The Rs 20,585 toothbrush links to your smartphone to tell you if you are brushing too hard or too quickly
Only a few things could be as easy as cleaning your teeth — or so you’d think. Apply toothpaste to brush, stick brush in mouth, give the old pearly whites a good scrub, then rinse. But it seems that many of us are not doing it properly.
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Now help is at hand, for the problem you never knew existed, in the unlikely shape of your smartphone. Dental hygiene company Oral-B, of Procter and Gamble, has invented a toothbrush that sends information to your phone as you brush. Your phone then displays messages that tell you how you’re doing and suggesting improvements. The company launched the £199 (R20,585) brush this week; the device is expected to go on sale in Britain in June.
That’s smart cleaning: Deutsche Telekom chief executive Timötheus Hottges unveils the brush at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Pic/AFP
Quite futurisic
The SmartSeries electric brush links to your iPhone or Android device via Bluetooth, with an app allowing you to follow instructions on the screen. If you brush too hard, the phone receives signals from the brush and displays an alert to prevent you from damaging your gums.
The phone also times your brush using a virtual stopwatch — experts say many of us do not brush for the recommended two minutes. At the end of the session, the smartphone displays a summary of how well you brushed your teeth — with tips on what you could do better next time. The app can even be personalised with the help of a dentist, who may advise a user to pay more attention to certain areas of the mouth.