Oral-B wants to use your smartphone camera to help you brush your teeth

Connecting your toothbrush to your mobile phone is nothing new. Oral-B introduced its “smart”, connected toothbrushes in 2015.

But in 2016, the company is further fusing dental hygiene with the digital world. 

Oral-B unveiled its new model at Mobile World Congress 2016. The SmartSeries model is called “Genius”, and uses motion sensors and your smartphone camera to track your dental cleanliness. 

The range uses “Position Detection”, Oral-B explains, which notes your brush’s location, pressure on teeth, and brushing time before offering feedback on how well you’re keeping your mouth fresh and clean. 

These updated features will be available via the Oral-B app. So, just like brushing your teeth is habitual, so too will better engaging with how well you’re doing it. That’s because, let’s face it, checking your smartphone is just as much a habit as cleaning your teeth morning and night these days. 

Oral-B has also built a holder for the toothbrush. The idea is to put your phone on the mirror in front of you while you brush so that the two connect. As you clean, the sensors will tell you what you’re doing right and wrong.

If you start going off course or brush with too much force, the Genius toothbrush will adjust its speed all by itself. It also pulses while you clean, so quite a lot of the situation is autonomous anyway. All the while, a quick glance at your phone will tell you what area you need to revisit, or what teeth you’ve missed.

This all sounds a bit too intense, right? Probably. We’ve survived with regular toothbrushes for years, but this will appeal to some. It goes on sale next July. 

HT Engadget