The 10,000 sessions equate to around 12 million individual brushing data samples, which together give a unique insight to the brushing habits of Brushlink users while providing them with feedback on how to further improve their brushing technique.
Juan Colomina, chief technology officer at Brushlink, explains the data figure, “We reach 12 million samples of data figure by multiplying the number of sessions by the number of data samples we have collected over an average brushing duration. We are not aware of any other day-to-day dental technology which collects such rich and in-depth information.
“The Brushlink software and app are being constantly updated and improved from user feedback, with ongoing health benefits to users and the collection of data of increasing quality.”
Brushlink is the first device of its kind that can track and coach people on brushing frequency, duration and angles while making this data available to dentists if consented – and it works with any toothbrush, manual or electric.
Brushlink has also been built to provide a brushing score each time it is used, which makes it great for families – parents and kids can compete with each other to see who is the ‘best brusher’. The score is displayed along with ‘in-brush’ coaching tips and hints via a Bluetooth connection to a smartphone app; however, it also stores data for up to three months in case the user does not have a phone in the bathroom.
The data collected by the device is used by their dentist to create a bespoke dental hygiene plan based on their brushing habits. The care plan is automatically uploaded to the device, helping to make brushing even more effective and efficient and thereby improving oral health.
Dev Patel, award-winning dentist, CEO and founder of Brushlink, commented, “The amount and quality of our data is giving us a real insight into the brushing habits of the nation – showing where they are with their brushing routine at a certain point and how they are improving their technique over time. We are working on research relating to the data we are gathering, and early indications show that using Brushlink can reduce dental plaque (the cause of dental decay) by as much as 40 per cent.”
Professor Elizabeth Kay MBE, health topic expert for NICE, president of the Oral Health Foundation and a Brushlink Scientific Committee member, added, “As an active and recognised dental practitioner and researcher, I am truly excited by the quality and potential of the data being collected via Brushlink. The data give us new and unique information which we can use to carry out research, the results of which could have a direct benefit to the delivery of dental care and overall oral health.”