[Review] Oral-B SmartSeries, the high-end smart health connected toothbrush!

The toothbrush was unveiled during the Mobile World Congress 2014 by Oral-B in partnership with Braun.
It has been marketed since June 2014. Oral-B is a brand of toothbrushes and other dental hygiene products marketed by Procter & Gamble while Braun East a manufacturer ofgerman household appliances.

Presentation

Oral-B therefore brings its toothbrush expertise as Braun brings his electronics and connectivity skills. Discover the presentation ehealth of the toothbrush Oral-B ProfessionalCare SmartSeries (version 7000):

Unpacking

The toothbrush sells for € 182 on Amazon. Yes yes, 182 €, it may seem expensive for a toothbrush! But do not stop reading and do not be afraid of this price because, as we will see, this product is not just a toothbrush: it is a quality service and tooth brushing control. Personally, and getting ready to Review the product, I find it expensive, but I also think that I can be impressed by its quality which could then justify its high price. The analysis in this article will determine if the product is worth its price, go to the end of the article for the answer! I point out that I have no pressure from anyone to write this article which was carried out objectively and according to my personal feelings.
Configuration

First instructions in the Oral-B leaflet: put the batteries in the SmartGuide (and set the time by pressing the "set" and "h / min" buttons on the back of the case, under the case), put your toothbrush to recharge and install the Oral-B application. The latter is compatible with Android and iOS. The application gives the user the ability to use his time brushing teeth "more efficiently" by visualizing the progress of his brush with a stopwatch and entertaining while brushing (news, weather).
(appbox appstore 698092608) (appbox googleplay com.pg.oralb.oralbapp) After downloaded and installed the application, you need to pair between the toothbrush and the smartphone. To do this, simply launch the application that will offer you to activate your Bluetooth (It’s through this technology that toothbrushes and smartphones communicate). The installed application, the functional SmartGuide and the recharged toothbrush, you are now ready to use the product !
Operation

"Hardware" part:

• Drums. The toothbrush incorporates a rechargeable battery. A full charge can take up to 24 hours and offers autonomy of up to 10 days with regular brushing (2 brushings of 2 minutes each day). A battery charge indicator is located on the toothbrush.
• SmartGuide screen. It works with batteries and communicates with the toothbrush by Bluetooth technology. Interestingly, it activates automatically as soon as the toothbrushing starts: no need to interact with the screen to tell it to activate, the latter does it all by itself! The screen displays a stopwatch, a "quadrant circle" (each quadrant represents a corner of the mouth) prompting the user to move to the next brushing quadrant. The SmartGuide also contains a battery status indicator. Finally, stars represented on the screen reward the user’s brushing time after use.
• Pressure indicator. If you press too hard on your teeth, the SmartGuide screen activates a visual signal, encouraging you to limit the pressure and protect the gums.

Synchronization: when the user activates the Bluetooth on their smartphone and launches the application, the application automatically synchronizes recorded by brushing the toothbrush when the user did not have his smartphone itself, or did not have its Bluetooth enabled .

In use

• A first question during use: what is the link between the application and the SmartGuide?

When you first use it, you wonder why the Oral-B application reproduces the same functionality as the SmartGuide timing and support during brushing. Some users have criticized the use of the application as a brushing support as this comment found on the application review on Google Play :

"I'm not going to hold my phone to my face every time I brush my teeth. »Anonymous

A clarification was needed on the link between the application, the toothbrush and the SmartGuide :
Impressive results on the quality of brushing

The results on the evolution of the brushing time will depend on each of you, but for my part they are significant. I was amused to time myself manually for 10 brushings before using the SmartSeries, then I took the application of statistics to the following brushings and has consolidated all the data on an Excel with the following results:
Difficult to use the SmartGuide for multiple users

If two users share a bathroom, the SmartGuide combines the toothbrushing data of the two users without differentiating them. Shared statistics don't mean anything anymore!
A lack of synchronization quality between the smartphone and the toothbrush:

I personally have not experienced this defect but I must report it to be complete on the Review because I read on the reviews of the Oral-B application on Google Play cases of synchronization issues as reported by users on Google Play.
These problems must depend on the smartphones used and I think the Oral-B & Braun engineers are working to improve compatibility issues each time the user returns.

By collecting data on teeth brushing from its users, Oral-B can become a virtual dentist himself by giving advice from data processed by all users of its toothbrushes. Oral-B has understood (by launching the "My Dentist" tab on the application) that it has a privileged position for act as an intermediary between dentists and their patients. Dentists today have little quantitative data to analyze the daily brushing of their patients and have to settle for a qualitative result on a given day. Patients would benefit from receiving personalized advice based on data measured during their daily brushing. Oral-B is therefore on the promising path of smart health connected health, there is no doubt that this path will add more and more value as the user and dentist base grows.
Our opinion

Oral-B SmartSeries smart health connected toothbrush is a high-end product, still expensive for the general public (compared to standard electric toothbrushes). Despite some problems identified (synchronization between smartphone and toothbrush, multi-user use), I have no doubts that the company is actively working to resolve them. The toothbrush really brings a safety over the quality of your teeth brushing over time.
Connectivity and data analytics technology really brings value to the product. By standardizing the technology and by economies of scale due to increased sales, Oral-B should be able to lower its prices to reach a wider audience. Then the smart health connected product will take its full value by using the data collected for customize the toothbrushing experience and by creating a privileged and quantitative link between the dentist and his patient to improve the quality of dental care.