The world's first smartphone-connected toothbrush is soon going to be introduced by Proctor & Gamble Co, Reuters reported.
The device will adopt the role of a dentist and give personalized advice to help people improve their brushing.
According to Reuters, the toothbrush, to be widely available from June, has a Bluetooth 4.0 link to a smartphone app that can be programmed with the help of a dentist, for example to pay more attention to any areas of the mouth being neglected, P&G said.
"The app provides real-time guidance," Michael Cohen-Dumani, global associate director for Oral-B, told Reuters.
"Dentists always tell us: 'People do a great job in the week before they come to visit us and in the week after they visit us. But nothing can hide the fact that when we look inside the mouth we can see all the areas they miss'."
Joining an expanding range of devices connected to smartphones that measure everything from sleep patterns and calorie intake to distance walked and exercise taken, the toothbrush will be unveiled at the phone industry's annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona next week, Reuters reported.
The app was developed by professionals as a tool to manage their patients' behavior between visits, Cohen-Dumani said
The app displays brushing progress in real time, telling the user when to move to a different part of the mouth and warning if they are brushing too hard, he said.
"It will guide you in terms of how to brush, and you will be able to fully personalize the brushing routine for you," Cohen-Dumani said.
From less than a minute for a manual toothbrush to 2 minutes and 16 seconds, the app had extended average brushing times when tested, he said.
The device will be at top end the Oral-B electric toothbrush range, with a recommended retail price of 199 pounds ($330) in Britain and 219 euros in Europe, Reuters reported.
French startup Kolibree has also developed a connected electric toothbrush that it plans to launch in the third quarter, according to its website.