With Americans striving for naturally whiter teeth, healthier gums and fresh breath, Philips Electronics introduces the new Sonicare Elite power toothbrush, clinically proven to remove 20% more plaque from hard-to-reach areas than the original Sonicare toothbrush. Blending next-generation sonic technology and the latest in design, the Sonicare Elite generates powerful cleaning action that produces superior plaque removal, reverses gingivitis and naturally whitens teeth. The Sonicare Elite will arrive in retail stores nationwide in May 2003, providing consumers with the new standard in oral hygiene. The Sonicare Elite, the first new Sonicare toothbrush in 10 years, builds on a decade of proven excellence and integrates new features that make a superior product even better. Inspired by sonic technology found in dental offices, the Sonicare Elite’s patented, next generation sonic technology creates high-speed bristle motion to drive water and toothpaste into difficult-to-clean areas of the mouth. In addition, its bristle tips move three times faster than all other leading power toothbrushes. With the Sonicare Elite, consumers are guaranteed naturally whiter teeth and healthier gums in 28 days.
“Americans are taking steps to illuminate their smiles and enhance the health of their mouths,” says Registered Dental Hygienist Lisa Copeland. “The Sonicare Elite is the best in-home oral hygiene solution for achieving their goals and the one I now personally recommend to my family, friends and patients.”
The new Sonicare Elite incorporates years of research that helped make Sonicare the brand personally used by more U.S. dental professionals than any other power toothbrush. First launched to the dental community at the American Dental Association Annual Meeting in October 2002, the new Sonicare Elite is quickly becoming the new preferred power toothbrush among dental professionals. In fact, a recent study confirmed that the new Sonicare Elite is preferred over the other leading rechargeable power toothbrush among U.S. dental professionals (1). More than 100,000 dental professionals have personally tried the Sonicare Elite since its introduction.
“Having the overwhelming support of the dental community confirms the Sonicare Elite’s status as the best power toothbrush on the market,” said Frank McGillin, Vice President of Marketing for Philips Oral Healthcare. “The Sonicare Elite will carry on Philips’ tradition of excellence in providing Americans with superior oral health care solutions.”
The Sonicare Elite gives consumers the ability to clean and whiten their teeth, remove plaque, freshen their breath and improve the health of their gums with a single product.
New features that make the Sonicare Elite even better include:
• New superior cleaning technology combines a slim, angled neck, tapered brush head and contoured bristles that focus powerful cleaning action into hard-to-reach areas, removing 20% more plaque between teeth and below the gumline than the original Sonicare
• Dual brush speeds put the power intensity in the hands of the users, who can switch between High for optimal brushing power, and Low for sensitive areas and gum massage. Consumers have complete control to adjust the brush speed based on their needs
• An ergonomic grip improves brushing maneuverability and targets hard-to-reach areas
In addition to the brand new features, the Sonicare Elite incorporates all of Sonicare’s proven consumer-friendly features, such as:
• A two-minute Smartimer® to ensure consumers get the best possible results by brushing for the dental professional-recommended brush time of two minutes
• A Quadpacer® signals consumers every 30 seconds to move to another mouth quadrant, ensuring thorough cleaning in all areas of the mouth
• An Easy-Start® feature to allow for gentle increases in brushing power over first 12 uses, helping users get accustomed to power toothbrushing
The Sonicare toothbrush is backed by more than 60 published studies and abstracts conducted at 25 universities worldwide. It has been proven to be significantly more effective than a manual toothbrush in multiple areas, including plaque removal, gingivitis reduction and keeping teeth whiter.
Consumers, setting their sights on superior oral health and hygiene, are taking these studies to heart and are heeding the advice of their dental professionals to replace their manual toothbrush with a power toothbrush. In fact, the popularity of power toothbrushes has skyrocketed to unparalleled heights. Household penetration of power toothbrushes has nearly doubled in the last two years to 40% (2), with innovative products like the Sonicare Elite continuing to drive its popularity.
“The power toothbrush segment is hotter than ever, which makes it the perfect time to bring the Sonicare Elite to consumers nationwide,” said Conrad Smits, president and chief executive officer of Philips Oral Healthcare. “With the introduction of the new Sonicare Elite, we’ve simply taken a superior product and made it the industry standard through new features that further heighten Sonicare’s effectiveness and results.”
The Sonicare Elite, with a suggested retail price of $119 and $139 (two models), is scheduled to arrive in May 2003 at more than 35,000 retail outlets nationwide, including club, drug, department and specialty stores, mass merchandisers and many dental offices. For a location near them, consumers can call 1-800-682-7664 or visit www.sonicare.com.
1. Amongst those who expressed a preference. An in-use preference test of two leading rechargeable power toothbrushes among U.S. dental professionals. Guideline Research Corporation under direction of Robert Reitter.
2. Source: Synovate