Kids hardly ever want to brush their teeth. Let’s face it: It’s supposed to take a full two minutes and that cuts into valuable play time. Now two companies are addressing this situation with a great concept—combine tooth brushing and games—from slightly different angles.
Both Grush and Kolibree toothbrushes monitor the position of your toothbrush head to determine how well you’re cleaning your teeth. The gaming aspect is interactive software that connects to an iOS or Android device, with game elements that keep the child (or adult) brushing longer and better. An app also monitors brushing activity over time, so Mom and Dad can snoop on the kids’ progress.
One big difference between the two systems is price. A basic Grush toothbrush and a game goes for $59.99; Kolibree, $149.99. Additional brush heads are available for families larger than one.
While Grush appears to focusing on children, Kolibree wants to cover the whole family. It has new games coming out this spring, including “Rage Against the Zombies,” which is for brushers 12 and older. Adults who don’t want to play games can use the Kolibree app in offline mode, in which it silently—and, we expect, boringly—collects data and stores it.
Grush, meanwhile. has also announced a Grush Dental Dashboard, with which dentists can opt in and track patients’ progress. (That sound is George Orwell rolling in his grave.) Kolibree recommends sharing brushing data with the family’s dentist and orthodontists.
Sounds like a great idea for kids. Most adults are probably not ready for zombies coming out of their teeth first thing in the morning.
(To see more coverage from CES 2016, click on the “CES2016” tag near this article.)