A new toothbrush that includes a video game might be ideal for kids, but its back-end connection to both parents and dentists makes it a valuable mHealth tool as well.
The Grush Brush, unveiled on April 3 in a crowdfunding campaign, uses motion-sensing technology to trace movements during brushing, which are then mapped in a smartphone app that can play back as part of an interactive brushing game. Kids play the game by brushing their teeth in front of a smartphone, attached to the bathroom mirror.
The data recorded in the game – the so-called "Grush factor" – synchs back to a dashboard app on a parent's or caregiver's mobile device, enabling the adult to reward the child for proper brushing techniques. In addition, the data is stored in the "Grush Cloud," where it can be accessed and used by dentists.
That's where mHealth comes into play. If clinicians can use that data to improve a child's brushing techniques, it will in turn reduce the risk of cavities or gum disease, cut back on the number of trips to the dentist's office, reduce dental bills and improve that child's health.
A pediatric dentist and member of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry, Purva Merchant said in a prepared statement that the Grush Brush is exciting "for the future dental health of my young patients," because of its potential to "keep them motivated to follow home care recommendations."
The Grush Brush joins a long line of digital health and wellness products looking to catch on with an increasingly savvy consumer market. As evidenced in the Digital Health Pavilion at this year's 2014 International CES, for instance, many such products aim to help consumers measure their own activity. Examples include watches and wristbands that chart motion and vital signs, utensils that track what and how you eat, digital toothbrushes and hearing aids, even a basketball with embedded technology that can help you perfect your free throw.
Whether consumers catch on – and whether they continue to use the product after the fad wears off – remains to be seen. If these devices offer a direct link to caregivers, however, that market might prove more resilient.
"We always had trouble getting our kids to brush their teeth," company co-founder Ethan Daniel Schur said in the press release. "We created Grush to change the dynamic from push to pull, with kids actively seeking to improve their brushing scores."
