if you don’t fully wash away all the toothpaste from the toothbrush after use. After a few weeks of allowing remnants of toothpaste to remain on the handle, our beautiful handle was soiled in white stains that we cannot scrub off for love nor money. This can be easily avoided, however, by simply giving it a good rinse after use. The ProtectiveClean 4300 has 1 cleaning mode (Clean) compared to the 3 cleaning modes (Clean, White and Gum Care) of the 6100. Bychanging either the amplitude or the frequency; or varying one or both of them during the brushing cycle, the different cleaning/brushing modes are achieved. E.g. Gentle/Sensitive modes will operate at a lower amplitude than Clean mode. Brushing intensityI was therefore keen to know if the clean mode makes use of all the power from the brush motor (31,000 brush strokes per minute/62,000 movements), how much power do all of the other cleaning modes use? As a result, certain models, do give a brushing sensation that feels less intense compared to some other Sonicare toothbrushes.

The 4300 comes with 1 x C2 Optimal Plaque Defence brush head compared to the 2 x W2 Optimal White brush heads with the 6100. As with most electric toothbrushes, the ProtectiveClean 6100 has a built-in timer that will pulse every 30 seconds to encourage you to move onto the next quadrant of your teeth. It’ll turn itself off after two minutes of cleaning to tell you you’re done with brushing for now. The brush also sports a pressure sensor. Press too hard while brushing and this will give you pulse and red light on the brush handle warning you to ease off. Triple tone of high-med-low means the pressure sensor feature has been deactivated. The brush head replacement light and battery light will also blink amber 3 times in unison to confirm deactivation. Ideally suited for those who want to freshen up and are cleaning their teeth at additional times during the day. Sonicare doesn’t share the technical explanation, but premium Sonicare models are programmed with an extra dimension to the brushing experience that allows the 62,000 movements to be achieved.The 6100 has 3 cleaning mode intensities (Low, Medium and High) compared to the 2 intensities (Low and High) of the 4300. Now what you feel this brush is actually worth may differ and I will say that personally I do not think this is the best value for money you can get of an electric toothbrush today. Ideally suited to those who have mild sensitivity in their gums, with occasional bleeding and are getting or recovering from gum disease treatment. From my very own hands-on testing, it is clear that the ‘power’ of the brush differs, depending on what mode you have selected. The following lists show which brushes have each of the various Sonicare cleaning modes. Clean mode

As with most sonic toothbrushes, this model is very quiet, at just 71.2dB. That’s loud enough that you can hear it, but the high-pitched buzz isn’t distracting or annoying. Why buy the Philips Sonicare ProtectiveClean 6100? Some models refer to this mode as just Gum Health, whilst on others, it is labelled as Gum Care. It is the same cleaning action, just with a different name.It should be noted that some Sonicare models have the option to change the intensity of the brushing motion. During the first 2 minutes, the brush alternates the speed of the motor from a low to high power as you complete regular brushing. Another thing to mention is that this toothbrush is super quiet, especially compared to some of Oral-B’s high-end offerings. Sure, it produces a high-pitched buzz, but that won’t prove too annoying during use. The Sonicare ProtectiveClean 6100 ships with two W2 Optimal White brush heads, which have bristles around the outside for getting between teeth, and a pad inside for whitening and polishing. Triple tone of low-med-high means the brush head replacement reminder feature has been activated. The brush head replacement light and battery light will also blink green 3 times in unison to confirm activation.