Philips Sonicare 1100 Review

Philips is a top choice for electric toothbrushes given their cleaning technology that makes teeth cleaning faster and more efficient. The product is part of the Daily Clean series which is considered as their entry-level product which has its most basic features and modes. Even with this, it is still sufficient for the best cleaning results when used properly. It is also compatible with various brush heads which can help make the cleaning process have more variety depending on user needs. The other known product lines of Philips include DiamondClean and ProtectiveClean.

For starters, users should take note that this product was created to be one of Sonicare’s most affordable electric brushes. Because of this, only the most basic features are included here. The good news is that it is of good quality for everyday brushing which is made possible by the strokes per minute it can create, its cleaning intensities, and the design of the brush itself. If you are looking for more features for a little bit more price, you might be interested with other DailyClean models such as the 2100, 3100, and 3500 which have more features, design variation, but with almost the same cleaning performance.

The packaging of the SoniCare 1100 only includes the essentials of the brush. First is the toothbrush handle itself where the motor is stored. We do not recommend its design mainly because of its bulky size that feels too big on the hands. There are also no grips on the unit which can make it easily slip and fall on the hard bathroom floor. The only control option is the power button. The other parts inside the box are the documentation of the product, a charging stand for the product, a travel cap, and a single brush head.

A good design that we found is the slight inclination of the brush head that allows it to reach the molars of the teeth with ease.

The cleaning program of most Sonicare brushes also apply to the 1100. As recommended by dentists, the brush is programmed to run for only two minutes for a single brushing. With this, you can already clean the different quadrants of the teeth. The brush automatically turns off after usage. You can also press the button again to stop it mid-brushing.

A key difference between Sonicare and its main market competitor, Oral-B, is its use of the traditional oblong brush head. Its cleaning is mainly focused on using sonic vibrations for cleaning the teeth which can easily break down food debris and remove teeth stains. Upon testing, the performance did not disappoint when it came to cleaning. When we did the Sonicare 1100 review we were pretty impressed by how closely it cleaned teeth compared to the much more expensive models.

As with most brushes, it also comes with a quadpacer. This puts a slight pause in between 30 second intervals while brushing the teeth to advise you to move to the next quadrant. Through this, you will be reminded to have complete cleaning even in the limited two minutes.

As said before, the brush only comes with the most basic features which is why there is only one cleaning intensity available for the brush. This is often applicable for many users. The only problem is for those who want extra sensitivity because of gum diseases like gingivitis or those who want extra strength to whiten their teeth.

However, to have a variety of cleaning styles, users can still use the various brush heads offered by Sonicare. For example, they can use the 3D cleaning action, Sensitive brush, and others that are still useful even with the lack of variety of cleaning intensities and modes offered by the product.

The brush also has an EasyStart feature that makes it especially friendly for first-time users of electric brushes which is probably the main target of Sonicare with this product. This feature makes the vibrations of the brush weaker at first and then gradually increases it in the span of two weeks. Through this, users can be more comfortable with the product and will be able to improve their grip while brushing.

Battery life is an important aspect of electric brushes. This determines if it will be good for travelling. The maximum battery life that we got from the brush was 2 weeks which is of average performance compared to other brushes of its price. This is mostly because it still uses Nickel batteries to operate instead of the usual Lithium Ion batteries that even mobile phones use.

Unfortunately, users won’t have a noticeable indication of the current mobile health of the product. It only has a 3 beeps and vibration warning that starts if the product only has a couple more brushes remaining which might not be always noticeable.

The Philips Sonicare 1100 is a very simple entry-level electric brush that is recommended for those who haven’t used one before. It has a very reliable cleaning performance that unfortunately has limited variations. Even with this, it is compatible with many brush heads which can remedy this issue. If you are looking for a good priced electric toothbrush we suggest the 1100 as it is pretty good, but there are a lot better models with better value that we found in our best electric toothbrush reviews. 

Pros

•         Battery life lasts for two weeks
•         Reliable cleaning performance
•         Uses the Sonicare sonic vibration technology
•         Compatible with many brush heads
•         Simple and clean design

Cons

•         Brush handle may be too large for some
•         Does not have cleaning mode variations
•         Still uses nickel batteries