Electric Toothbrush Reviews :
The Philips Sonicare Essence 5500 rechargeable sonic toothbrush.

The Essence 5500 sonic toothbrush offers a single operating mode (Sonicare modes are essentially the same as power settings or operating speeds found on other electric toothbrushes). This setting operates the model 5500 in Sonicare's hallmark, patented 31,000-brush-strokes-per-minute mode. This is the standard brushing mode on which the Sonicare brand built its reputation.

The Essence 5500 sports Sonicare's Quadpacer and Smartimer features. The Smartimer feature is simply a two-minute brushing timer that automatically shuts the toothbrush off. (Sonicare feels that most dentists recommend that their patient's should brush their teeth for at least two minutes). The Sonicare Quadpacer function creates a beep-and-pause action every 30 seconds, so to indicate that another one-fourth of the Smartimer's brushing cycle has elapsed. (Sonicare recommends that brushing should be carried out using an approach that divides the process into four separate groupings or "quadrants.")

The Essence 5500 sonic toothbrush features Sonicare's Easy-start function. When activated, this option incrementally raises the power (speed) of the brush over the user's next twelve brushing events. This slow ramp-up to full power is intended to provide an introductory period during which the user's mouth can be gradually exposed to the use of their Sonicare.

» Brush heads.

The Essence 5500 utilizes Sonicare's e-series (Elite-style) brush heads, which come in two sizes (the Standard and Mini). E-series brush heads have a design where the brush itself is slightly smaller, and therefore technically less efficient, than the newer ProResults-style brushes used with other Sonicare models. Elite-style brush heads are more cumbersome to place onto the Sonicare brush handle (they screw on) than Sonicare's newer ProResults design. The Sonicare Essence model 5500 comes packaged with two Standard-sized brush heads.

The Standard-sized brush head will typically be the size chosen by most adults. The smaller Mini brush head will be favored by adolescents, those who have a relative small mouth or limited oral access, or those with special brushing needs such as hard-to-reach locations or braces. The manual for the Essence series of brushes used to state that in order to maintain optimal brushing efficiency the brush heads should be replaced every six months. Nowadays it seems that this recommendation has been changed to every three months. The model 5500 comes with a stand that can hold two additional brush heads.

» Sonicare Essence 5500 batteries / recharging.

The Sonicare Essence 5500 has a (non-replaceable) rechargeable NiCad battery. The stand for the Essence 5500 serves as its recharging base. The charging process can take as long as twenty-four hours to fully recharge the toothbrush's battery. For this reason, Philips Sonicare suggests that the model 5500 should be left sitting in its charging stand when not otherwise in use. The Essence 5500's charge gauge provides an indication of when the brush's recharging process has been fully completed. It also has a beeping feature that indicates that only enough charge for three brushings remains.

» Traveling with the Sonicare Essence 5500 sonic toothbrush.

The Essence 5500 comes with a travel case and each brush head comes with a protective cap.

» Sonicare warranties and guarantees.

The Essence line of sonic toothbrushes, like all other Sonicare products, comes with a two-year limited warranty and a 90-day money-back satisfaction guarantee. The satisfaction guarantee is one where a user can return their Sonicare brush for a refund if they are not satisfied with its performance. Since the precise terms and conditions of this offer are under the control of Philips Sonicare, if this guarantee is important product feature for you, you should contact Philips Sonicare and/or evaluate the packing of the specific product you plan to purchase so to check current program details.

» Essence 5500 sonic toothbrush evaluation recap:

The Essence 5500 electric toothbrush is one of Sonicare's more basic sonic toothbrushes. It features just a single brushing mode, although it does have Sonicare's Easy-start, QuadPacer and Smartimer functions. The Essence 5500 uses the older-style e-series brush heads. These screw-on brush heads come in either Standard or Mini format. The 5500 comes packaged with two Standard brush heads. The Essence 5500 has a NiCad rechargeable battery and a recharge indicator. It comes with a travel case.