Everything is going connected today, from your appliances in the kitchen to the toothbrush you use in the bathroom. Philips sent me over their new Sonicare FlexCare Platinum Connected Toothbrush for me to try out. The version I have includes a UV cleaner to help keep germs at bay. The big feature of this high-tech toothbrush is that it works with a companion smartphone app.

The app is offered for Android and iOS users, and I used the Android version. The toothbrush connects to your mobile device via Bluetooth and once connected, the app displays a very cool diagram of your mouth, and guides you on when to clean what section and for how long, and warns you if you are brushing too hard or moving too much.

The app is very easy to use and you can choose areas in your mouth where you have challenges like bleeding gums, plaque or other areas you want to deep clean. When you choose these areas, the brush gives you the ability to choose different cleaning modes for normal, whitening, and deep cleaning. The app will also warn you if you are moving too much for the brush to be effective. You can also customize your cleaning regime based on your own desires or with input from your doctor.

You can use the toothbrush without the app if you want, and the brush will vibrate to give you feedback on when to change sections of your mouth. The brush doesn’t give you feedback without the app for too much movement or to much pressure, though.

The only real challenge I had with the app was the fact that I wanted to look at my phone while cleaning to get that instant feedback and tended to get the phone splashed with toothpaste foam or water from my hands. It was never a problem for me, but I did wish that Philips had included at least a basic suction cup mount of some sort in the kit to help get my phone out of the splash zone it tends to be in anywhere near the sink. I think mounting the phone to the mirror with some sort of suction cup mount would be ideal and I am sure you could find such a device down at Walmart. There is also the chance that I am just way messier than the average person when it comes to brushing.

The toothbrush lets you choose one of three intensity levels for your brushing. I liked the highest setting, while my wife liked the lowest. Prior to receiving this toothbrush I had used a Braun Oral-B fancy electric toothbrush for many years. I thought that was the greatest toothbrush ever, and it cleaned my teeth very well.

I had never used a Sonicare toothbrush before this and it works much differently than the electric toothbrush I used before. That old Oral-B brush has a mechanical head with sections that spin and slide to clean teeth. The Sonicare FlexCare Platinum uses very fast ultrasonic movements to clean your teeth. All that most consumers really want to know is whether that means it cleans better than the spinning style toothbrushes. For me it absolutely did. The Sonicare FlexCare Platinum made my teeth much slicker and cleaner feeling than my old Oral-B toothbrush ever achieved.

I also very much love the UV cleaner that you can put your toothbrush head into to kill germs between brushings. I use it at least weekly and my wife loves that feature. Working in the medical field I rarely get sick because I am around all the bugs daily. My wife, on the other hand, isn’t and gets sick much more easily. That UV light means that if she feels a sore throat coming on she doesn’t have to throw that expensive toothbrush head away and replace it. She simply cleans it.

In all, this is easily the best cleaning toothbrush that I have ever used. You will be able to use the Sonicare FlexCare Platinum Connected Toothbrush for many years to come as well since you can change the toothbrush heads as needed. Speaking of toothbrush heads, there are many different styles to suit your tastes or needs. The brush also includes a hard plastic carry case for use on the road.

The Sonicare FlexCare Platinum Connected Toothbrush is absolutely a major upgrade to your normal toothbrush, and if you are using one of those cheap $10 spinning brushes from the store, it’s time to update to your oral hygiene regimen. The toothbrush carries a $219.99 MSRP for the version with the UV cleaner I tested. You can order your own Sonicare FlexCare Platinum toothbrush directly from Philips and other online retailers now.

The post Review: Philips Sonicare FlexCare Platinum Connected Toothbrush appeared first on Technabob.