Electronic gadgets are constantly being developed for daily day to day activities. Electric toothbrushes are now available that connect and integrate with smartphones, just like running shoes or wrist watches.
A company named ‘Kolibree’ developed a smart brush, ‘Ara’ that consists of inbuilt sensors to detect the exact position and orientation of the brush. Its data is stored in the handle and synchronized via Bluetooth to a smartphone.
A provided digital application monitors the brushing duration and regularity. This application provides an overview of the brushed along with missed areas.
The company claims that, the app formulates recommendations, based upon the individual’s brushing patterns to further improve brushing performance. It has been rebranded by Colgate as ‘E1’ ; and costs around 100 USD on Apple store. A special version for kids, ‘Magic’ features Augmented Reality to motivate and educate kids to appropriately brush their teeth. It sounds to be an interesting advancement, however, research needs to be carried out to test its effectiveness, before clinicians can recommend it to their patients.
