Philips Sonicare ProtectiveClean 5100 review

How the Protectiveclean 5100 looks, feels and works

An upgrade on the Sonicare ProtectiveClean 4300, the key attraction to this brush has to be the extra cleaning modes that are available, but what is the brush really like in the hand and to use?  Let me explain in great detail.

Out of the box and in the hand, the ProtectiveClean 5100 feels great. Quality is certainly a word that comes to mind.

Rounded in its design, there are no harsh edges and the lack of rubber grips and plastic ridges on the handle make it comfortable in hand and smooth to the touch.

The plastic handle has been finished in a matt colour scheme, it is not glossy like many models of years past.

Technically the handle of the 5100 is available in 4 different colour options, but 2 are packaged together in a dual handled package.

Your options are:

• Single handle - Navy blue - HX6851/56
• Single handle - Pastel pink - HX6855/58
• Dual handle - 1 x white and light blue and 1 x black silver

It is the navy blue colour that is most common.

It is nice to see that the accessories are within reason colour matched too. So with the navy blue, you get a black coloured travel case, brush heads and charging stand.

I think the matching of colour, or close to it, rather than white shows and extra level of attention and makes the brush stand out from so many others that have the 'default' colour options.

Taking a look at the brush handle side on, with the brush head fitted, you will see that the head sits at a slight angle.

The reason for this is that in hand, it means the brush head is angled in a way that helps reach the rear teeth with more ease.  Small design touches like this are something Sonicare do very well.

Back to the front of the brush handle and you will find towards the top, the Philips Sonicare logo.

Placed somewhere between a third of the way and half way down the brush handle are 2 buttons.

The upper button is the power button, this turns the brush on and off.

The lower button is the cleaning mode/function button that switches between the 3 cleaning modes available on this brush handle.

A power symbol is embossed onto the concave rubber button and makes for a natural place to rest the thumb.

The cleaning mode/function button has no icon on it and is smooth to the touch.

The buttons are relatively easy to press with a bit of feedback.

Surrounding these buttons is a plastic panel that gives a colour accent to the brush handle. How it is accented depends on the variant.

Typically it is colour matched to the brush handle with the accent coming from the fact that the panel is finished with a glossy coating, contrasting the matt finish of the brush handle.

The exception here is the white and light blue colour variant.  This glossy panel is the light blue colour, whilst the rest of the handle is white.

Placed below these 2 buttons are LEDs and names of the cleaning modes.

Running top to bottom you have Clean, White and Gum Care, with the LED sat above the cleaning mode name.

The LED for the cleaning mode lights up as it is selected.  Press the cleaning mode button to cycle through the modes, until you get to the mode you want.

The mode can be changed before the brush is switched on.

The brush will remember the last cleaning mode used and begin in that mode the next time the brush is powered on.

Unless you have used or analysed other models that do not have such LEDs, do you realise how useful they are.

Whilst the Oral-B Smart 4 or 5 are clear competition for the 5100, neither have any on handle icons or ways of telling, which of the multiple cleaning modes are actually active.

At least these LEDs make it super simple.

Right towards the bottom of the brush handle are a further 2 LEDs and icons.

First sits the BrushSync LED and symbol, below that battery LED and symbol

The LED for the battery lights up and flashes in a few different ways.  Check out the ‘Battery Life’ section of this review for more information on that.

Normally when I spin the brush handle round to take a look at the back, I am presented with a series of plastic ridges, raised rubber dots or a large piece of rubber that the fingers naturally grip too.  This is not the case here.

Some might see this as an oversight, particularly if being used by young children or those who struggle to grip onto things.

However, in use, even when wet, the brush certainly didn’t feel all that slippy in hand.  I didn’t feel like it would be all that easy to drop.

Smooth to the touch, the back of the handle is an expanse of colour.

Breaking the flow slightly is a little protrusion at the bottom of the handle.

It seems a bit out of place and not immediately obvious what it is for.  But, lay the brush on a flat surface, and this raised moulding stops the brush rolling about.  Genius!

On the base of the brush handle is a recess into which the prong on the charging stand fits.

The brush will sit upright on a flat surface and does too sit upright on the charging stand.

At the top of the brush handle is the metal shaft that the brush head connect to.  This metal shaft feeds into the motor sealed inside the handle along with the rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery.

The brush offers a minimum of 2 weeks usage between charges.  More information is available in the ‘Battery Life’ section of this review.

Brush heads simply push on and pull off, they are really easy to fit and change.

Sonicare ideally want you to change the brush heads and use the most appropriate head for the cleaning mode that you wish to use.

However, the 5100 comes with a W2 Optimal White brush head. This focuses the 5100 slightly more on whitening the teeth. Given that this is the cheapest brush in the range (at the time of writing) to offer such a mode, it is not surprising.

This is just 1 style from a much broader range available from Sonicare.

The primary difference between them all is the way the bristles are positioned, their firmness and the shape they are cut to.  One style might focus on polishing the teeth, whilst another focuses on better interdental cleaning.

All will provide a good overall clean, but you might wish to find one most suitable for you and your oral healthcare goals.

Our ultimate guide to Sonicare brush heads goes into a lot more depth to explain the differences and how they work.

Another very important differentiator, particularly with the Sonicare ProtectiveCelan Whitening is those heads that are BrushSync compatible.

The ProtectiveClean has a feature called ‘BrushSync’.  What this does is tells you, via an LED on the brush handle when it is time to change or replace your brush head.

You see, inside the brush heads supplied is a small RFID microchip.

When the brush head is fitted to the brush handle, the chip is detected and the electronics inside the handle will now keep track of it.

You should get the amber warning light flash 3 times when the head is fitted.

As you use the brush head, the handle continues to track how often it has been used.

The handle knows that the brush head should be replaced every 3 months, so once the handle detects that the brush head has been used for this amount of time, the ‘BrushSync’ LED on the brush handle will light up an amber/orange colour.  It is at this point you should fit a new head.

But, the brush is cleverer still.

If it detects you have brushed 3 times a day every day or brushed with more pressure, it will activate the BrushSync alert system sooner, as the bristles will have worn out sooner than the typical 3 month time period.

By the same token, it will delay alerting you to replace the brush head.  If you used that head just once a day over 3 months, it would not tell you to replace it until it had been used for equivalent to 4 minutes a day for 3 months.

This technology was first seen on the DiamondClean Smart introduced in 2017.

As good as the tech is, there is what you might consider an old fashioned way of checking the wear on a brush head.

Each head has fading indicator bristles. As the heads are used, the Blue bristles fade to a very pale almost white/translucent colour.  When they are this colour, it is time to change the head.

The RFID chip found in the BrushSync compatible brush heads works only with BrushSync compatible handles like the ProtectiveClean 4300, 5100 and DiamondClean Smart.

You can use these heads on other brush handles, but the reminder system will not function.

A simple press on the power button will turn the brush on.  As the motor is kicked into life, the timer is too.

Using the standard ‘Clean’ mode the timer runs for 2 minutes, which is the dentist recommended cleaning time.

At the end of the 2 minutes, the brush actually turns itself off.

The 'White' mode runs for 2 minutes and 30 seconds, whilst the 'Gum Care' mode lasts for 3 minutes.

The brush will turn itself off at the end of these cleaning modes too.

At the same time the timer begins working, as does the 30 second timer or quadpacer as it is known.

During the standard cleaning cycle, at 30 second intervals the brush motor pauses briefly.

This stops the cleaning action and pauses the humming sound and vibration from the handle.

It is this pause that alerts you to the fact that it is time to change quadrant.

Whilst dentists recommend 2 minutes of cleaning twice a day, what this does not help with is ensuring you and I brush our teeth evenly.  This is where the pacer comes in.

The idea is that you break the mouth up into 4 sections.  Upper right, upper left, lower right and lower left.

You spend 30 seconds cleaning each section, that way over the 120 seconds (2 minutes) of brushing time, you will give a relatively even clean to the teeth and gums.

As you get the pacer alert, you change quadrant to in turn achieve the even clean.

Spending 2 minutes cleaning just the front teeth or just your top teeth is better than nothing, but isn’t great for your oral health.

Therefore the 2 minute timer and 30 second pacer are 2 excellent additions to this handle.

If you use the 'White' or 'Gum Care' mode, the pacer still function for the first 2 minutes of cleaning only. The remaining 30 seconds for 'White' and 1 minute for 'Gum Care' are for focusing on the front teeth and gums respectively.

Electric toothbrushes bring multiple benefits over and above regular toothbrushing.

However, the superior clean they can offer is only achieved when you use the electric brush correctly.

Irrespective of the cleaning mode used, I have been very impressed with the results and overall performance of this brush.

At no point have I felt the clean to be bad and certainly comparable to Oral-B.

There is clinical evidence that sides with both brands, but the reality of the situation is both are very good.

Personally I prefer the smaller, round brush heads that Oral-B offer compared to the larger more rectangular/ovalish heads of Sonicare.

'Clean' is, of course, the standard go to mode, which runs for 2 minutes, but you have 'White' and 'Gum Care' too.

You need to press that function button to select the appropriate mode.

Sonicare explain the modes as follows:

• Clean mode
  • A 2-minute mode. It gives you a thorough and complete clean.
• White mode
  • A 2-minute 30-seconds mode.  2 minutes for normal cleaning and 30 seconds to polish the front teeth.
• Gum Care
  • A 3-minute mode.  2 minutes of normal cleaning and 1 minute to clean and stimulate the gums.

The motor in the brush handle offers up to 31,000 brush strokes/62,000 movements per minute.

The Gum Care mode is more gentle and does not make use of the full power like the White and Clean mode do.

Gum disease sufferers or those with generally sensitive teeth will be thankful for the lower powered, less intense clean that the 5100 offers.

If you like the idea of changing the brushing intensity, the ProtectiveClean 6100 might be worth consideration.  You can change between 3 intensity levels on all cleaning modes.

As you brush your teeth the bristles need only skim the surface of the teeth to dislodge bacteria, plaque and food debris, lots of force is not required to brush the teeth clean.

Brushing too hard over long periods of time can wear out brush heads but also cause gum recession and damage to the tooth enamel.

This is why the 5100 has a pressure sensor built in.

The handle vibrates to alert you when too much pressure is being applied.

In addition, the brushing sensation and sound changes and the BrushSync replacement reminder LED flashes amber.

Whilst the brushing sensation and vibration can be felt, the position of the LED is not easy to see.

Much better would be the large visible pressure sensors that emit more light.  Sonicare’s own DiamondClean Smart, along with the Oral-B Pro and Genius are great examples of this.

Reduce the pressure applied to stop the sensor from being activated.

It does not take long to get used to how much pressure is appropriate.

Seasoned electric toothbrush users may know how much pressure is appropriate.  I believe it is more useful to first time or new users.

Another great feature for new electric toothbrush users is EasyStart.

This is a system that gently increases the power over the first 14 brushings to help you get used to brushing with the ProtectiveClean 5100 Whitening.

A simple, but innovative touch that shows an extra level of attention and care for first time electric toothbrush users.  The full 62,000 movements per minute can seem quite intense on first use. EasyStart eases you in and makes the transition from manual to electric brushing easier.

If you want to go straight in with full power you can turn the EasyStart off.  How you do this is explained in the FAQ’s at the end of this review.

Designed to resist water, toothpaste and saliva, the handle of the 5100 is not designed to be used in the shower or the bath.  A quick rinse of the handle is fine, but don’t go immersing it in water if you can help it.

The provided travel case is made from a fairly robust plastic.  Hinged on the left side, on the right is a clip to fasten the 2 halves of the case shut.

The case holds the 5100 brush handle and up to 2 brush heads.

Not only will it stop the handle or heads getting damaged, it also stops any accidental activation of the brush.

Whilst it does not affect day to day use, you might be keen to hear about Sonicare’s packaging.  It feels more environmentally friendly than brushes of the past and certainly trumps the likes of Colgate an Oral-B.

The cardboard box and inner tray are smaller than previous brushes and although there is plastic bags inside, they are labelled as recyclable.

It is much better than the plastic and polystyrene of the competition.

All told though the 5100 is a solid performing electric toothbrush that cleans as well as it looks and feels in the hand.