Electric Toothbrush Review : What we think of the Philips Sonicare Essence 5500 sonic toothbrush (HX5752).

The Essence 5500 has only one brushing speed. This is Sonicare's hallmark, patented 31,000-brush-strokes-per-minute brushing action and it is the setting at which we feel any Sonicare toothbrush owner should strive to use their brush if possible. In terms of tooth brushing and plaque removal (especially on a cleaning-efficiency-per-time-unit basis), we don't see the major benefit of using the more elaborate brushing routines offered by Sonicare's higher-end models. So, to us this limitation actually seems a product advantage. The Essence 5500 provides a way by which a person can purchase a very suitable sonic toothbrush, without having to purchase those additional options and features typically loaded into higher-end Sonicares that we personally would not find ourselves using.

» The Essence 5500 does not offer a Sensitive brushing mode.

We should point out that the Essence 5500 does not even offer Sonicare's Sensitive (reduced-power) brushing mode. This brushing setting can be important to those users who cannot tolerate the vigorousness of the Sonicare brushing experience at full power. (The trade-off, however, is that this setting creates a less-efficient brushing action, which is why we feel most users should strive to use their Sonicare in its full-power mode if possible.) Those people purchasing a replacement Sonicare will know if they require the Sensitive mode option or not. First-time buyers very well may not and for them the Essence 5500 may not be the best toothbrush choice.

» Other Essence 5500 features.

The Essence 5500 does have Sonicare's Smartimer, QuadPacer and Easy-start functions. These first two features will be of interest to those people who need help in determining what might be an appropriate brushing duration and process for them. The Easy-start function can be used to create an introductory period of reduced-power brushing so the new owner is eased into the Sonicare brushing experience.

» The Essence 5500 uses Sonicare e-series brush heads.

The Essence 5500 utilizes Sonicare's older-styled brush heads. These are the e-series brushes and they are available in both Standard and Mini format. Sonicare's newer brush head type, the ProResults, has some design advantages over the e-series and probably does make for a more efficient brushing sweep. But we would think that on a practical level this improvement is fairly modest. It seems likely to us that simply brushing for a few extra moments with a Sonicare that uses an e-series head should easily compensate for this difference.

E-series brush heads have Sonicare's traditional screw-on design. This isn't as convenient as the snap-in-place attachment utilized with the ProResults brush heads. This convenience factor might be an important consideration in situations where more than one person will use a single Sonicare toothbrush. Another disadvantage is that the overall shape and design of the e-series heads seems to provide more nooks and crannies in which gunk can accumulate.

Replacement e-series brush heads are slightly more expensive than their ProResults counterpart. The owner's manual for the Essence line used to state that e-series brush heads should be replaced on a six-month basis. Now Philips Sonicare has changed this recommendation to every three months, just like with ProResults brush heads.

» Other considerations about the features of the Sonicare Essence 5500.

The Essence 5500 has a NiCad rechargeable battery. Newer Sonicare toothbrushes have a lithium-ion battery, which does offer some advantages (superior energy-to-weight ratio, less pronounced memory effect or idle charge loss). The NiCad battery is the same type of battery Sonicare has placed in their products for years and evidently providing suitable service. A noticeable difference for the user, however, is that lithium-ion battery Sonicares are smaller and lighter.

The Essence 5500 does come with travel case, which is convenient. It does not, however, come with charger that is multi-voltage or compact-sized for traveling. We will say, however, that if you find you need to pack your Essence's charger stand that is really isn't all that big.

The Essence 5500: Model-specific problems.

We aren't aware of any model-specific problems with the Sonicare Essence 5500. As a criticism, we will say that it is a disappointment that Sonicare has yet to create a design for this toothbrush that allows a failed battery to be replaced.

Essence 5500 review conclusions.

We personally think that if you know what Sonicare features are important to you, and if the Essence 5500 meets these needs, it's a good cost-effective sonic toothbrush to buy. For us, the salient feature and attraction of the Essence 5500 is simply that it generates Sonicare's characteristic 31,000-brush-strokes-per-minute brushing action. And although all other Sonicares do so too, this toothbrush is less expensive than most of them.

Some of the disadvantages of this brush are that it doesn't have a Sensitive brushing mode and it uses e-series brush heads. To us, this wouldn't be much of a concern. If you feel you have no real need for the model 5500's QuadPacer function, the Essence 5300 (which lacks this feature) is a slightly less expensive alternative.