Expert Article: What Is A Smart Toothbrush? Is It Better Than A Normal Toothbrush?

Brushing your teeth is the most fundamental of all personal hygiene practices. Unarguably, this morning ritual makes your day look all bright, fresh, and confident. Wouldn't it be great to monitor and track how effectively you brush every day? To satiate the technophilic you, brands have come up with the concept of a "smart toothbrush."

What is a smart toothbrush?

A smart toothbrush is basically an electric toothbrush that can provide information about the brush's position and speed as well as feedback on how to maintain better oral hygiene. It can be connected via bluetooth to a smartphone application. The app records and stores all the data from the toothbrush. It comes with various modifications, and many more features are still under development [1][2].

It will alert you if you brush too hard too often. Additionally, if you don't brush your teeth before bed, it is documented, and you get a thumbs down the next morning. Honestly, it's useful and fun!

Benefits of smart toothbrush:

1. In-built sonic vibrations dislodge the plaque and tartar.
2. Different brush heads are available for regular tooth cleaning, gum cleaning, teeth brightening, sensitive teeth, and tongue scraping.
3. An in-built timer reminds you to change sides in the jaw while brushing.
4. The app can track your live movements and show the areas you missed while brushing.
5. It records your daily brushing time and average strokes per minute for each jaw to monitor brushing consistency.
6. It tells you if the intensity of brushing is too high. It will guide you to be slow and gentle.
7. It will alert you when you miss brushing at night and also set daily reminders for brushing.
8. Your technologically advanced dentist now has an equally tech-savvy patient who can help him monitor his patient's oral hygiene.
9. Few smart toothbrushes come with an in-built Alexa that will play your favourite music or the morning news while you brush [3].
10. You can compare your progress in brushing and related oral hygiene measures.

Here are some of the brands that are readily available:

1. Quip Smart Electric Toothbrush.
2. Philips Sonicare Diamond Clean Smart 9300 Electric Rechargeable Power Toothbrush,
3. Oral-B Guide with Amazon Alexa Built-In

Conclusion:

A smart toothbrush is not for you if you don't care about brushing statistics. However, you might think about upgrading if understanding your habits could help you maintain better oral health. Honestly, if you like tracking your steps, heart rate, body temperature, and sleep hours in real-time, then why not oral hygiene!