You beauty

It would be disturbing to crawl out of bed every morning to find a hygienist in your bathroom, ready to pounce. And it would be perplexing to find the same hygienist waiting to swoop every night. It might be conducive to healthy gums but it would not be conducive to peaceful sleep.

I don’t know about you, but when I haul my resistant limbs towards the hygienist’s chair the visit usually ends in a bloodbath and a lecture about brushing and flossing. You’d think I’d have mastered those by now. Apparently not. Am I alone?

The Philips Sonicare Diamondclean electric toothbrush is your own pocket hygienist — without the fear and loathing. It delivers 31,000 brush strokes a minute — pretty sleight of hand. I have never had such clean-feeling gnashers and my gums feel zen. An electric brush has never won my heart before (all that showy-offy buzzing) but this is a champion. Addictive. It has five settings to clean, whiten, polish and massage your gums, and a gentle mode for hypersensitivity that will stop your nerve endings jangling.

And there’s élan to back up performance. It has an impressive 84-minute battery life (enough for three weeks’ brushing), but you can boost it by popping it in the natty charging glass that can be used for rinsing, too. Away for longer than three weeks? Chuck your new friend into its USB travel case and charge it by plugging the case into your laptop. Idiot-proof in every way.

Philips Sonicare Diamondclean Electric Toothbrush, £124.99, at boots.com