The World's Smartest Toothbrush

Summary: More and more people are using their smart phone to track their health from how many calories they eat to how many steps they take a day. Oral-B has now come up with a toothbrush that syncs to your smart phone via Bluetooth. The toothbrush will connect to an app that will track the time you spend brushing and even let you know what spots you need to focus on. It also offers some distractions like news headlines to read while you brush.

The Oral-B SmartSeries toothbrush starts at around $160 but if it can improve your teeth, it might be a good investment. The article below from the Wall Street Journal has more information about the new Bluetooth toothbrush if you're intersted in purchasing one in the future.

Original Article: My Toothbrush Is Smarter Than Yours: Oral-B SmartSeries Bluetooth Toothbrush
Review by Joanna Stern

Scrub the front, quickly hit the back, rinse and call it a day. I'll come clean about it: I don't spend more than an average of 30 seconds brushing my teeth. Unless, of course, I've got a dentist appointment coming up, then I'll work on them for a minute or two.

But this past week I've attempted to brush up my act—or at least my teeth—with Oral-B's SmartSeries Bluetooth toothbrush. Nope, not even the centuries-old toothbrush is safe from smartphone connectivity, thanks to the Internet of Things typhoon that's sweeping through household electronics.

The new electric toothbrush, starting at $160, is now on sale in parts of Europe and is coming to the U.S. this fall. The brush pairs with your iPhone or Android phone to coach you through your brushing regimen. It gives you feedback about your brushing habits with the grand goal of getting you to brush for the dentist-recommended, though seemingly interminable, two minutes.

"Really? Hasn't this gone a little too far? What's next, connected toilet paper?" I can hear you asking yourself. There's no doubt that this seems like another "Do we really need this?" product. But it's great for people like me who have outgrown bubble-gum-flavored toothpaste and Justin Bieber singing toothbrushes. The brush and its app have had me so engaged that I've tripled my usual brushing time.

The Oral B app highlights the area you should be brushing with an anatomically correct model of the human mouth.

As you'd expect from Oral-B (one of Procter & Gamble's PG -0.79% many brands), the newest SmartSeries looks and acts like any other high-end electric toothbrush, complete with replaceable brush heads, an inductive charger and six customizable modes, including tongue cleaning. But as soon as you pair the brush with your phone it becomes the smartest toothbrush ever to grace your molars.

While other Oral-B and Philips Sonicare electric toothbrushes have buzzed or flashed to keep you on track (some come with external displays to show your progress), the most helpful accessory is the one already in your hand.

Launch the Oral-B app, begin brushing and a stopwatch on your phone starts counting up to two minutes, prompting you to move to a new quadrant of your mouth every 30 seconds. It even highlights the area you should be brushing with an anatomically correct diagram of the human mouth.

Just watching the teeth map makes the time go by faster, but the even better distraction is a carousel beneath it that cycles through news headlines, weather forecasts, photos, upcoming calendar appointments, brushing tips and other fun facts. (Things I learned: Oral piercings should be cleaned after every meal and the peanut isn't a nut but a legume!)

It's easy to glance at the timer and the information simultaneously, though holding the phone without splattering it with toothpaste droplets and drool is an art waiting to be mastered.

The brush doesn't have the smarts to know if you are in fact brushing in the prescribed area, but it does have a sensitivity sensor: Brush too hard and the app alerts you to reduce pressure. And if your phone isn't nearby, the brush will store up to 20 brushing sessions so you can sync them to the app when paired again.

Where the brush goes beyond many free toothbrush timer apps is with its focused care option, which lets you add a few extra seconds to a specific area. Oral-B suggests bringing the app to your dentist to program in your dental needs. My next appointment isn't until next month, so I called up my dentist, Karen Altszuler, for some guidance.

Brush for two minutes or more and you'll be greeted by a smiley face.

Dr. Altszuler said hitting the four quadrants in two minutes should be enough improvement given my checkered history. But she also said I could benefit from focusing a bit more on the lower anterior—in layman's terms, the tongue side of my lower front teeth. Using the app, I added 10 seconds to the timer for that region.

She also reminded me of my bigger problem area: not flossing enough. She was happy to learn that the app prompts you to floss when you're done brushing. (Of course, I'm still holding out for Bluetooth floss.)

My dentist and other dentists I spoke to all liked the idea of the connectivity, especially if it can motivate the younger generation who already use phones to track their health and wellness. Seeing that smiley face when I achieved my daily brushing goals did make me feel like a better person. You can also earn trophies and see all sorts of stats, including average brush time and how many times you've brushed over the month.

Those features feel superfluous, however, when some basic features are missing. Within the app you can't tell if the brush is paired with the phone, or how much battery power the brush has left. There's also no way to bring in your own news sources or social media feeds.

The Oral B SmartSeries with Bluetooth looks like most electric toothbrushes.

I'd also like to be able to pair the brush with multiple phones to share it with family members. (Separate heads, of course!)

There will be two other cheaper Bluetooth brushes coming out later this year. While neither company has the reputation, let alone the sales channels, of Procter & Gamble's Oral-B, one from Kolibree uses sensors to detect what regions of your mouth need more attention. A P&G spokesman acknowledged the possibilities provided by adding sensors, and said the company is excited about the future of this line.

Linking the brush with my phone has motivated me to brush longer and better. But if you scoff at a $160 Bluetooth brush, or just prefer your current model, you can download the Oral-B app and give its manual timer a try. The app even recognizes the sound of other Oral-B electric toothbrushes and automatically starts the clock for you.

It's probably the best we'll get until the real toothbrush revolution arrives: a 30-second clean. Seriously, even with smartphone distractions, who has two minutes to spend on their teeth?

Source: My Toothbrush Is Smarter Than Yours: Oral-B SmartSeries Bluetooth Toothbrush

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This article was originally published on ADHP's editorials section. It is general information, not a diagnosis, and does not replace an in-person examination. If you have symptoms, book an appointment or call (562) 923-0038.