Whiter than white teeth - that's just one of the claims of the Philips Sonicare Diamond Clean Black electric toothbrush.

There are all manner of toothpaste and dental care adverts on TV these days. We're supposed to be brushing, flossing, gargling, and using toothbrushes that work their magic beyond the conventional brush. The Sonicare will set you back £250. It's no small price, but then if you want those pearly whites is it worth the cover price?

Design

The Philips Sonicare Diamond Clean Black is a simple and elegant affair. Black representing the colour of the product - not your teeth - as the rather long product name suggests. The matte finish is only broken by either white words that seemingly appear out of nowhere when your press the power button to tell you which brush setting you've gone for, or a green battery symbol to let you know how much charge is left.

There are no ports, no plugs, or sockets because power is provided wirelessly. That means you can easily wash it clean once you've finished poking around those pegs because it's waterproof.

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Just like other electric toothbrushes the brush head can be swapped out when needed. You get one standard and one compact brush in the box to get you started, and more can be bought when these wear down.

It's all very well built and comfortable to hold, even though the Diamond Clean Black isn't as light as a standard plastic toothbrush.

Charging

While mobile phones are only just starting to sell us the on virtues of wireless charging, toothbrushes have been doing it for years. Normally it involves placing the toothbrush into a dedicated intricate docking station for a couple of hours.

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In the case of the Philips it's as simple as popping the toothbrush into a glass that sits on a special plinth and it starts charging automatically - just don't forget to plug in that plinth, of course.

Now while that's great for the home, we've been imagining the impracticalities of packing this largish whiskey-style glass when away on business. Fortunately Philips has also included a micro USB charging travel case that means you can charge on the go. Not that you'll probably need to worry, as we've been getting a good couple of weeks' charge from the toothbrush from the usual morning and night's use.

Cleaning

There are a five brushing programmes: Clean, White, Polish, Gum care, and Sensitive. Each works its magic in delivering exactly what they describe. In general the brushing modes vary the degree of oscillation they deliver. The Sensitive is not so violent, while the Polish really goes for it.

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We're not going to delve into the science about how these differ or why they're "better" than conventional brushing, as a lot of it is based on feeling. And that proper clean feeling after brushing is great.

According to Philips the Diamond Clean range is able to remove up to seven times more plaque than a regular non-powered toothbrush. It does this by driving more fluid around your mouth and ultimately just working harder on your teeth than you could by pushing a brush backwards and forwards.

Other features such as a timer that indicates when to move to the next section of your mouth and then automatically turns the brush off when you're done really made a noticeable difference to our teeth-cleaning habits.

Quick Verdict

The Philips Sonicare Diamond Clean Black is the top of the pile product from Philips, the final stop if you will. Of course other manufacturers make similar such products too, many of which may also command your attention.
 
Over the period of time we've been using it, we've found the Diamond Clean to be impeccable. We've certainly felt that our teeth are cleaner, and even noticed that they're whiter since we've started using it (with Arm & Hammer whitening toothpaste, admittedly). It's a definite step-up from the conventional brush that we've been relying on up to now.
 
The charging glass and travel case remove any faff for charging, while the sophisticated matte black design certainly fits in with the executive look and feel. This isn't a cheap-looking lump of white plastic and we found the brush heads lasted well too - you won't be throwing them away in a couple of months because the bristles have gone soft.
 
The Philips Sonicare Diamond Clean Black toothbrush delivers a cool charging feature, a good-looking design and, most importantly, that amazing clean that will make you want to smile all day long. Get ready to say cheese. We've done away with the regular brush.