REASONS TO BUY
Sleek
Stylish
Great cleaning power
REASONS TO AVOID
Pricey
Lackluster battery life
Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Review
This sleek and stylish toothbrush looks great and cleans well but is exceptionally expensive
Philips Sonicare Diamond Clean
Credit: Philips Sonicare
By David Wise ⋅ Senior Review Editor ⋅ October 10, 2018
Contributions From: Austin Palmer
RELATED: The Best Toothbrushes of 2025
Our Verdict
The DiamondClean by Sonicare is one of Philip' high-end electric toothbrushes, offering a sleek, matte appearance coupled with great cleaning performance. This luxury toothbrush includes multiple accessories, including an inductive charging water glass and a USB charging travel case. While this brush did deliver one of the best cleaning performances we have seen and is decently comfortable to use, there are multiple models that matched this performance and retail at a fraction of the price. If you absolutely love the look of this brush and can foot the bill, then it might be a good option, but most people are probably going to balk at buying a $200 toothbrush.
Our Analysis and Test Results
The standard DiamondClean scored about the same as the Oral-B Genius Pro 8000 and just a few points behind the HealthyWhite+. All three of these brushes clean about the same, tying for the top score, but the DiamondClean and the HealthyWhite+ both are undoubtedly much more comfortable to use. The Oral-B is a little easier to use, while the HealthyWhite+ has the best battery life of this trio. However, these are all pricey products, with the DiamondClean being the most expensive, at a list price of $200, followed by the Pro 8000 at a list price of $180, and the HealthyWhite+ at a list price of $120. For comparison, our highest-scoring brush overall costs about $70.
The smooth, matte finish on the DiamondClean gives it a great ergonomic feel.
Credit: Kat Elliott
Comfort
The DiamondClean uses a side-to-side cleaning motion and features a much shallower brush head than some of its competitors, making it slightly less abrasive for sensitive gums and easier to clean the teeth in the back of your mouth. The presence of a sensitive mode is also extremely beneficial for those with sensitive gums.
The DiamondClean sounded in at 57 dBa on the sound level meter, measured 2" away from the mouth when brushing. This makes it one of the quietest brushes we have tested and neither the brusher nor the bystander found the tone of the toothbrush to be particularly annoying or distracting.
Surprisingly, the DiamondClean lacks a pressure sensor, which slightly hurts its score.
Cleaning
The accumulated plaque dyed pink prior to the cleaning test with the DiamondClean.
Credit: Veronica Palmer
The DiamondClean tied for the top performance in this test, meriting a 6 out of 10 for its results. This brush removed virtually all of the plaque for most of our testers.
For the testers who didn't get all the plaque removed by the DiamondClean, only a few tiny spots remained.
The DiamondCare scored the highest when it came to holding comfort.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Ease of Use
As noted previously, this model appears to have undergone significant effort in terms of its ergonomic and visual aesthetic, and it was the clear winner in terms of visual appeal. The brush head features an easy-to-use push-on attachment method, along with five different cleaning modes to choose from. There is a one-button interface to toggle between modes, with the brush giving you a five-second window to switch between them when first powered on.
Different cleaning modes on the DiamondClean.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
This model also features an extremely unique charging base: an actual glass cup that fits over an inductive charger, allowing you to place the toothbrush in the cup for simple recharging. This makes the brush extremely stable on the base and exceptionally difficult to knock over accidentally.
The DiamondClean in its fancy, inductive charging cup.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Unfortunately, there is no convenient way to store additional brush heads with this charging base. However, this brush comes with a USB-powered charging travel case that has spots for two brush heads.
The DiamondClean comes with a travel case that also charges the toothbrush.
Credit: Kat Elliott
We also found this brush to be one of the easiest to clean, with only a little extra effort required to remove any toothpaste residue from the area around the interface button. Finally, this brush features a two-minute timer, divided into 30-second segments for quadrant brushing, which stops after two minutes.
Battery Life
This brush lasted for 18 days in our test, which you can compare with the other brushes listed below.
Value
This is an extremely expensive toothbrush, with an MSRP of $200. For many, this would instantly preclude purchasing it, especially since much less expensive toothbrushes outperformed it; however, it may be worth it if you place a high value on the visual aesthetic and the additional accessories.
Conclusion
All in all, this is a strong performer and fits in its place as one of the highest-end models of all the Sonicare toothbrushes. It looks great and comes with some neat additional accessories, including a rock-solid charging base and a travel case with an integrated charger. Unfortunately, this is an expensive product, and you end up paying for some luxury features that aren't really necessary or helpful in maintaining your dental health.
—David Wise and Austin Palmer
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