At a recent dental show, Philips launched not just a new brush, but a toothbrushing system! By this, Philips means that the Sonicare toothbrush – the Flexcare Platinum Connected – contains Smart Sensor Technology which connects with an app.
And Oral-B has also launched a SMART brush called the Oral-B Genius. I recommend it to my patients because they can buy the orthodontic brush head which goes with it.
Syncing the brush and the app
The benefits of these systems are huge. The toothbrush can sync with the app to track the user’s brushing habits. For the first time, our patients can find out from an app how well they are brushing. So they can get daily input as well as the irregular input of their hygienist.
This is the kind of information that the toothbrush sensors are picking up:
- Where you should have brushed for longer
- When you are brushing too hard
- When you are scrubbing too much and need to improve your technique
- If each segment of the mouth gets equal attention
- When to move to another segment
Progress report
On top of all this insight, realtime feedback features can be captured so the patient can ask for a progress report to be emailed to their hygienist. I love this!
I won’t have to wait until I next see my patient to find out if they are conquering the little hidey holes and crevices where plaque builds up. The app that connects with their toothbrush will be keeping me informed. So I will be there in the background monitoring oral health improvements!
Communication tool
It doesn’t really talk, of course, but it nearly can. It’s a powerful communication tool which gives the patient they need about their mouth and then makes it possible for them to share with their hygienist.
Of course, patients who know what they are doing and are thorough and dexterous can do an equally good job with a manual toothbrush. But I like the fact that the Flexcare Platinum Connected allows for the hygienist to be brought into the loop. This really is revolutionary.
