Philips Sonicare - ProtectiveClean 6100 Rechargeable Toothbrush - White

Choosing a new electric toothbrush can be confusing. There are tons of options and price ranges, some offering features that you might never need. With the ProtectiveClean 6100, Philips has struck a great balance of performance and value. PROS: - Simple packaging and easy assembly. Just slide the brush head onto the body and you're ready to go. My toothbrush arrived fully charged. - Lightweight, ergonomic handle. I was worried this might be heavy, but it's not. It's very comfortable to hold for the entire 2-minute brushing period. - Excellent brushing performance. There are three levels of brushing intensity that can be adjusted with a button on the handle. I've been using the medium setting and I love the way my teeth feel after each use. You know that squeaky-clean feeling your teeth have after going to the dentist? This toothbrush can give you that feeling every day! - The toothbrush will beep and vibrate while you're brushing to tell you to move to another quadrant of your mouth. It's a useful reminder so you don't over-brush one area of your mouth. - If you apply too much pressure to your teeth, the toothbrush will also beep/vibrate so you don't damage your gums. OTHER THOUGHTS: - Only one brush head is included. For the price, I wish Philips would have included at least 2 brush heads. They aren't cheap, either, so be prepared to shop for deals on replacement brush heads. - If your bathroom does not have a power outlet in the perfect place, you might have a hard time keeping the charging base plugged in all the time. The cord is rather long and difficult to hide. - The product listing says that the toothbrush is supposed to come with a travel case, but my box did not have one. If you purchase this in-store, make sure the box says it includes a travel case. My box makes no mention of it and the model number is slightly different than the one listed here. My box says model number HX6877/48, which apparently does not include a travel case. If you want the case, make sure you get model HX6877/21. OVERALL: This is an excellent, no-gimmicks electric toothbrush. The price is just right and the features included are simple and useful. Highly recommended!

I have been a long-time Philips Sonicare customer and I love their products. They last a very long time and do a great job at what they are intended to do. In addition to getting the ProtectiveClean 6100 to replace my previous Sonicare toothbrush I also purchased their Sonicare AirFloss Ultra. It may sound like I have issues but I just recently had an implant put in and it is a bit more complicated to take care of than I was led to believe. That being said, I do take care of my teeth very well and in my 40+ years of having teeth not a single one has ever had a cavity (humblebrag over). If you have ever used a Sonicare toothbrush or any of the other kinds of electronic toothbrushes, you will be well acquainted with how this one works. If you like you can go straight out of the box, put on some toothpaste, shove it in your mouth, hit power and clean away. The modes and intensities too me have always felt a bit too 'subtle'. I can tell it changes things up a bit but not enough to really change my experience. One of the benefits of the 6100 series is that the brush can now use some new brush heads with an integrated RFID chip that will set the brush to the optimal mode for brushing. I didn't notice this 'benefit' until after I had opened everything up and started reading the instruction booklet, but if I had noticed it I would have been wary assuming that this brush could only use these new fangled (and probably more expensive brush heads). To my pleasant surprise, I found that the old style brush heads fit/work just fine, which is good because I have a pack of them that I just recently purchased. A lot of times a company will make these upgrades to lock you in to more expensive and proprietary parts but Philips in this case is just giving you the option. That being said the RFID also syncs with the brush head to let you know when to change it out, though I've never really had a problem figuring that out and I'm sure that timetable is skewed to Philips' favor. My only real gripe about this RFID upgrade is that when you read the instructions is would seem that every style of brush head gets the same setting of level three intensity, it just changes the mode depending on the brush head type from the normal clean, to whitening, to gum care. All of these modes are really just set timings. The quadpacer feature gives you a cue to move to another quadrant of your mouth every 30 seconds for a full 2-minute routine, that is the normal clean mode. For white mode, it just adds 30 seconds to the end to polish up your front teeth some more, and in gum care mode it gives you a minute extra to use the brush to massage your gums. Great if you follow the quadpacer timings, but I'm pretty sure I've got this brushing thing down by now. One of the upgrades I did see that I was interested in and made me want this particular model was the pressure sensor to prevent you from beating up your teeth and gums. I have never been an overly aggressive brusher (my wife on the other hand absolutely destroys toothbrushes), but the dentist told me to be a little more careful than usual with the implant so I thought this might be a useful feature. It would be a useful feature if it didn't take an immense amount of pressure for the toothbrush to warn you. I have never brushed that hard in my life. I even had my wife put on her brush head to try it out and she even had to press harder than she normally does to get it to go off and like I said, she routinely gets yelled at by her dentist for her aggressive brushing. Perhaps I should talk to her... maybe she is taking out her pent up rage with me on her teeth. Oh well, that feature is pretty much useless. Here are just a few more likes/dislikes of this toothbrush from a longtime Sonicare toothbrush user: - Love that Philips has stuck with the same inductive charging base so I can use the UV disinfecting base that came with my previous brush or any of the other multitude of charge bases that I have. I also uses the same base as the AirFloss so I only have to take one with me on vacation (though charges usually last me a really long time - much longer than the 2 weeks that Philips states). - Love the new look of the brush, nice sleek and satiny. - Hate that that the new sleek and satiny finish is super slick and has fallen out of my hand twice already onto the floor (thank goodness for UV disinfection). The previous brushes had a rubber like back to them that was sticky enough to help you hold the brush. While I'm sure I'll adjust, it is annoying. That's it for the review, if you are a longtime Sonicare user or a first-timer, you will be very happy with this brush. It does its job, it does it well, and if my previous toothbrushes are any indication, it will do it for many years.

It is nice to see that electric toothbrushes have improved over the years with the advancing technology. My last electric toothbrush didn’t do much more than turn on and off. The ProtectiveClean 6100 offers users several useful features to maintain a clean mouth. The toothbrush was fully charged right out of the box, so no need to wait to use it. There was a brush head included in the box that easily attached onto the base. FYI – there’s a microchip in the brush head that syncs with the handle to notify you when you need to replace the brush head. It is suggested replacing it every 3 months. My car fob battery works on a timer and notifies me every 2 years. This toothbrush will track the wear on the brush based on the pressure and amount of time used and notify you based on that. When the reminder light shines amber, that is when you need to get a new brush head. I looked up the cost of replacement brush heads on Bestbuy.com and they run about $50 for 4 replacement heads. PS You can deactivate the brush head replacement reminder… My toothbrush came with a hygienic travel cap, but I was disappointed that my model did not come with the travel case as I do a fair amount of travel for work and pleasure. If you want to change the mode (clean/white/gum care), make sure you turn the toothbrush off first. You cannot change modes while it is on. However, to change the intensity of the bristle movement, you need to do that by pressing the mode button while the unit is on. This toothbrush’s features help to retrain you to optimize your brushing habits. 1. Pressure senor feature - while brushing your teeth, there is a change in vibration and a sound alert you if you are putting too much pressure on your teeth. This feature can be deactivated. 2. Quadpacer feature - this will time you so you are brushing the four sections of your mouth for 30 seconds each section. If you use this function, the toothbrush automatically shuts off after 2 minutes. 3. Easy start feature – this feature is initially deactivated, but you can read how to turn it on in the directions. This feature increases the power over the course of the first 14 brushing to help you get used to using an electric toothbrush. I admit that I have to use this as the vibrating bristles tickle my teeth, making it difficult for me to use it for 30 seconds at a time in some areas. My three downsides are the following 1) if you are not used to an electric toothbrush and your teeth are extra sensitive, you may find it difficult to clean your teeth without the “ticklish” feeling. Not sure if you can return an item like this to the store and get your money back when it isn’t defective and 2) reaching into the back of my mouth on the side where my wisdom are was difficult and 3) the brushes recommended for Clean mode (C2) Gum care (G2) did not come with my box, but it is indicated that other models come with additional brush heads. Make sure the model your purchase comes with what you want to have (additional brushes, travel case), but be prepared to potentially pay more for them. Summing it all up, this is a very good toothbrush that seems to be competitively priced. It offers several helpful features that will keep your teeth clean and white.

I’ve owned a few Sonicare electric toothbrushes over the years, going back to one of their first models. In truth, I’ve liked them all, with each “replacement” being better than the previous unit. Most recently, I’ve been using the HX6750…until I received the new HX685T (aka 6100). In so many ways, it’s a LOT better…although, in one particular way, it’s somewhat worse. Starting with what makes the HX685T/6100 better, the most important factors are the adjustable modes, as well as the adjustable intensity levels. Both models provide a feature for those new to electric toothbrushes, but whereas said mode is turned ‘on’ by default in the HX6750, it’s ‘off’ by default on the 6100. Personally, I believe defaulting to ‘off’ is better, as most people would probably dislike having to turn this feature off every time they get a new Sonicare. Getting back to the new features, there are three brushing “modes”: Clean, White, & Gum Care. “Clean” is the standard mode, which has been around for years, providing 2 minutes of “Quadpacer” brushing. “White” provides 2.5 minutes of brushing time (again, using “Quadpacer” timing), with the first two minutes moving the brush head in a different ‘pattern’ (to assist in removing stains), followed by the last 30 seconds in “Clean” mode. Finally, the “Gum Care” mode provides 3 minutes of brush time (I’m assuming, as I haven’t tried it yet, it also utilizes “Quadpacer” timing). As for the “Intensity” levels, it offers low, medium, and high. While the intensity levels can be changed while brushing, the mode must be selected prior to turning on the toothbrush. Another new addition is the inclusion of Sonicare’s “BrushSync” technology. Inside the base of the toothbrush head, a microchip has been imbedded. This allows two features to work. The first, Smart Replacement, is just what it sounds like…a notification of when it’s time to replace your head. This notification isn’t based purely on some pre-programmed period of time, but is determined by how often you brush, the length of time you brush each time you brush, and the type of head you’re using. Speaking of toothbrush head type, that brings up the microchips second feature, that being Smart Pairing. With previous electric toothbrushes, you typically had two types (soft & hard), with two length options (short & long). When it comes to Smart Pairing, there are (currently) seven options, broken into three “categories”: Premium, Optimal, & Specialty. I won’t give complete info on each head, but I will mention that the “Premium” line includes “Plaque Control (C3), Gum Care (G3), & White (W3), the “Specialty” line includes DiamondClean (W) & InterCare (i), and the “Optimal” line includes Plaque Control (G2) & Gum Care (C2). Based on their numbering system (current choices include ‘2’ and ‘3’), it’s safe to assume that there could very well be a forthcoming line with ‘1’ in the numbering system…but that’s just my guess. Quickly back to those imbedded microchips, they inform the toothbrush handle which head was inserted, and it automatically adjusts the “mode” & “intensity” to match the particular head. Of course, as with all heads (including those without embedded microchips, as they ARE still compatible with the 6100), you can adjust the “mode” & “intensity” to your liking/preference. Final thoughts: While I haven’t been using the Sonicare 6100 long enough to drain the battery, but I’d assume that it would last at least as long as any previous Sonicare model. Beyond that, I’m loving the new model. As great as the inclusion of different “modes” is, I’m thinking a lot of people will find the “intensity” levels more useful. Normally, one would stick to ‘high’, but, for those with occasionally sensitive teeth, being able to lower the intensity to ‘medium’, and even ‘low’ will be a HUGE benefit. I’ve been recommending Sonicare toothbrushes to people for many years now (even got my wife to switch from a “regular” toothbrush, to Sonicare), I would, most definitely, recommend the 6100, as well as any other Sonicare models including all these new features/functions. Some people complain about the high cost of electric toothbrushes, not to mention the higher-than-average cost of their replacement heads, but, let me ask you a question – HOW important is having good teeth to you? If you don’t care about your teeth, then you might as well stop taking care of them…stop brushing and stop flossing. On the other hand, if your teeth are important enough to you to seriously take care of, then spending some extra money on them is WELL worth it. Besides, after spending the thousands of dollars already spent on them (braces, crowns, bridges, fillings, etc), don’t you WANT to take great care of what you’ve spent your hard-earned money on? Do yourself a favor – get an electric toothbrush. And, if you want one that has been PROVEN to be “better”, get a Sonicare…better yet, get the 6100. Disclaimer: This product was provided free, or at reduced cost, for the purpose of reviewing the product. Nevertheless, the above review, be it positive, negative, or somewhere in-between, is a 100% honest review, and the price paid played absolutely no part in my review.

I've been a Sonicare convert for years. I have been using the E-series (the cheap model) and it has been a blessing. You can immediately feel a "smoothness" on your teeth after switching to Sonicare from a manual toothbrush. So if you happen to be reading this and are on the fence about electric toothbrushes, if nothing else, get one, any one. But If you can afford it, this is the model to get. It's easiest for me to compare my e-series to this model. The e-series is bulky in comparison, both in the handle, toothbrush head and the charging stand. These are not knocks, just observations. They both operate for two minutes and then automatically shut off. This is a great feature, you never have to worry about how long you're brushing the handle does it for you. Now, in terms of straight performance (i.e. clean feeling mouth and teeth) I've already mentioned the noticeable difference between manual brushing and ANY electric toothbrush. But I must say, I could even tell a difference between the e-series and this ProtectiveClean Diamond brush. It performed even better. I could tell a difference after using it. Now onto the distinguishing features. This toothbrush comes with different modes, cleaning, whitening and healthy gums. To take advantage of those modes, however, you have to have separate toothbrush heads. Putting the cost of the heads aside, this is a pain. I haven't used them, but I can't see myself switching the heads back and forth for the long term. Maybe if you're gums are sore and you use the gum toothbrush head, but that's it. I don't see how a toothbrush IN AND OF ITSELF can make your teeth whiter. That feature to me, is a wash. But the toothbrush does have other nifty features (that require some thought to become muscle memory). You have 4 quadrants in your mouth (I'm not going to explain it, if you know it great, if you don't then guess) and the toothbrush vibrates indicating when you should switch to another quadrant. This is cool as it makes sure you get all of your mouth rather than say focusing on your back right molars because your right handed and don't think about it. But at the same time, it requires at least in the beginning, some mental processing because if you're like me, you don't typically brush your teeth in quadrants. It also vibrates if you're using too much pressure. This is something that will pay off in the long run. My wife's gums are actually receding in part because she brushes too hard. Now, I can't say that this feature will prevent it, I would like to think it's supposed to. And if nothing else, it makes you aware of it if you're brushing too hard. In terms of overall ownership costs, I was actually surprised that if you buy a 4 pack of diamond head brush heads, you are spending the same per head as the e-series. This was a big bonus for me because I do routinely install new brush heads every 3 months (via subscription on Amazon). It's about $10 per head which you should replace every 3 months, although this toothbrush supposedly tells you when to replace the head based on the pressure you use to brush your teeth and the frequency of brushing. The one big knock is that it doesn't come with a travel case. The listing online might say it does (I thought it did) it DOES NOT come with a case. That's a big deal to me, as I take my Sonicare with me when I travel. The battery lasts 2 weeks plus, so you don't generally have to take the charger with you when traveling but you need a case for it. Another plus is that the battery is replaceable. The e-series Sonicare, TO MY KNOWLEDGE, is not user replaceable. This bodes well for longevity of the product which is important when you are spending $120 on a tooth brush that you can get for 50 cents at the dollar store. All in all, if you care about your dental/oral hygiene you need a Sonicare toothbrush and this model is as good as any. You could get by with a standard e-series, but I actually like the "smart" features included in the 6100.

Personally I’ve used a couple cheaper electric toothbrushes, but never a Sonicare. Before you look any further, I can tell you that the Sonicare does an amazing job, has great build quality, relevant features, and plenty of options. You do pay a decent price, but the quality is here in spades. It’s light, solid, and ergonomic. What anyone will tell you is that using a Sonicare brush is an odd feeling. The vibration is fast and intense, yet gentle. The 6100 does a good job in warming you up over a period of 14 days – slowly increasing the intensity to the full capabilities of the brush. However odd, it’s impossible to deny clean, polished feeling that exudes from your mouth. It feels like you’ve just been to the dentist. Probably the biggest contributor to that clean feeling is the default ‘quadpacer’ setting. This feature of the brush pauses briefly every 30 seconds to remind you to move to the next quadrant of your mouth. It sounds silly, but I’ve found myself using this feature religiously and it keeps me brushing the right amount of time. This isn’t much of an exclusive feature, but it’s highly effective. I’ve found brushing with my old electric brush (cheap AA battery operated) leaves my teeth almost as clean feeling (at least initially). Its amazing how effective such a simple feature can be. I believe what really sets the Sonicare apart is the high brush-head speed (62000 movements per minute). While I said that the length of time had a direct effect on how clean my teeth felt, it definitely didn’t directly correlate to how clean my teeth actually were. After brushing with the 6100 for just a few days, my teeth feel cleaner all day long, even only brushing in the morning. Another great feature of this brush is the pressure feedback. If you press to hard, the brush will pulsate to let you know. I actually found it pretty natural to not over-do it with the Sonicare. The high speed brush lends itself to gliding over your teeth and gums. I am one who presses too hard with manual brushes, and always wear out my heads too soon. Its nice to have that feature, even if you’re less likely to apply too much pressure. Build quality wise, the Sonicare 6100 is quite solid. It’s water resistant using a contactless charger method. I keep it on the charger, but the battery is rated for 2 weeks away from the base. It comes with a really nice travel case with room for 2 brush heads, so if you do travel, it’s ready to go. Interestingly, the manual shows you how to remove the battery. Unfortunately, this procedure is a one way trip – utilizing a hammer and irrevocably cracking the case. On one hand this is good, as it effectively prepares the device for electronic recycling, but it’s sad that you cannot simply replace the cell. The good news is that the battery in question is lithium ion, so you should expect at least a few years, if not more from a cell like this. This model is interesting in that it uses a variant of brush head that communicates with the base. It communicates what type of brush head (to select the best mode), as well as its wear level. This is an interesting concept, and I’m happy to see that the cost per brush head isn’t exorbitantly higher than the non-brush sync compatible heads (around $10-15 a head). While the cost of the heads is nothing to sneeze at, it is at least a manageable cost when you should go through about 4 a year. Overall, the Philips Sonicare 6100 is a great toothbrush. While offering a plethora of settings and options, it also chooses good defaults and smart defaults due to how it communicates with the brush head. I love that it takes the thinking out of it, and chooses the best settings based on the intent of the user (what brush head you purchased). If you’re looking to improve your oral hygiene, I definitely recommend the Sonicare 6100!

I've been using an electric toothbrush since sometime around high school. It worked well enough and was definitely more effective at getting me to brush the recommended two minutes than any manual brush, but it was definitely starting to show signs of its age for a while before it finally gave up the ghost and refused to charge anymore. When I saw the Philips Sonicare brush I figured that it would be a worthy replacement just for the fact that it not only made sure you brushed long enough, but also made sure that you'd devote the correct amount of time to each area of your mouth. And my first impression is that wow, they've changed these A LOT since I was in high school. I had heard of ultrasonic toothbrushes before, but I had never really tried one. My first impression was, admittedly, shock. The thing buzzed so strongly that I splattered toothpaste all over the mirror and made my lips go numb. But then I went back, read the instructions very carefully, and tried again. And this thing is so much better than my old toothbrush that I'm kind of regretting that I didn't upgrade sooner! The hardest thing to get used to really is the experience of brushing your teeth with the thing. Unlike older brushes which had bristles that spun or brushed over your teeth, this one simply vibrates at a speed that I could only begin to imagine. While this can feel a little harsh on your lips, it's actually remarkably gentle on your teeth and gums. That part especially is worth the price of entry to me - my old toothbrush was thorough, but did have a tendency to leave my gums sore and bleeding from time to time. This one, so long as you use it with the light touch recommended in the operating manual, can go straight up to the gum line without irritating them at all, and that's with the brush head specifically designed for whitening your teeth. It's also got just about the right number of smart features for me. It doesn't have the ability to interface with an app, like some of the more expensive Philips brushes, but honestly I can't say that I think I need that. It does monitor the pressure you use when brushing (giving you a slight buzz if you're pressing down too hard) and uses that information to track the wear you're putting on the brush head so that it can advise you when you need to replace it. It also features an option to help you get used to the harsh vibrations if you've never used a brush like this before, where for the first fourteen uses it'll slowly scale up the intensity. I admittedly opted not to use that feature since I was more interested in getting the "clinical efficiency" boasted on the cover which promised to whiten your teeth within a week, but it's appreciated all the same. Unfortunately, I can't really speak to if the claim about it whitening your teeth holds up. They do certainly feel cleaner having been regularly using the brush for about a week, and there are a few spots that might have gotten a bit brighter than they were, but frankly it's hard to tell if that's actually the result of the brush or just the result of me looking for signs that it worked. I also have to say that I don't really care. This thing works so much better and is so much easier on my gums and sensitive teeth than the electric brush I was using before that I'm completely sold on it. If you're looking to establish a more enjoyable working relationship with your dentist, I don't think there's any way you can go wrong with this one!

My experience with power toothbrushes is limited to just this one, but the Philips Sonicare ProtectiveClean 6100 is a great device. I prefer now using a power toothbrush over a manual, and so I expect my experience to grow in time. In the box, you get a charging base, the toothbrush handle, a cap, and a W DiamondClean brush head. The ProtectiveClean 6100 is designed to detect which type of brush head is attached via a microchip in the brush head that communicates with the handle. The handle automatically selects the suggested mode and intensity levels, so it's ready to go without needing to manually change any settings. With that said, the toothbrush should already have some charge in it for a quick start. All you need to do is attach the brush head, which is very easy to do, and press the power button. If you prefer a more control, you can change the mode and intensity yourself with a few button presses on the front. The box claims that the ProtectiveClean 6100 is capable of 31,000 brush strokes per minute. I don't know if this is true, but based on how clean my teeth feel and look after brushing, I don't worry about that number so much. What's great is that you do not need to apply a lot of pressure, and if you do, the vibration of the handle will change to alert you that you're using too much pressure, as it can sense this. I haven't fully tested the white mode or gum care modes, and so I cannot review much of that. I can say that they don't feel much different than the standard clean mode. The manual makes mention of optimal brush heads for each mode if you'd like to be thorough as possible when cleaning your teeth or gums. One feature that I'm still unsure of is the quadpacer. The timer built into the handle has a short beep and pause to let you know when you should begin a new section of your mouth. The cleaning mode lasts for two minutes before turning off. Though it's just a reminder, I often feel rushed and as if 30 seconds per quad isn't long enough, so I usually restart the toothbrush once it shuts off. Unlike the other features built into the ProtectiveClean 6100, this feature cannot be deactivated. This is probably my only real qualm with the product. Just like manual toothbrushes can wear over time and need replacing, so do the brush heads. The handle tells you when it's time to replace your brush head, which is very convenient. I haven't had to replace mine yet, so I can't comment on how long a brush head typically lasts. Overall, I really like this power toothbrush. I haven't gone back to a manual toothbrush and have no plans doing so. I love how clean my teeth look and feel after every use. My dental hygienist has a Sonicare product, and that says a bit, too.