Apps for our smartphones enable us to do so many things, like count calories, track exercise and announce what we’re watching on TV. And now, coming very soon, an app for iOS and Android will help you monitor your oral hygiene routine.
A new toothbrush from Beam Technologies can monitor a user’s brushing habits and transmit the data via Bluetooth to its respective app. The app uses this data to built up the user’s oral hygiene profile according to how long and how often the user brushes his or her teeth.
The toothbrush is manual, not electric, but it still comes with a replaceable head. This way, users will only need to replace the heads instead of the entire brush. The app can be synched up with multiple heads, so the user will still only have one tracking profile. The app will also alert the user when it is time to replace the head, and then will provide a handy online method for ordering new brush heads.
But wait! There is more!
The app, in a way, additionally teaches users how to brush correctly. It has a goals feature, which sets alerts for users to make sure they brush twice a day for a full two minutes. There are other customizable goal features as well that allow users to set their own targets, which could be very handy for parents to monitor their children’s brushing activities.
Users can also send their goals and profile performance directly to their dentists. This way, we will know if you are telling the truth about how often you brush your teeth.
The Beam Toothbrush will be available this summer (2012) for $50, around the same price for an electric toothbrush (and far below the price for a Sonicare toothbrush). Heads will cost around $3, which is also average. The battery life is estimated to run 90 days.
What we need next is Bluetooth enabled floss. We’d love it because it would remind patients to floss, and it could tell us if you really have been flossing.