Oral-B introduces interactive toothbrush

Chicago - Oral-B introduced the company's first interactive electric toothbrush with Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity today at the Chicago Dental Society Midwinter Meeting.

Using Bluetooth 4.0 technology, the toothbrush can connect to the free Oral-B app (available this summer for the iOS market first and then for the Android market). As a user brushes, the app provides real-time guidance and records brushing activity, such as time spent brushing, if too much pressure is being applied, and other information. The data can be shared with the user's dental professional, which the company hopes will create smarter, more personalized brushing routines.

If patients bring their smartphone with the Oral-B app to their dental appointment, the dental professional can program the app to specify areas of the mouth that might need additional brushing and ultimately improve patients' brushing performance.

The toothbrush will first be available in certain European markets in the summer, then in North America this fall.

The company believes this toothbrush will have a significant impact on personal oral care, said Wayne Randall, vice president of Global Oral Care at Procter & Gamble, in a press release.

"We believe it will have significant impact on the future of personal oral care, providing data-based solutions for oral health, and making the relationship between dental professionals and patients a more collaborative one," Randall said.