Philips Sonicare 3100 Series Review

Design, usability, clean & general use

The 3100 Series comes in typical Sonicare packaging. It isn’t the most snazzy and eye-catching, but it fits in with the Philips theme and does the job it needs to. 

It sounds daft, but it is nice that the box actually shows the brush and highlights the key features about it, so you know what you are buying. Believe it or not, many brushes have very little information on the box about what is inside. This is fine if buying online, but not quite so good for the store shelves.

Another nice touch is the image on the box is colour matched to the handle inside.

Philips is working to improve their sustainability globally. This is a good thing. For quite some time their packaging has been mainly paper based as opposed to lots of plastics and materials like polystyrene.

As I will explain in more detail later, Philips has now even changed their conventional charging stand to reduce plastic use.

So why then, does the brush handle, the brush head, and charging stand all come in a plastic sleeve?! It is LDPE 4 plastic, which can technically be recycled, but it is still fairly difficult to do for most people.

I think on the whole Philips strategy is positive, but it seems a bit daft to wrap parts of the package in plastic when they don’t need to be. The brush head, I kind of understand, but the other parts?!  It feels like they are missing some of the obvious bits here.

First impressions of the 3100 in hand are great. It is lovely and slim and fairly light too. It definitely isn’t the most grippy of all the toothbrushes I have used, but the matt coating to the handle means it doesn’t feel slippery to the touch.

There is certainly a feeling of quality when you handle this brush, which is a positive.

Like most toothbrushes, this is made up of 2 key parts, the brush handle and the brush head.

The handle itself is not a perfect cylinder. Although rounded, the edges are very slightly squared off which makes it feel solid and pleasant to hold.

The 3100 Series was introduced to the Sonicare range in early 2022. It technically replaces the DailyClean Series. It is considerably slimmer and lighter than its predecessor. And it is marginally thinner and lighter in hand, in comparison to most other Sonicare handles. This is a positive, but as I will explain shortly, it does have negative impacts, notably battery life.

It has a very typical Sonicare design to the handle, which is clean and practical in its approach. I can’t really fault it.

The 3100 Series is available in a number of different variants. Technically they are all the same, the difference is the handle colour. 

I have the HX3681/03 variant which is white in colour, but black and deep pink are options too. 

On the front of the handle, just below the metal shaft is the Philips Sonicare logo, in a grey font.

Beneath this within the upper third of the handle is the power button. It appears to have an almost seamless design, despite being rubber, compared to the plastic of the brush handle itself.

It is concave and has a power icon embossed on it. It is colour matched to the handle too. There is a nice clicky feedback to the button. It isn’t very firm, so it’s quite easy to activate. Great for those with limited dexterity.

It is hard to explain, but there is a contouring to the plastic of the handle that creates a long oval shape around the power button. It adds a design cue to the handle and becomes a natural resting place for the thumb. 

It is then only in the lower third of the handle do you have any extra notable detail on the front of the handle. Here sit the icons and LEDs for the brush head replacement reminder and the battery. The LED sits above each icon. More on this shortly.

The rest of the handle, including the sides and back are smooth to the touch, with no raised elements for grip etc. For some, this is a negative, but despite the lack of gripping points the 3100 doesn’t feel uncomfortable or like it will really slip in the hand. For those who particularly struggle with getting a tight grip, the slimmer handle of the 3100 might not be ideally suited.  

The only exception to this smooth design is on the back of the handle, right at the bottom, is a small plastic notch extending from the handle. This is designed to prevent the handle from rolling about when laid on a countertop.

The base of the handle has a recess within it. This is a space into which the charging pin on top of the charging stand fits to provide the wireless charging of the internal battery.

The base has some regulatory information printed on it along with the model number.

The 3100 series does stand upright on a desktop.

The top of the handle tapers very slightly, just before flattening out to give a surface for the brush head to sit over. Extending from the top here is the metal shaft that connects to the brush motor inside the handle.

The provided brush head simply pushes onto and pulls off of this. There is no need to twist or lock any head in place.

Once fitted, if you take a look at the handle from the side, the head sits perfectly vertically. There is no angling of the brush head as is the case with some other models.

This is subject to change, but the brush head supplied with the 3100 series by default is the C1 ProResults brush head.

It has been designed to be used everyday. It provides a thorough all round clean of the teeth and has what many call a ‘W’ profile to it. There are slightly longer bristles at the top, bottom and in the middle.

It sounds odd to say this, but it is one of the more basic brush heads within the Sonicare range. It is more than functional and does a good job. But do be aware that Sonicare has a range of different brush heads, which are compatible with the 3100 Series. Many of these alternative options are considered more premium and more specialized. 

To give you an example, some have a silicone on the back of the brush head rather than just the plastic you see on the C1 head. This is to make it softer on the gums and cheeks. You will likely pay a price premium for these though. 

With others, the length, cut and shape of the bristles are different to achieve different results.

Some are engineered for plaque removal, whilst others are designed for helping the gums or whitening teeth.

The range of heads is confusing. Our ultimate guide to Sonicare brush heads explains each in more detail.

The thing to really note here is picking and using any Sonicare brush head designed for everyday use is more important than worrying about which to pick. But, should you have a preference you do not have to stick to using the C1 ProResults head.

For existing and new Sonicare toothbrush users, it is worth being aware of some developments in the Sonicare brush head range. For a long time, the brush head supplied was simply named ProResults. It has more recently been renamed C1 ProResults. Same design, new name.

But, in addition, the head has also had a technology upgrade. It has gained an RFID chip.

This chip makes the head BrushSync compatible. I shall explain what this means, but just be aware that because the heads have been upgraded stock of the original heads, without the chip in, still exist and are sold.

We have an article that explains BrushSync technology in detail, but essentially there are 2 parts. There is the ‘brush head replacement reminder’ and ‘brush head mode pairing’.

The 3100 series has only the brush head replacement reminder.

Inside the C1 ProResults (and other heads) is a small microchip.

When the brush head is fitted to the brush handle, the chip is detected by sensors in the 3100 handle. 

As it detects the head, it will flash the light on the front of the handle 3 times. This acts as confirmation that the handle has detected the head and that the electronics inside the handle will now keep track of it.

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 handle will light up an amber/orange colour to tell you it is time to change the brush head.

Using the brush head for longer than suggested can potentially cause damage to the teeth and gums and can cause the head to be less effective in its cleaning.

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.

The bristles do wear out over time. They are not designed to be used indefinitely.

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 is a very neat touch and shows how technology can be used in a positive way to better the nation’s oral health. It may well be overkill, but it is there to help.

It is worth knowing that it is perfectly possible to use a non-smart brush head on the 3100 as it is perfectly fine to use a smart brush head on a handle that does not offer BrushSync technology. But, do be aware, the BrushSync will only work when a compatible head is used on a compatible handle.

In addition to the head replacement reminder, you do have bristles on the brush head that fade in colour. These are usually blue in colour, but over approximately 3 months they will become much paler, turning a white/translucent colour. This is another visual clue the head needs replacing.

And when you do replace them, be sure to recycle your used brush head.

📣 Editor’s Note: Currently the 3100 comes supplied with the ProResults brush head without the RFID (BrushSync) technology. This is due to change in the latter part of 2022.  The handle does support BrushSync heads, they are just not supplied presently in the box.

Safe in the knowledge that your brush head is being monitored, you can make full use of the 2 brushing intensities this offers.

You have a softer and more gentle, low, mode and a more powerful, high mode.

It is quite nice to have the choice, although the more powerful high mode is the one you will most likely want to use.

The softer mode is good to have if your gums are a bit inflamed and tender to the touch.  It is also a more pleasant option for first time electric toothbrush users.

You might desire additional cleaning modes but in reality, what the 3100 offers is more than good enough.  Additional modes offer little in the way of extra cleaning benefits for the vast majority of users.

I have found the brushing results to be quite pleasing.  Sonicare themselves suggest 3x more plaque removal when using the 3100 compared to a manual toothbrush. 

It is at this point I should mention how the motor in the 3100 isn’t the same as that used in the more premium Sonicare models.

The 3100 motor does offer up to 31,000 brush strokes, but it doesn’t achieve the 62,000 movements often quoted with the more expensive models. It is configured differently.  

As a result, the 3100 does feel less powerful/intense compared to some other Sonicare toothbrushes.

Technically, more power or movements does mean better cleaning results.  But, it isn’t quite as simple as this, there are more factors at play.

The lesser power on offer here isn’t immediately obvious. Even for me and I have tested hundreds of brushes. The brushing sensation is slightly different. It is most noticeable if you have used other premium Sonicare toothbrushes before.

The 3100 still does a very good job.  My teeth feel clean after each brushing session. It is just a bit of a shame that you are not getting the ultimate Sonicare cleaning experience.

For first time users of an electric toothbrush this isn’t a deal breaker on its own, but something to be aware of.

As with any toothbrush, be that manual or electric, it is important that you use the correct toothbrushing technique. There is a different technique when using an electric toothbrush to a manual brush. Did you know the brush should be held at 45 degrees to the gumline? 

Our helpful guide explains the correct ways.

Be sure to learn the best approach, so that with each brushing session you are maximizing the benefit you get.

The cleaning mode is activated by a single press of the power button. A second press will switch to the second cleaning intensity.  A third will turn the toothbrush off.

You should brush your teeth twice a day for 2 minutes each time. That is the recommendation of the vast majority of dental professionals.

Sadly, too few of us brush for this time, so the 3100 has a timer and pacer built into the handle to help encourage longer brushing sessions.

These are activated the moment the brush is powered on. 

As the bristles move the timer counts and once it hits 30 seconds, it pauses the brush motor briefly.

This pause changes the sound and brushing sensation. It is your alert to move from one quadrant of the mouth to another.

This then repeats every 30 seconds, until the brush gets to 120 seconds (2 minutes) at which point it will turn itself off.

If you are not familiar with the concept of quadrant and 30 second intervals, allow me to explain.

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. 

The idea is that you break the mouth up into 4 sections: 

• upper right
• upper left
• lower right 
• lower left

You spend 30 seconds cleaning each section. As you do, you try and give equal attention to the front, back and biting surfaces of the teeth. If you do, come the 120 seconds (2 minutes) of brushing time, you should have achieved an even clean to the teeth and gums.

The pacer acts as an alert to you, to change the quadrant as you brush to encourage this even clean.

Of course, you don’t have to follow it, but it is good practice.

When brushing your teeth, the bristles need only really skim the surface of the teeth. You need just a little bit of pressure, not lots. Too much pressure can cause wear on the teeth and gums and in the long term result in irreversible damage.

To help prevent this, the 3100 has a pressure sensor built-in.

When the brush detects too much force is being applied, the handle vibrates, the brushing sensation changes and the sound changes too.

The BrushSync replacement reminder LED also flashes amber. Given its position and size, it is not the easiest to see.

It is these changes that alert you to the issue.

Relieve the pressure to stop these alerts and prevent any damage.

It does not have the large visible pressure sensor like the Oral-B Smart 1500 and Sonicare’s own DiamondClean Smart.

Personally, I do think the light is more obvious, particularly when most of us tend to brush in front of a mirror. 

Sadly, the flashing amber light is on the wrong side of the handle for you to really notice. But, you will be hard pressed to not notice the vibration change in the handle and the sound too.

The vibration will kick in every time too much pressure is applied.

Within a few days, you will get used to how much pressure is appropriate.

Once you do, you shouldn’t activate it all that often, but it is still a useful tool to have built into the handle.

Sealed inside the 3100’s brush handle is all the technology that makes this brush function, which includes the user rechargeable, but not user replaceable lithium-ion battery, which should give 14+ days of use on a full charge.

When the power is low, the brush will indicate this through the battery indicator LED. Just pop it on the provided charging stand for up to 24 hours to fully recharge. You can get more information in the ‘Battery Life’ section of this review.

The handle is water resistant, which means it has been designed to resist the water, toothpaste and saliva that it will inevitably come into contact with. A rinse under the tap to clean it is fine. Sonicare tends not to advise use when bathing, but I know many do brush their teeth whilst in the shower. The important thing here is to avoid full submersion in water.

Sonicare does also offer a 2 year warranty that covers any mechanical or workmanship faults, but not user damage.