Smile! Why the World’s First Interactive Toothbrush Will Change the Way You Brush
Mom and Dad used to make sure we flossed every day and brushed for two minutes before bed, but now there’s someone else to patrol our dental hygiene habits. And we really want to impress them. This year, Oral-B will release the next must-have gadget, the world’s first interactive electric toothbrush. “An interactive toothbrush?! But HOW?” You ask? It has BlueTOOTH 4.0 connectivity, of course. Come on, you saw that coming.
The new Oral-B SmartSeries with Bluetooth has all of the comforts of the electric toothbrush you’re used to: it’s compatible with other Oral-B brush heads, has an oscillating technology that removes more plaque than a manual toothbrush and cleans in six different modes from Sensitive to Whitening to Tongue Cleaning.
But thanks to Bluetooth, it goes where no floss has gone before, linking your brush to the Oral-B smartphone app (available now to download, but wait for an update to coincide with the product launch). The app receives and reports your goals: Did you brush for the whole two minutse like you said you would? Yup! How was the pressure? Good towards the end, but a little hard at first — something to work on. Did you floss? Check! Did you clean your tongue? Ew, but yeah! If there’s something you want to change, turn your smartphone into a remote control to program the length or preferred mode of your next sesh.
The goal is not to put your dentist out of business, but to make you better at brushing so you have a shot at rejoining the No Cavities Club. If your dentist feels left out, they could even program brushing routines using the app to help you get there.
We’ve seen similar products like the Kolibree smart toothbrush system before, but this is the first time something like this will be available on supermarket shelves making it a little easier to picture it in our bathrooms. With more connected personal grooming options, what could be next? A makeup brush that works like Drop, telling you what “ingredient” to apply next? Interactive contact lens cases that tell you when your lenses are disinfected? All we know is that Dad just might get some interactive nose hair trimmers if we can find them by Father’s Day.
The Oral-B SmartSeries with Bluetooth is available this spring in “limited quantities” and expects to have us all brushing better by June 2014.
What grooming gadget would YOU want hooked up to your smartphone?
