Today, a showdown between two titans of the electric toothbrush world: Oral-B and Philips, specifically, Philip’s Sonicare and Oral B’s iO brushes.
In one corner, the feature-rich, six-mode Oral-B iO5; in the other, the nimble Philips ProtectiveClean 5100, boasts sonic power and three cleaning modes.
Which contender will reign supreme, winning hearts, minds – and mouths?
There’s only one way to find out: ding, ding – fight!
Oral-B iO5 Toothbrush Key Features
The Oral-B iO5—billed by the manufacturer as one of their best, most powerful Oral-B electric toothbrush – loaded with features and is currently is a favourite electric toothbrush by young people.
- Gum Guard Assistant alerts you to excessive pressure, helping prevent gum damage
- Round cleaning head removes up to one hundred per cent more plaque than many electric toothbrushes
- Pressure control offers additional protection from overbrushing, reducing motor speed when needed
- High-capacity battery provides up to two weeks of use
- Versatile: six brushing modes, including Daily Clean, Gum Care, Sensitive, Whitening, Deep Clean and Tongue Clean
- Position detection ensures one hundred percent coverage
- Pro-Timer keeps your brushing on track
- From the number-one dentist-recommended brand
- Smart Travel Case charges both toothbrush and phone Philips
ProtectiveClean 5100 Key Features
The Philips ProtectiveClean is likewise packed with features to keep your teeth and gums at their healthiest.
- Cleans teeth significantly faster than a manual toothbrush – noticeably whiter teeth in just one week
- An integrated pressure sensor helps protect against overbrushing
- High-capacity battery provides up to two weeks of use on a single charge
- Sonic technology powers up to 62,000 brush movements per minute
- Smart brush head reminds you to replace worn-out brush heads to keep toothbrush performing optimally
- BrushSync Technology synchronizes smart brush head and handle
- Quadpacer and Smart-Timer help you thoroughly brush each zone and alert you when brushing is complete
- A handy travel case keeps the toothbrush clean and protected
Oral-B iO5 vs Philips ProtectiveClean 5100: Key Differences and Similarities
Both the Oral-B and Philips offerings are excellent brushes – neither would let you down.
But let’s take a closer look at what’s under the hood and break down how the differences and similarities.
Number of brushing modes. Here, Oral-B takes the lead, with their Oral-B iO5 providing six brushing modes (Daily Clean, Gum Care, Sensitive, Whitening, Deep Clean and Tongue Clean), versus three (Clean, White and Gum Care) on the Philips Sonicare ProtectiveClean 5100.
However, Philips ups the ante with three intensity levels.
Shape and ergonomics. Both the Oral-B iO5 and the ProtectiveClean 5100 sport a premium look.
But whereas the ProtectiveClean 5100 appears slimmer and tapers smoothly near the top, the Oral-B iO5 is thicker, has a more abrupt cutoff between body and brush head, and features a rubber-backed handle, which allows for greater control.
Colour schemes. Oral-B’s iO series 5 electric toothbrush comes in five colours: Black & White, Midnight Black, Orchid Purple, Rose Gold and White.
The Philips Sonicare 5100 is available in three: Pink, Black, and White. While the Sonicare is attractive, we give the nod to the Oral-B iO 5 for offering the broadest colour palette.
Mode display. The Oral-B iO5, with its six brushing modes, utilizes a handle-integrated display system.
A symbol representing each mode illuminates according to the mode selected. Philips has taken a more conservative approach, favouring small, white indicator lights above the mode names, placed toward the bottom of the handle.
Both systems work well, with Philips having advantage of a less cluttered interface.
Travel case. Both models include a travel case, but the Oral-B iO5 is the clear winner.
Where the Sonicare ProtectiveClean 5100’s case is strictly utilitarian, Oral-B iO5’s rechargeable Smart Travel Case, with its included smartphone holder, lets you charge two essential items – your toothbrush and phone – on the go.
Included brush heads. The right brush head can make all the difference – that’s why the Oral-B series 5 iO neatly wins this category, by including its Cross Action, Floss Action, 3D White and Sensitive brush heads.
Contrasting this generous selection is the single Optimal White brush head included with the Philips Sonicare ProtectiveClean 5100.
Information interface. Both toothbrushes have integrated four-zone timers, as well pressure sensors that alert you to overbrushing (the application of excessive pressure that can damage gums and cause premature brush headwear).
The Oral-B iO5 features a proprietary 360-degree Smart Ring. This LED-illuminated ring encircles the top of the handle, just under the brush head, and changes colour to alert you of overbrushing.
It’s customizable, displaying your choice of twelve vibrant colours – and indicates brushing time and Bluetooth connection status, providing at a glance an effective overview.
The Philips ProtectiveClean 5100, with its Quadpacer and Smart Timer, briefly pauses the motor at thirty-second intervals, alerting you to move to the next quadrant of your mouth.
This makes it easy to brush for a full, dentist-recommended time of two minutes.
Cleaning technology. Neither Oral-B nor Philips is a slouch in the technology department. The Oral-B iO5 and ProtectiveClean 5100 both pack impressive technology and performance into a small package.
Oral-B’s unique, dentist-inspired round brush head oscillates, rotates and pulsates at high speed, breaking up and removing more plaque in less time than a regular manual toothbrush.
Philips takes a different approach. Extremely rapid vibrations create sonic waves that drive fluid deep between teeth which, in combination with Philips’ special brush heads, effectively removes plaque from tight spaces and along the gum line.
Both technologies provide a superior clean to even the best manual brush.
Smart features. It’s almost a given in this day and age that even our personal care appliances incorporate some form of smart technology.
Both toothbrushes deliver but take differing approaches.
The Oral-B iO5 is Bluetooth-enabled, allowing it to pair with the excellent Oral-B app.
The use of the app is not required, it’s a great way to monitor and log your brushing, further, customize the experience, and maximize your oral health.
The Philips ProtectiveClean 5100 takes a different approach: compatible Smart Brush heads to pair with the toothbrush, alerting you when it’s time for a replacement.
Additionally, the type of brush head is recognized by the ProtectiveClean 5100, which automatically selects the optimal power mode and intensity. It’s a great time-saving feature, though comes at the price of costlier-than-average brush heads.
Battery life. Going by product listings, it’s (almost) a tie. The Oral-B iO 5 and Philips ProtectiveClean 5100 both provide approximately two weeks of brushing on a full charge, thanks to the integrated high-capacity rechargeable batteries.
However, digging deeper into the literature reveals that the Oral-B iO5 lasts twelve, not fourteen, days. If Philips’ claim is correct, then the ProtectiveClean slightly edges out the Genius Series in this category.
Charging stands. Oral-B’s plastic charging stand is effective and functional. It holds the Braun io model 5 neatly in place and provides storage spaces for up to four brush heads.
The additional width of the charging stand adds a bit of stability. By comparison, Philips’ charging stand – also constructed of plastic – is stripped down to a single base into which the ProtectiveClean 5100 fits.
It’s nice and compact, but if you wish to keep extra brush heads on hand, Oral-B offers the more elegant solution.
Noise and vibration. Some degree of noise and vibration is inevitable, being inherent to the operation of an electric toothbrush.
Where the Oral-B iO5 is louder, the Philips ProtectiveClean 5100 vibrates more noticeably, on account of its sonic cleaning action.
Braun Oral-B iO5 or ProtectiveClean 5100 – Which Brush is Best Choice?
Both are excellent.
Switch to either a lower-quality or manual electric toothbrush and be amazed at the difference.
But a winner must be chosen, and based on brushing modes, ergonomics, colour schemes, travel cases, and included brush heads, the Oral-B iO5 is our preferred choice.
That said, the ProtectiveClean 5100 is a close runner-up, sometimes surpassing or matching the Oral-B iO5, and at a lower price.
We hope our comparison of these two high-quality electric toothbrushes has been helpful. Thanks for reading this far, and happy brushing!
