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After almost three years, my Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Smart Electric Toothbrush (HX9924/46) decided to give up of me. There is some issue with the power connection because I could not charge it or power it on.

I am sure the battery is charged as I left it on overnight, and there is an indicator that it was charging. However, when I took it out the next morning, I could not power it on.

So I decided to get the cheaper Philips Sonicare ProtectiveClean 5100 Electric Toothbrush as a replacement instead.

Despite that, the Philips Sonicare DiamondClean 9500 Smart Electric Toothbrush has all the smart bells and whistles, though I don’t use them often. Once you get a sense of how you brush your teeth, you don’t need the app anymore to tell you how you are doing.

The price point of Philips Sonicare ProtectiveClean 5100 Electric Toothbrush is sweet, retailing for S$129 in Singapore. But I got mine for just S$93.84 from Amazon.sg with free shipping to Singapore if you are an Amazon Singapore Prime member. In comparison, the DiamondClean 9500 retails for S$399.

Unboxing
Because of the close to S$300 difference in price point, you will feel that the charger and traveling case of the ProtectiveClean 5100 feels cheap compared to the glass charger and travel charging case of the DiamondClean 9500.

Other than that, the electric toothbrush itself and toothbrush head are the same.

Speed / Intensity Levels
What’s important to me is not those smart features but the speed of the toothbrush. Both ProtectiveClean 5100 and DiamondClean 9500 can go up to 62,000 brush movements per minute, so speed-wise, both are the same.

Unlike DiamondClean 9500, which has three intensity levels for you to choose from, ProtectiveClean 5100 doesn’t allow you to select as it only has one. I always use the max intensity on my DiamondClean 9500, so this feature doesn’t matter.

Modes / Toothbrush Heads
DiamondClean 9500 has five modes, Clean, White+, Gum Health, Deep Clean+, and Tongue Care. ProtectiveClean 5100 has only three modes, Clean, White, and Gum Care. Realistically speaking, I only used Clean in my three years of using the DiamondClean 9500. So the modes don’t matter to me.

All the toothbrush heads are interchangeable between DiamondClean 9500 and ProtectiveClean 5100, so your spare toothbrush heads will work on either model. ProtectiveClean 5100 comes with a G2 Optimal Gum Care toothbrush heads. My favorite is still the W3 Premium White toothbrush head from the DiamondClean 9500.

Charging
DiamondClean 9500 comes with a travel charging case, but ProtectiveClean 5100 only comes with a travel case. So you still need to bring the charger along when you are traveling with the ProtectiveClean 5100.

Charging it is a little different, and hence both chargers are not interchangeable. DiamondClean 9500 charges via placing it in a glass cup as the wireless charger is below it. Whereas ProtectiveClean 5100 requires you to dock directly to the charger.

I like DiamondClean 9500 charging method. It is fanciful, and hence it looks nice. However, I have never use the glass cup for anything else besides using it for charging.

Let’s see if the ProtectiveClean 5100 can last more than three years.