Philips 5100 vs Fairywill pro P11: Is a £50 cheaper sonic toothbrush just as good?

Right from the opening of the magnetic closure box you feel you’re getting a quality product and some considerable bang for your buck. Inside, you will get the brush handle, eight replacement heads, all the necessary leads and adapters, in addition to a well-designed travel case that feels like it could withstand a lot of punishment both in and out of your suitcase.

The premium feeling that you get from unboxing continues when you first set the P11 going and the gold-tone ring around the middle of the handle lights up to indicate which one of the three modes you’re currently using. With only “clean”, “gentle” and “massage” to choose from it’s not hard to figure out and the light ring just adds a stylistic touch to your morning routine.  

It’s very easy to cycle through the modes using the large button and we couldn’t help but notice that the motor seemed to be able to drive the brush head at such speed that we could make out visible, broad brush strokes that felt like they were really cleaning the teeth as we moved the brush over the surface, rather than just vibrating in place. If you suffer from gum sensitivity or are worried about the brush breaking weaker teeth (for example, teeth with fillings) then the gentle mode reduces the brush strokes to a mere 56,000 brush movements, but you still feel like you’re getting a thorough clean even if you are worried about sensitive teeth or gums.

This performance is all backed up with the incredibly efficient standby charge that the P11 can offer and even though the company claims you can get 30 days of brushing from a single two-hour charge, we were well into our second month of use before we noticed a drop in energy from the brush head.  

Out of the box, you will get the brush handle, a travel case, charger and two replacement heads (with hygienic caps) with a similar bristle configuration to that of the Fairywill.  

In a world of five, six, seven-plus cleaning modes, it’s refreshing to find a brush that’s confident enough in its abilities to clean strong or weak teeth and gums with just three modes. There are light indicators on the handle to tell you which of the “clean”, “white” and “gum care” modes you are using but, again, with minimal choices it’s easy to stay on top of what mode you’re in.

Looking at the brush head in action, its calibration meant that we could still see movement from the head, so it was clearly going to be able to break apart the bio film that can lead to cavities, while delivering a deep clean without us having to worry about damage to veneers, crowns or fillings.

Built into the “smart” brush heads is a microchip, which tracks usage and tells you when to replace the brush head. We wondered if this was a marketing opportunity to make you buy more brush heads, but we can report that the technology did seem to be pretty spot on with the “Brush Synch” LED light appearing when we noticed that the bristles on the head were beginning to look tired. In terms of charge, just as with our test earlier in the year, we managed around three weeks of brushing on a single charge of the brush.