This Smart Toothbrush Tracks Its Location In Your Mouth

It turns out even the low-tech toothbrush is susceptible to the smart technology craze. We've seen toothbrushes that play music, tell you when to change brush heads, and turn brushing your teeth into an app-based game. Now, WIRED reports, there's a new electric toothbrush that uses position detection technology to track its location in your mouth.

The press release heralding the arrival of the Oral-B Genius brush calls it "the world's first electric toothbrush that sees what you don't." Unveiled at this week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the toothbrush—in conjunction with your smartphone—is designed to direct people's attention to the areas of their mouths that are chronically neglected.

The brush contains built-in motion and acceleration sensors that are constantly keeping tabs on its position as you brush; meanwhile, your smartphone's camera monitors your face to read which zones you're brushing at all times. Visual feedback showing areas that still need attention is sent to your phone via Oral-B's companion app. The device comes with a suction-cup holder that lets you mount it onto your bathroom mirror so you can brush without holding your phone.

This isn't the first time Oral-B has integrated smart technology into their toothbrushes. The company's SmartSeries introduced brushes with professional timers and built-in pressure sensors—features which are also included in the Oral-B Genius brush. This is their first product that narrows in specifically on the coverage factor, something Oral-B says is an issue for most brushers. According to their research, 80 percent of people don't spend enough time on at least one zone of their mouths and 60 percent of people either brush their back molars insufficiently or not all. Brushers guilty of such zone neglect can look for the Oral-B genius in select markets this July.