DT News - UK - New Philips Sonicare toothbrush encourages better brushing habits

Dental Tribune International

Mon. 26 September 2016

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LONDON, UK: Dental professionals regularly encourage their patients to implement a thorough oral care routine on a daily basis. However, between dental check-ups, their advice often passes out of mind. In order to bridge this gap and to help people improve their oral health through personalised guidance, Philips has developed the new Sonicare FlexCare Platinum Connected. At a launch event held in London on 16 September, the company introduced its first connected electric toothbrush for adults featuring smart sensor technology and the new Philips Sonicare app to oral health care experts and the media.

“At Philips, we are constantly looking to innovate and provide solutions using smart technology that seamlessly fit into people’s everyday lives,” said Julia Roast, UK Marketing Manager at Philips. “Working closely with dental practitioners, we have developed the Philips Sonicare FlexCare Platinum Connected and Philips Sonicare app, to provide patients with personalised guidance on their oral health routine to help them achieve and maintain a great clean in between check-ups.”

Smart sensor technology enables real-time tracking

The connected toothbrush synchronises with the Philips Sonicare app via Bluetooth to track brushing habits in real time. A number of sensors track and analyse the user’s brushing routine while a personalised 3-D mouth map highlights trouble spots in order to coach the patient on his or her brushing technique. Location sensors track where the user is brushing for too short a duration and a SmartTimer ensures that the user brushes for the recommended time in each segment of the mouth. Moreover, sensors alert the user when he or she is applying too much pressure or scrubbing the teeth rather than guiding the brush. A personalised touch-up feature identifies missed spots during brushing and encourages the user to go back to clean these.

The smart sensors are integrated into the toothbrush’s handle, allowing for the use of different brush heads, including the new AdaptiveClean brush head, which provides up to four times more surface contact and enhanced flexibility. Furthermore, the Sonicare FlexCare Platinum Connected provides a new Deep Clean mode. According to the company, this mode helps remove up to ten times more plaque than a manual toothbrush can.

Personal guidance with the new Philips Sonicare app

The Philips Sonicare app was developed in collaboration with over 500 dentists and dental hygienists and provides various personalised features that reinforce users’ oral care routine and give useful tips to further improve oral health. It allows patients to set daily goals and track their progress over time. The app stores an ongoing history of brushing data, making it easy for users to review their performance and share their progress reports with their dental professional via e-mail and social media, the company said.

To help the patient comply with guidance from his or her dental practitioner, the app features focus areas, specific spots in the patient’s mouth identified by the dentist that need more attention owing to plaque build-up, gingival recession and other issues. These spots are highlighted in the patient’s personalised 3-D mouth map to remind him or her to take extra care of these areas between check-ups. Moreover, the app includes a brush head performance monitor that notifies the user when it is time to replace the brush head based on actual brushing time and pressure. The user can then order replacement brush heads directly via the app.

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Key opinion leaders discuss potential of connected technology

After introducing the new Sonicare FlexCare Platinum Connected to the press, representatives of Philips UK met with oral health care experts from all over the country, among them dental hygienist Juliette Reeves from London and Dr Ben Atkins, principal dentist and owner of Revive Dental Care in Manchester, to discuss the potential of the new connected technology.

“I was really pleased with the fact that we have an app which we can use to educate our patients in between visits,” commented Reeves. “I would recommend the product without hesitation. The fact that it is so personalised is a huge advantage, the fact that it gives immediate feedback to me, to patients in between appointments. We are not waiting for them to come back in the chair for me to say: ‘Okay, here is a trouble spot’.”

“I think dentists are very active in encouraging and advising their patients on how to brush their teeth correctly, but they need more tools to achieve an actual difference,” Atkins remarked. “The Philips Sonicare FlexCare Platinum Connected could bring about the necessary behavioural change because, in a way, it gives me a tool to brush my patients’ teeth for them and to track their results,” he told Dental Tribune Online.

The device is currently available in the UK and the US at a recommended retail price of £250 (about €290) and $200, respectively. Dental professionals interested in learning more about the new Philips Sonicare toothbrush can visit the company’s booth at the BDIA Dental Showcase from 6 to 8 October at ExCeL London. embedImagecenter("Imagecenter_1_2467",2467, "large");

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