Excellent and helpful toothbrush
I have been using a Sonicare plaque control toothbrush for about a year and liked it, but my dentist recently told me that even though I have never had a cavity, I would need to have some expensive dental work in the near future because my gums were receding, probably due to overbrushing! I had begun to do some research on better brushes and techniques when I received an offer to receive a free DiamondClean Smart in exchange for a review. Great timing so I jumped at the opportunity! Set up of the toothbrush out of the box was very simple. It comes precharged for the first use so attach the preferred brush head (it comes with 3 different brush heads as well as a tongue scraper, so I picked the gum health brush) and off you go. I downloaded the Sonicare app to my phone in order to monitor my progress as recommended. I truly feel like my teeth felt cleaner after the first brushing. I set the brush on to the gum care program which has me brushing for over 3 minutes, but depending on your goals, your session mayl be shorter. One thing with Sonicare brushes in general, and this one in particular, you should use less toothpaste. The vibration works up a real lather and if you use too much toothpaste.......let's just say you will need a bib. Also, read the manual thoroughly before using, if only to save the time I personally wasted trying to charge my brush the first time. I assumed it was like my old Sonicare and plugged in to the charger, but this one actually rests in what I had thought was a branded rinse cup that had come with the toothbrush. I tried in vain for quite a few minutes to get the brush to balance on the painless charging station before realizing my error. It charges great when in the cup and the cup is on the charger .
The app is interesting but not intuitive beyond the brushing plan and graphics. The brush head is "smart" and if you open the app before you turn the brush on it will show you where you are brushing in your mouth and give you an outline of where you should be brushing at that point in the cycle. It is nice I suppose to have a plan and to be shown where you are based on the plan, but it is not perfect. For example, if you vary from the plan the graphic doesn't show where you moved to. Say the plan says I am supposed to be on my upper right quadrant, but I move to my front teeth, the brush acknowledges I'm not in the upper right, but doesn't log or show that I'm in on my front teeth. Also, I believe I am supposed to be able to see how I am doing on the plan, but I only seem to find results for my last session, so unless I check after each session, I won't know how I am doing. It's missing a log function as far as I can tell. But that isn't a huge deal in the long run. It does tell you if you missed any areas or need to double back. The app also tells you if you are moving the brush too quickly (I've gotten better, but still get a warning or two each session to let the brush do the work) and when you need a new brush head. It reminds you to floss and use mouth wash, as well as to scrape your tongue. Make no mistake, this is a premium product in performance, look, and price. If you are like me and have specific goals, this brush is ideal as it gives you feedback and assistance. If you are a tech nut, the fact at you can watch yourself brush on your phone is pretty cool. If money is an object and you don't need to have the latest and greatest gadget, you can probably do just as good of a job on your teeth with a lower line Sonicare brush, but this brush is really good.