At first glance, the toothbrush is the most basic of household items—a plastic stick with clusters of bristles at one end, used four minutes a day to ensure a fresh, clean, healthy smile. Despite its unassuming nature, the toothbrush has plenty of potential in the world of dentistry technologies.
High-Tech Toothbrushes
You’ve likely heard of electronic toothbrushes—you may even own one. But high-tech toothbrushes aren’t limited one size or shape; the recent electronic toothbrush designs are about as varied as automobiles. The mouthpiece toothbrush is just one example of a unique design. Shaped like a retainer case, this appliance claims to clean teeth faster than an ordinary toothbrush. While the mouthpiece toothbrush concept still has plenty of issues to work out, namely that the proposed ten-second brush time isn’t effective, it’s one example of current efforts to improve and perfect the personal dental hygiene process.
Making Dental Hygiene Fun
Perhaps the most interesting—and unexpected—development in toothbrush technology is the use of apps and artificial intelligence. Earlier this year, Oral-B introduced plans for Genius X, a smart toothbrush that uses AI to monitor your dental hygiene. The toothbrush isn’t just there to make sure you hit the two-minute mark, though; it coaches users on proper technique. This coaching includes detecting areas that your brush missed and ensuring you’re putting the right pressure on your teeth. According to Oral-B, the toothbrush would be able to communicate with your healthcare provider, offering data about your brushing habits.
While Genius X is still in the works, a kid-based augmented reality game has already set out to make dental hygiene exciting. Kolibree, a French company known for its smart toothbrush, released an AR game called “Magik Mirror” for smartphones in 2018. The app, which tracks movement using a phone’s front-facing camera, requires players to brush their teeth to fight cavity monsters. Though a specific toothbrush is required to play the game, it’s still a sign that augmented reality has applications in the dental industry.
SurfCT.com is a world famous dental information technology company, founded by Mr. Paul Vigario. SurfCT.com specializes in areas such as dental technologies, digital workflow, marketing, dental cloud solutions, and HIPAA compliance. SurfCT.com’s technology solutionsare revolutionizing general, cosmetic, and pediatric dentistry, along with oral surgery, endodontics, orthodontics, and other specialized dental practices. At SurfCT.com Everything Is Connected™