Are you looking for a more efficient brushing method that will ensure that your teeth look great? The Philips Sonicare Essence is capable of completing 31,000 movements per minute using sonic and magnetic technology. This is far superior to manual brushing.
In this guide, I’ll be doing a Philips Sonicare Essence review so that you can know the benefits of this electric toothbrush product.
Things to Consider Before Buying a Philips Sonicare Essence
In most cases, if you’re looking to buy an electric toothbrush, it’s because you’ve had issues with keeping your teeth plaque-free. This is generally because we don’t brush as long as we should. The typical brushing session is far less than the two-minutes recommended by dentists.
The Philips Sonicare Essence provides thousands or more strokes per session. As a result, you end up getting deeper into the crevices of your teeth. Additionally, with its vibrating head, the brush also helps remove far more film from the surface of the teeth. In turn, this can help inhibit the growth of bacteria.
Also, a brush like this is advantageous because it has a timer to ensure that you’re brushing as long as you need to be. This can help you be more detailed in your brushing, which can lead to better dental health.
This brush can also help those with smaller, harder-to-clean teeth. This is because sonic toothbrushes provide a deeper cleaning compared to standard toothbrushes.
Presenting the Philips Sonicare Essence
 |   |
|---|---|
| Brush Heads | 1 |
| Modes | 1 |
| Technology Used | Sonic |
| Battery Life and Voltage | 2 weeks (110-220 volts) |
| Pressure Sensor |  |
| UV Sanitizer | |
| Tongue Cleaning Mode | |
| 2 Minute Brushing Timer |  |
| Mouth Quadrant Timer | |
| Brush Head Replacement Indicator | |
| Accessories | Charger |
| International Usage | |
| Price |  |
- Two-week battery life, this is a great product for those who can’t recharge often.
- It’s very ergonomic and grippy.
- It has an easy-to-use charger.
- The heads are replaceable.
- Two-minute brushing timer.
- Quadpacer timer to ensure you brush each of your mouth’s sections.
- Replacement reminder bristles.
- It doesn’t have a good cover system, nor does it come with a case.
- When replacing heads, you have to screw them onto the barrel.
- It can be a bit narrow for some teeth.
- Newer models tend to be more svelte.
When you’re taking a look at the entire Sonicare line, you might become a bit overwhelmed. This is because they have been making electric toothbrushes for over thirty years. The Essence itself is a more than ten-year-old product. Despite this, it still occupies a great space for electric toothbrushes at a reasonable price point. One of the key taglines of the product line is that the Essence “removes up to 2x more plaque” than standard manual brushes. This is why it’s recommended by dental professionals.
Features and Benefits of the Philips Sonicare Essence
It’s important to understand that Sonicare toothbrushes are a bit different when comparing them to other electric toothbrushes. While most toothbrushes use internal mechanisms to move the bristles, the Sonicare line uses magnetism. If you were to open the body of the toothbrush, you’ll notice that much of the base is an empty cavity. The actual mechanisms are further up the shaft of the product. As a result of this unique design, the brush heads vibrate at a much faster rate and use less energy.
The Two-Minute Timer
When it comes to built-in features, this product has a robust set. The first is the two-minute timer. This feature is a game changer and it’s used many times in newer electric toothbrushes. This is great for helping you focus on the amount of time you spend brushing your teeth.
Getting the Back Row
I must admit, I have a habit of forgetting to brush my back teeth. A feature like the Quadpacer will help a user slow down. This also helps ensure that every aspect of the teeth are thoroughly cleaned. This will ensure dentist visits will be far less stressful. Also, to help you clean in the back, the Essence’s brush neck is angled. This means you won’t experience that gritty feeling that indicates you missed a spot.
Cleaning the Even Harder to Reach Places
While brushing the surfaces of your teeth, the unique brush head is vibrating and pushing fluids between the teeth. This helps clean this hard-to-reach area of your mouth. As a result, you’ll be able to floss less often, and you’ll also be destroying the layers of film between your teeth. This is where most stubborn bacteria tends to hide in.
The brushes themselves have a contoured shape that allows them to conform to the shape of your teeth. This also makes it easier for the bristles to get into those hard-to-reach areas like the area behind your wisdom teeth. The contoured brush head also helps the bristles to get between the teeth so that gingivitis will have a harder time forming.
Sonic Brushing Technology
This toothbrush uses sonic brushing technology and electromagnetic systems. This helps to achieve a faster pulse rate compared to other competing products. As a result, the surface of the teeth is cleaner and more fluid is flushed between the teeth. This fluid extends the coverage so that there’s a 360-degree clean on the entire surface.
Two-Week Battery Life
This is also a low-effort product. It has a charger stand, and the Sonicare can go for about two weeks between charges. This makes it useful for trips where you’re not 100 percent sure if you’ll have an outlet. Also, this isn’t a product that loses power fast. Even if it’s starting to wind down when it comes to energy, you’ll still get a good brush.
Rechargeable Internal Battery
The rechargeable internal battery makes it very convenient to use over a long period. You won’t have to buy replacement batteries, and it’s very easy to set it on the stand and start charging.
Getting Started on a Sonicare Cleaning Regimen
Adjusting to an electric brushing system can be a bit jarring. When I first tried an electric years ago, I was surprised by how rought it could be. Fortunately, the Essence has a feature to help you acclimate. It uses an easy-start program that gradually increases the intensity over 14 uses.
This is also a very convenient toothbrush in everyday use. It plugs in neatly to a base and charges. This ensures that it will have juice for your next brush session. The base itself is somewhat small but easily has enough cabling to rest quietly atop your sink. It’s also very stable, and it doesn’t take up a lot of sink real estate.
This means that if you want to have a couple of Sonicare Essences for you and your loved ones, you should have the space. When you’re putting the toothbrush away, it clicks firmly into the stand. This ensures it will stay upright until you’re ready to use it again.
Well-Designed Grip and Ergonomics
With any piece of consumer electronics, ergonomics is crucial. The last thing you want is an uncomfortable brushing experience. Fortunately, Philips designed the Sonicare to be easy to grip, even when the barrel is wet. Also, this section of the toothbrush is textured yet soft. So it slipping from your hands, even as you brush, is very unlikely.
The power button is also in this area and is easily accessed while you’re brushing your teeth. It’s actually positioned right under the Sonicare logo. This makes it very easy to find and is textured so that you can locate it by touch alone. The Essence also features a green indicator LED. This makes it easy to determine if you’ve successfully charged the toothbrush. So, if the light is on, it’s charging, and you can go about your business. This light also has the double purpose of letting you know when the power is low.
Brush Head Replacement Reminder
Just like with manual brushes, it’s a good idea to replace your brush heads from time to time. As I mentioned earlier, you can do this easily with the screw-on and off system that the Essence line uses. But when exactly should you change? Like Oral-B products, the Essence has reminder bristles that fade in color when it’s time for a replacement. This takes a lot of the guesswork out of brush replacement. Brush head replacements even come in packs so that you can replace them quickly.
Social Proof
The majority of users seem to love this product, and many are VERY dedicated. For example, I came across a dental professional on who has been using Sonicare products for decades. This is a great testament to the quality of the product.
Additionally, I found another user who stated that the Essence made his teeth feel cleaner than a manual brush. The same person also mentioned that brushing with a lighter touch is easier with a product that does the physical work for you. All the reviews I encountered have been primarily positive. On Amazon alone, about 68 percent of the reviews were five-star.
Teeth require a lot of dedication and due diligence. And a great electric toothbrush like the Essence can really help to make the process of brushing your teeth more effective. If you want a product that can ensure you will brush properly then the Sonicare Essence is a great choice. It even pulses fluid between the teeth to ensure a deeper clean than many of its competing products at this price point.
Alternatives
Oral-B Black Pro 1000
Unlike the Essence, the Oral-B Black Pro 1000 uses spinning or pulsing bristles to clean teeth. The product also has a 20,000 pulse per minute design. While this isn’t quite as fast as the Essence, it will remove much of the stuck-on grit from your teeth. This ensures gingivitis and plaque won’t form. In addition to pulse mode, it also has an oscillation mode that spins. When spinning, the toothbrush has 8,800 oscillations per minute degree of functionality.
When it comes to design, I like the fact that the Pro 1000 comes in two different colors: black and light blue. Having a design choice is nice, and both color options look great. The grip is also fairly slip-free. And since these are fairly thin toothbrushes, it’s very easy to hold them as you brush. Like most modern electrics, the Black Pro 1000 comes with a timer. This will ensure you’re brushing for the appropriate amount of time. The power button is also easy to reach while you brush.
How it Compares to the Sonicare Essence:
Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Smart 9500
Are you looking for a premium electric toothbrush? Then the DiamonClean is a great choice. This is a very minimalist and svelte electric toothbrush. It also uses magnetic fields to power the brushing action. The power button is illuminated and has a lime green design that looks very high tech. This button also can help you select from the five distinct cleaning modes. The button is recessed. But don’t worry, you can rest your thumb there as you brush without mistakenly shutting the toothbrush off.
Additionally, this product comes with a very cool-looking case. The case even includes a USB port, which you can use to charge the toothbrush while it’s inside.
How it Compares to the Sonicare Essence:
Quip
It seems that everything has a subscription service nowadays. But Quip also has a version of their electric toothbrush that’s available for purchase without a subscription. If you’re looking to get new brush heads, you’ll have to purchase them from the service. One of the most exciting features that caught my eye about the Quip toothbrushes is how sleek they are. And they are very ergonomic and almost Apple-like in design.
This isn’t a sonic unit; it uses vibrations to clean your teeth. It even has features a quadrant- and two-minute timer so that you know you’re brushing correctly. If you like getting things like razors in the mail via subscription, then this is an excellent choice to check out.
How it Compares to the Sonicare Essence: