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Affordable and user-approved: Philips presents latest Sonicare technology

Jess Hulme, CRM Executive—Oral Health Care at Philips, presenting the company's latest product and research news. (Photograph: Melissa Brown, DTI)

Thu. 24 May 2018

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BIRMINGHAM, UK: This year’s British Dental Conference and Dentistry Show was attended by over 13,000 dental professionals—a record-breaking number. In Birmingham, more than 400 exhibitors presented their latest innovations, among them Philips, which launched its new Sonicare ProtectiveClean electric toothbrush. The company, a leader in health technology, commissioned a study on user experience and the results were presented at the show.

Sonicare’s sonic cleaning technology is at the core of the new ProtectiveClean toothbrush. In addition, the ProtectiveClean range features a 2-minute timer and a pressure sensor that gives real-time feedback to ensure that users are not brushing too hard, thus minimising their risk of gingival damage and recession. Making it far superior to the standard three-month replacement, according to the company, the brush head uses new BrushSync radio-frequency identification technology to monitor individual usage and brushing habits, then alerts the user when it is time to replace it. This also improves efficiency of brush heads.
The ProtectiveClean range has models in various price categories, from £79.99 for the ProtectiveClean 4300, thus making the brush accessible to more consumers. At the higher end, the ProtectiveClean 6100 has three cleaning modes—clean, gum care and white—and three intensity settings. This model includes two BrushSync features, reminding the user to replace the brush head and selecting the optimal mode and intensity automatically.

Aiming to learn about users’ experiences with the new ProtectiveClean, Philips is working with key opinion leaders. For this research, Dr Ben Atkins, who runs an award-winning group of dental practices in north Manchester, and dental hygienist Anna Middleton ran a pilot study among 70 patients, including those with periodontal disease and even patients having to share manual toothbrushes. According to the results presented at the show, all the patients reported that they were happy with the effect of the new ProtectiveClean. During the study, the patients reported using the brush twice or more often daily. After a week, they already attested to positive effects: half reported an improvement in how clean their teeth felt, and the same proportion reported an improvement in how healthy their gingivae felt or an improvement in their fresh breath confidence, the research team said. Over the summer, Philips will extend this study by recruiting 100 practices around the UK with the aim of trialling the brush with 1,000 patients.

Among the lectures Philips supported during the event was a presentation by Dr Tif Qureshi, Clinical Director of the IAS Academy and a past President of the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, who took to the main stage to share his expertise in the ABB (align, bleach, bond) process. A third lecture featured the dual talents of dental hygienists and therapists Melonie Prebble and Victoria Wilson, who jointly presented “Systemic health and us—The role we play in health beyond the mouth”. They explained that, as we become increasingly aware of the links between systemic health and oral health, there is a pivotal role for dental hygienists and therapists to play in translating this message on a daily basis. Their presentation reviewed the current research supporting the key risk factors and explored ways to integrate these in patient conversations. They also demonstrated tools that assist in challenging conversations, as well as systems that enable patients to take responsibility for their overall health and well-being.

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