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Smart Toothbrush Aims For Better Brushing Habits
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes "These days, it seems just about every imaginable thing is 'connected.' There's connected thermostats, locks, refrigerators, forks, and so many more. Now we can add toothbrushes to the list. Brandon Griggs reports at CNN that the Kolibree toothbrush syncs wirelessly with an iPhone or an Android device to track brushing habits, announce whether you have brushed thoroughly enough and reward you for good oral hygiene. 'It works just like a regular toothbrush,' says Renee Blodgett. 'The only difference is that all the data is stored on your phone so you can see how you're brushing.' Users download a mobile app and connect via Bluetooth, and the Kolibree documents every brushing via three sensors that record 1) how long you brush, 2) whether you brush all four quadrants of your mouth, and 3) whether you brush up and down (good) instead of just side to side (bad). 'Before Kolibree, the issue is that there has been no easy and quick way to monitor whether you're doing an A+ job or a C- one when you brush, so how can you improve on a habit you don't have any data about?.' There's a bit of gameplay built in, which challenges users to do better next time, and the company has created an API, hoping that third-party developers will come up with additional apps that will inspire users to brush more and more effectively writes Daniel Terdiman. 'With individual health getting more attention than ever, it's certainly possible people will see the benefit of something that keeps a close eye on how well they're treating their teeth, and which challenges them to do better.'"
Smart toilet paper role......
My Aurora : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o91ZsGwJYyg
FB : https://www.facebook.com/TanveersPhotography
Smart toilet paper role......
More probably ... smart bidet !
what a surprise? looking at dental work & listening to swishy gargling is ok until you find real work? paid poster pickens hardly worth all that cutting & pasting from madison AD?
when not preceding reporter.
There was a time that only your Mom was nagging... Now it';s your car, your fridge, your phone, all kinds of wearables to check wether you move enough and, last but not least, your toothbrush.
O tempora, o mores...
Dental insurance on the rise for those without smart toothbrushes. Or those unwilling to upload their data to the insurance companies...
Karma: Bad
No one ever accuse Joe Bidet of being smart.
Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
Datamining? Is this teeth brushing data sent to the company that makes the app?
God dammit, is Slashdot your personal blog?
Can I use the toothbrush to call the Fat Men from Space? I don't want to live on this planet anymore.
& the same for brushing our teeth. 'up & down' is for who knows when? free the innocent stem cells. never a better time to consider ourselves in relation tomomkind our spiritual centerpeace link with creation which is rumoured to be unbearded
Most people eat sugar during the day, and then wonder why they have problems with their teeth. Most people don't know how to brush their teeth properly with a normal (non-electric) toothbrush, and worst of all, they don't WANT to know how to do it properly, because after all, that would be telling them that they are doing something 'wrong' now, which they can't possibly stomach.
It's not difficult to keep your teeth clean: don't eat sugar during the day, only eat sugar when you are going to eat something without sugar soon afterwards, in the evening, or are going to brush your teeth soon afterwards (i.e. don't eat sugar before 6pm). Find out how to clean your teeth properly, use a normal, non-electric toothbrush, learn to FEEL acid on your teeth, and you will soon dislike eating sugary things anyway.
Almost ALL tooth problems are caused by eating sugar, as simple as that.
http://www.infowars.com/cia-head-we-will-spy-on-americans-through-electrical-appliances/
CIA director David Petraeus has said that the rise of new âoesmartâ gadgets means that Americans are effectively bugging their own homes, saving US spy agencies a ...
Wouldn't a smart toothbrush be a U-shaped device you put in your mouth, it scans your teeth, and brushes them perfectly? While you do something else.
NB: The message above might reflect my opinion right now, but not necessarily tomorrow or next year.
If people adopts it, would be pretty great because I could know who not to kiss among the female gender :p. hahaha.
On a serious note :s privacy is going so much downhill that they want even your teeth brushing habits! dafuq! Soon tooth paste companies will be sending in ads based on your brushing habits!
Technology wise it is pretty neat, but slowly we are giving away our privacy to small things like this, and soon we'll have toilets that measure the speed and distance travelled by our pee and we will be able to share that on social network also!
$200 a tooth brush that takes a little bit of your privacy again. But isn't it a bit disgusting to use the same tooth brush for a longer period of time, since i guess, you don't throw a $200 toothbrush after 3 days of brushing..
... and you're an adult , then you're an idiot. And anyone so stupid they can't use a normal toothbrush will probably get lost at page 1 of the instructions of this silly gimmick.
Another solution looking for a problem.
> and 3) whether you brush up and down (good)
My dentist says that you should put your toothbrush at a 45 angle from the gum, and brush *one way from the gum to the outside*, since the goal is to remove food lying between the gum and the tooth and prevent formation of plaque, which ultimately leads to gum disease (periodontitis).
"(...) the company has created an API, hoping that third-party developers will come up with additional apps that will inspire users to brush more and more effectively (...)" My hope is that people will spend their time and abilities on something other than developing apps for a toothbrush. I would hate to see people become obsessed with something like brushing their teeth.
Shame that the link comes from that foaming-at-the-mouth guy's website, when it's almost certainly true and needed saying- it's only confirming what is obvious to any remotely tech literate person (regardless of their political leanings) that follows the news... orders of magnitude moreso in light of the Snowden revelations. Namely that massive amounts of online data can- and *will*- be used by those in power, purely because it can be- it's a free lunch, the data is being provided already. The cost of modern storage makes it ludicrously cheap to store massive amounts of data, and the power of automated data mining makes analysis, pattern-spotting and tracking from this mountain of information possible in a way it wouldn't have been decades back.
We already have confirmation- via Snowden- of what is being done with existing online data by the US government (and it's quite clear that other governments are trying the same thing). The "paranoid" have been proved correct. The onus is on anyone who might claim that government(s) *wouldn't* continue operating in the same way, to exploit and take advantage of the Internet of Things to increase the panopticon by a further order of magnitude.
I'm still waiting for tootbrush that looks a bit like mouthguard which I could just bite for a bit and let it handle the brushing almost instantly.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2440156/The-toothbrush-thats-tailor-fit-mouth--cleans-teeth-just-SIX-SECONDS.html
...they wanted to sell everything on web, and in 2001 the .com bubble exploded.
Now they want to connect everything to a smartphone. Is the next bubble close to explode ?!?
He had enough
He couldn't take anymore
He found a place in his mind and slammed the door
No matter how they tried
They couldn't understand
They washed and dressed him
Feed him by hand
Withdrawn he'd sit there
Staring into space
No sign of life
No flicker on his face
Until one day he smiled
He seemed as though with pride
The wind kissed him good-bye
And then he died
How many like him are there still?
Who to us all seemed to have lost the will
Do it! Do it! Do it!
that would be,
Britain
there'll be a toothbrush with a camera (and illumination) built it. Not only will you be able to see your teeth as you brush them, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was a share button that uploaded it to YouTube for the delight and entertainment of your 10,000 closest "friends"
politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
Which is: masturbation.
Religous speak to God. Insane are spoken to by God. When all shut up, one can finally hear Shostakovich in peace
I'm not giving the NSA a picture of my personal hygiene habits.
NSA - "Look, this guy does not seem to be brushing in enough of an 'American' manner, lets keep an eye on him."
"A 'person' is smart. 'People' are dumb, panicky animals and you know that."
A smart toilet paper to tell you if you have wiped rigorously enough and share your results automatically on facebook.
But does this device output complimentary taxi fare after use?
People are strange. Many are unable to set and target long term goals. Take brushing teeth, for example. Most (but not everyone) people know that you have to brush your teeth in order to keep them, yet many people don't do it for a lot of different reasons. I see patients every day who don't take care of their teeth and come to me only when something hurts, which is often too late to save a tooth/teeth. They often tell me about other things going on in their lives and I get the impression that they let a lot of things slide until those things demand attention one way or another. They live from one moment to the next, reacting to whatever stimulus demands the most attention. Others grow up in households with little or no parental supervision and have never had an authority figure in their lives tell them they must brush their teeth daily. None of these people - the ones who could benefit the most- are likely to buy a brush like this. While this device seems like a great idea, I think its target market is actually very small. People who are technologically sophisticated enough to understand what this device does and to want one badly enough to spend the money on it are probably already brushing their teeth adequately. I prefer the oscillating head type brushes because they reduce the manual dexterity required to get the brush tips moving in ways that get the teeth clean. With the oscillating head brush you put the head against the teeth and slowly move it across the arch. It doesn't take much manual dexterity to operate it. Sonic brushes clean OK, but you still have to move them around a lot more, similar to brushing with a manual brush. Many people, especially kids, lack the motor control to operate them properly. A power brush that beeps at 20 or 30 second intervals is really all the feedback anyone should need, but then again, knowing that your teeth are going to rot if you don't brush should be sufficient stimulus to get people to brush and it doesn't, so who knows, maybe this will turn out to be a great device. Finally, I question the value in turning everything into a game. What does it say about us that we have to have immediate rewards for every little thing we do in our lives? What about simply teaching people to think critically about their lives and what they want their distant future life to be like? Turning everything into a game keeps them focused on the moment.
It's not entirely irrelevant: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ4W7yB9Mow
End.
Are the gadgets becoming smarter or are the people becoming dumber?
I used to brush every day, but not always two - three times a day. Always had cavities and inflamed gums. Lost a few back teeth that couldn't be saved (but at least they were in the back). I got a Sonicare for Christmas a few years back. I haven't had a cavity since. Got a check-up yesterday and he said my gums looked great. In fact, cleanings used to be very, very painful. Not so much anymore.
True story. My second cleaning after getting the Sonicare, the person cleaning my teeth said she was going to get one. She had receding gum lines herself, and she was so impressed with my improvement that she was getting one. Her exact words were, "you may have just saved my teeth."
Doctors destroy health, lawyers destroy justice, universities destroy knowledge, religion destroys spirituality
People are insane
The Bluetoothbrush
*badump tshhhh*
It seems to me, if you are motivated enough to buy this device and set up the app, you don't need it. Someone who might benefit from it isn't going to care enough to buy it.
This posting is provided 'AS IS' without warranty of any kind, implied or otherwise.
So now I'll get ads for Colgate when I stop brushing (assumes my toothpaste is low)
Everyone worries about having their data being uploaded but no one talks about wireless radiation. (1) How did this snow job happen and (2) how long will the truth be withheld?
(1) big business backed ICNIRP, who say we could live in a microwave-oven-surrounded phonebooth without ill effects. Seriously.
(2) Well, they have successfully lied to us about fluoride for over 60 years. But microwaves will prove to be deadlier, faster, due to complete ignorance/lack of regulation of individual dose.
Here's Bob with the weather...
Really? I'm waiting for smart food, you know it cleans my teeth as I'm chewing.
Then a company will come behind that company say 3m and will make smart food better, not only will it clean my teeth but it'll wipe my ass on the way out.
I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
My teeth kind of reached train wreck status about six or seven years ago. I had switched jobs and the dentist I had been using was located downtown and a huge hassle to get to now that I no longer worked downtown, so I quit going to the dentist for a couple of years. I only brushed once a day, didn't floss or use any kind of dental rinse. One day I had a filling crumble and I knew I had to face the music.
So I found a dentist who did sedation dentistry and went in and laid it out for him -- my teeth were fucked, I want them fixed and I don't want any speeches about flossing, as I doubt I will ever floss. The dentist was great -- thanks to sedation, I was able to get two crowns and 4 fillings in one visit.
And he suggested these "trays" that looked like a set of mouth guards that you filled with a peroxide-based gel. You put it in your mouth and leave it in for about 10 minutes, the idea being that the peroxide gel in the trays would neutralize the plaque in between your teeth and give you most of the benefit of flossing.
After about six months my gums got back to normal. I also stepped up a little and began brushing twice a day and I use a CPC-based mouth wash (Crest Pro Health or generic CPC-based mouth wash) at each brushing. No cavities or gum problems in 3 years.
After about 18 months I ran out of the gel (which was prescription only and filled via mail order form some compounding pharmacy in North Dakota) and quit using the trays, but my teeth have stayed just as good without them.
My sense is that flossing itself isn't necessary and that a decent ultrasonic tooth brush (I use disposable Oral-B Pulsars) and regular use of a CPC rinse is good enough.
When I was a kid, my Mom would make me chew up this blue tablet/pill. After a minute the blue would stick to all the plaque and whatnot to see how much you have missed during brushing.
Some things should not require tech support.
There's a bit of gameplay built in, which challenges users to do better next time
For a dollar a day I pay a kid in China to farm points for me.
-
- - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
I think I'll wait until Google makes a self brushing toothbrush. Then I can sleep or browse the web while the toothbrush does it's work.
...comes from hummingbird. Spanish " Colibrí " (pronounced Koleebree) = hummingbird.
I couldn't imagine having to deal with syncing my iPhone to my toothbrush all the time to pull reports. As this type of "smart" technology becomes more and more ubiquitous - we'd start to do this with everyhing. Our bathroom scale. Our electrical meter. Our themostat, our car, whatever. Having everything talk Wifi ("The Internet of Things") is one thing - and even has its own issues - but this clearly is getting out of hand.
When I can get the damn bluetooth speakerphone in my car (or any car) to work reliably - I'll think about it...
I use and recommend a Sonicare electric toothbrush.
They aren't paying me to shill so if you prefer a different brand, buy that. (The Sweethome recommends this Oral-B toothbrush.) But Sonicare is working for me.
My teeth tend to accumulate tartar buildup quickly. (I'm not complaining; better that issue than having acidic mouth chemistry that erodes teeth.) It used to take a long and unpleasant time for my teeth to be cleaned.
I got my first Sonicare and started using it, and as it happened I had a dentist appointment about a month later. The dental hygienist took one look at my teeth and said "I can already tell you are doing something different, and whatever it is, I like it." I was stunned... this was after just one month! How much better would it be after six months!
That was years ago. I have been using the Sonicare and my teeth cleanings go more quickly and are less unpleasant.
A few tips.
The main one: let the Sonicare do the brushing... don't apply a lot of force with your hand. I have sometimes been guilty of this and it can have a negative effect on the gums, making them "recede" which you don't want. Just use light pressure and let the moving bristles do their thing.
Also, make an effort to let the bristles brush the gum line (where the teeth meet the gums). I used to have an issue with deep "pockets" in my gums, and the Sonicare seems to have stimulated my gums to grow and fill in the pockets. After I used it for a while, I only had the deep pockets in the corners of my mouth; and then I made an effort to brush all my gums, including in the corners, and I don't have any of the deep pockets anymore.
Sonicare has a deluxe edition that includes a USB-powered travel charger. I lust after that USB travel charger, but I can't bring myself to spend that much money on a toothbrush. http://www.slashgear.com/philips-sonicare-diamondclean-review-09201165/
This is what I have. For half the price of the deluxe edition I got two Sonicares, a charger, and a travel charger. The charger has a UV feature to sterilize the brush heads; it makes an annoying high-pitched whine that I can hear, so I never use it. Instead I use the travel charger, which works fine.
http://www.costco.com/Philips-Sonicare-Flexcare-Rechargeable-Sonic-Toothbrush-Premium-Edition-2-pk.product.100071852.html
Also, floss your teeth every night, seriously. It make a big difference.
lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
I remember the April Fools Day joke in 1998, the RFC 2324, Hyper Text Coffee Pot Control Protocol. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyper_Text_Coffee_Pot_Control_Protocol
I hate electric toothbrushes. They tickle[*] and are noisy and bulky and take away control. If the developers want to test people's brushing habits, why not let them actually brush their teeth?
[*] they should be called toebrushes: they're great for tickling sessions, just not for my gums
A smart toothbrush wouldn't focus on indirect things like how long you brush, or if you flip it around...the dental equivilent of "is it plugged in?" Who's retarded enough to think that would actually help people? A "smart" toothbrush would measure more direct things, like actual bacterial load counts. There's that commercial where they show "bad breath" germs by shining a specific wavelength of uv light (394 I think) and they flouresce. I tracked down the paper once and tried it myself with 1Watt UV LEDs and wasn't able to get it to work, but if you could do that, and add a cheap optical sensor you could just count how many bacteria and be done with it, since that is what we are after, not wasting x amount of time. Bonus points for having it be Bluetooth SMART with SensorML so anyone can write true IoT software for it. Someone wants to start a kickstarter, I'm in :)
This reminded me of this.