Sonicare Toothbrush features - The Smartimer, QuadPacer, KidTimer and KidPacer interval timers.

All of the Sonicare toothbrush models that we discuss on our pages offer the Smartimer feature. Many of them also feature Sonicare's QuadPacer function. The Sonicare For Kids features the KidTimer and KidPacer functions.

The Smartimer feature - It's a 2 minute brushing timer.

Sonicare's Smartimer function is simply a brushing timer. This feature takes the general recommendation from dental professionals that a person should brush for at least two minutes, to a literal extreme.

The Smartimer starts when the toothbrush is turned on and then automatically shuts the brush off after two minutes of use. (Via mode selection or QuadPacer programming, with some models the brushing cycle can be extended to 2 1/2 or 3 minutes.)

It's OK to brush longer.

It seems to us that the Smartimer feature tacitly implies to users that brushing for just two minutes is enough. As any dentist would tell you, that may or may not be the case. It simply depends on your circumstances.

Sure, a person can just turn their Sonicare back on and resume their brushing until finished. But it would be nice if the Smartimer feature offered a variety of different brushing durations, so to be adjustable to an individual's specific needs. (It would also be nice if you could just turn the feature off.)

Of course, some people, maybe most, will never take the time to evaluate what their brushing needs really are. And therefore, for these people, it's great that their brush can help to get them to clean their teeth for at least a basic two minutes.

The Sonicare toothbrush QuadPacer feature.

The Sonicare QuadPacer function is a pause-and-beep indicator that signals that one-fourth of the Smartimer brushing cycle has elapsed. (With some models there are variations to this basic theme, when certain brushing modes or QuadPacer options are chosen.)

The idea is that if a person uses a brushing approach where, in their head, they divide their mouth into four parts (usually upper left, upper right, lower left, lower right), the QuadPacer indicator can be used to signal when they should move on to cleaning the next quadrant.

For us, this featured has limited appeal (tooth brushing isn't a timed race, it's doing a thorough job). However, for the uninterested or uncooperative brusher, we can see how the QuadPacer feature could provide some benefit.

The KidTimer and KidPacer functions.

The Sonicare 'For Kids' (HX6311) electric toothbrush offers some variations on the standard Smartimer and Quadpacer functions.

The KidTimer, similar to the Smartimer, is a two minute brushing timer. However, at the end of its cycle, it plays a "congratulatory" sound before it turns the brush off.

Additionally, when this brush is set to its lower brushing speed, the KidTimer slowly increases in duration from 1 minute up to 2, over the course of 90 days. The idea is that this slow change helps young children learn how to brush for a full two minutes.

The KidPacer feature signals (with musical notes) for the user to move on to brushing the next quadrant of their mouth as each 1/4th of the brush's brushing cycle elapses.