Philips Sonicare For Kids (HX6311/17) Review

Design, usability, clean & general use

The striking Green/Turquoise colour (or Aqua as Sonicare call it) is what first catches my attention with this Philips Sonicare children’s toothbrush.  This has been designed with children in mind, particularly when you consider the 8 vibrant  stickers that are included.

Often an electric toothbrush is White with soft pastel shade accent via a button or rubber grip.  Not here.

The Aqua coloured grip adorns the back and side of the handle, with a White panel on the front which remains this colour unless a sticker is applied.

Adding stickers to the handle gives a way to personalise it and make it more appealing to your child or children.

The overall shape and size of the brush is fairly typical of what you might imagine for an electric toothbrush, whilst the handle is not completely round it is loosely shaped like this.

The back and sides of the Philips Sonicare kids toothbrush handle are this Aqua colour.  A series of raised dots run down the back of the handle, from the top to the bottom in essentially 3 rows, with each dot staggered in its positioning.

About halfway down the handle a further 2 rows of 5 dots are added to widen the gripping area in line with where the fingers tend to naturally fall.

I really like the grip and it helps those little hands keep hold of it, even when they are wet.

At the neck of the brush on the rear is a slight protrusion which looks a bit odd in its shape, but it is actually designed so that when the brush is laid flat, it will not roll.

When looking at the handle side on, you notice that the middle of the grip bulges ever so slightly too, making it a little larger in hand.

The base of the brush is wider in design, giving a solid base on which the brush can stand upright.  The handle slims as you move up to the neck, the point at which the brush heads attach.

On the front of the brush handle are 2 prominent Green buttons that stand slightly proud.  The top button is the power button, whilst the lower button is pressed to switch between the 2 cleaning modes on this handle.

Both buttons have LED’s built into them and have a good tactile and clicky response.

It is the area around these buttons that can be customised via any 1 of the 8 stickers that are provided in the box.  Its likely a job for you as the parent to stick it on, rather than the kids.

You attach it to a panel, which in turn is attached to the handle.

Attaching a sticker does away with the expanse of White and will make that front panel much bolder and colourful.  The designs of each sticker are distinct and varied

These stickers can be easily pulled off and replaced.

On the base of the brush aside from the regulatory information and product details that are printed, is a recess into which the prong on the charging stand that is provided fits.

A charging stand is supplied, more on this soon.

Inside the brush handle is a Lithium-Ion battery which offers up to 3 weeks use between charges.

Supplied as you might expect is a brush head, just 1, a compact sized head suitable for smaller children.

This Philips kids electric toothbrush is designed for children age 3 years old and upwards.  As a result, included in the box are Sonicare kids toothbrush heads, well 1 of anyway.

It is the compact head which is provided and is well suited to the younger brush users.

Still technically part of the Sonicare kids toothbrush heads range, for older children (approximately 6+) or adults, if you want to use this handle (there is nothing stopping you) there is a ‘standard’ sized brush head available too.

The standard head and replacement compact heads can be purchased separately.  They come in packs of 2 and typically work out to be around £7 per head.  This is a little pricier than other brands.

To cater to the softer and more delicate mouths of children, the back of the brush heads are finished in a rubber coating, Aqua in colour to make for a better experience for kids.

Normal Sonicare brush heads are finished in a gloss plastic.

It might well be worth noting that all standard adult Sonicare brush heads fit onto this brush handle.  You do not necessarily have to use those designed for kids. If you want to learn about the full range of brush heads, read our article Philips Sonicare Brush Heads: The Ultimate Guide.

A dentist or dental professional will advise replacing the brush head every 3 month’s, sooner if the bristles show obvious signs of wear such as split or frayed bristles.

Sadly, unlike many other brush heads, including Sonicares adult brush heads, the compact head supplied does not have the fading indicator bristles that act as a reminder as to when to change/replace the head.

I think it is a shame these are not included and is a bit of an oversight in teaching children about general oral health.

If you opt for the premium variant of this brush that has the Bluetooth connectivity, you get a reminder via the app.

To replace the head, you simply pull the head off and push it back onto the metal shaft that protrudes from inside the brush handle.

As you might expect of a Philips Sonicare kids toothbrush, this provides an excellent clean to the teeth and it offers up to 31,000 movements per minute through the brush head.  Your child will likely get praise from the dentist if they brush regularly with this toothbrush.

One of the biggest appeals is you are getting so many more movements of the bristles when compared to a regular manual brush, it is able to theoretically do more in less time.

The brush offers 2 modes. Gentle and Extra Gentle.

Gentle mode is the most powerful clean offered by the brush and is designed for older/independent brushers.  The cleaning cycle is 2 minutes.

Extra Gentle mode is a reduced power mode used for training and introducing children to the sonic experience.  When in Extra Gentle mode, the brushing cycle is initially set at 1 minute and slowly progresses to 2 minutes over time, to help young children reach the dentist recommended 2 minutes per brushing cycle.

This ramping up of power and brushing time is a feature known as ‘Easy-Start’ which is seen on many Sonicare brushes and makes for a more natural transition from a manual to a powerful sonic brush. This happens over the first 14 brushing sessions.

You change the cleaning mode before you power the brush on.

Press the lower Green button on the brush handle to change the cleaning mode.  There is an LED either side of the button.  The left LED when lit, shows that the Extra Gentle mode is selected.  The LED on the right when lit, shows that Gentle mode is selected.

With the desired cleaning mode selected, press the Green power button in the upper third of the brush handle to power the brush on.  As you do the motor will kick into life and the brush head will begin moving at up to 31,000 times per minute.

As the brush is powered on, the LED on the power button will go Green to indicate the brush is on.  At the same time, a timer and pacer built into the brush begins to work.

No doubt you are aware that 2 minutes is the widely recommended time for cleaning your teeth, children and adults alike.  This should be completed twice a day.

From the moment the brush powers on the timer begins working.  At 30 second intervals a sound is played to indicate it is time to change the area of the mouth that is being brushed.

The mouth should be broken up into 4 sections, known as quadrants.  You have the upper right, upper left, lower right and lower left.  30 seconds should be spent on each quadrant.  The built-in timer encourages this.

At the end of the 2 minute cycle, the brush automatically turns off.  A feature I love.

This timer, if explained to your child can be extremely helpful in encouraging and educating them to brush for the right amount of time.

A feature that is missing, but it not essential is a pressure sensor.  A well implemented sensor will light up and alert the brusher, in this case the child that they are brushing too hard and could be doing damage to their teeth and mouth.  This is not a common feature on Sonicare brushes and I suspect left out as there are more important and valuable parts to the education programme on brushing teeth than pressure used, at this stage.

Provided in the box is small plastic travel cap that fits over the bristles on the brush head.

It would be nice if a more standard travel case was provided as this would not only protect the bristles but avoid accidental activation of the brush when in a bag.  The provided cap is just too small and easy to lose.

The handle of the Philips Sonicare kids itself is waterproof and will survive a rinse under the tap.  It should not be submerged in water though.

A 2 year warranty is provided, should something go wrong.  This does not cover user damage as you might expect.

Overall the general use and performance of this brush is good, the bold colours and stickers make it appealing to a child and the whole brushing experience a bit more exciting.

Sadly, this brush does not feature the Bluetooth connectivity and associated app like the more premium connected model does.

This model is similar to the Oral-B Junior model which similarly featured and priced to this one.

They both lack that extra level of interactivity and rely on the parent having a bit more involvement or the child being a bit more independent.

I personally think it’s worth the extra investment to get the Bluetooth connectivity and the benefits the app brings.  Yes it does require use of a mobile device, but it tracks and educates at a whole new level.

Watch the following video to get a great insight into how it works, if you are interested.