Your Toothbrush Is About to Get a Lot Smarter
Your dentist knows how well you’ve been taking care of your teeth — and soon your toothbrush will, too. This summer, Oral-B will release a “connected toothbrush” that keeps track of your oral hygiene and tells your smartphone how well you’re brushing.
The as-of-yet unnamed brush has Bluetooth (the most appropriate of wireless technologies) built in, letting the brush connect to your smartphone in order to track your brushing habits.
The brush knows which part of your mouth you’ve been hitting the hardest, and the free app will encourage you to switch things up a bit, providing “real-time” guidance as you brush.
It’ll also tell you how long you’ve been brushing. An Oral-B spokesperson told Reuters that in early testing, the device has increased brushing time from an average of under one minute to two minutes and 16 seconds.
And in case you’re dubious about taking the brush’s advice, you will also be able to program its settings with the help of your dentist.
The brush will hit store shelves in June for around $300 — pricey for a toothbrush, but still less expensive and painful than a root canal.
Last month at CES, French startup Kolibree announced a similarly smart toothbrush priced at between $100 and $200. That model is set to debut at some point in the third quarter of this year.
It’ll also be making its trade show debut next week at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona — an appropriate unveiling, given all the flan we plan to eat.
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