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I have an older Phillips toothbrush without Bluetooth, Internet or vendor-locked heads, and it charges wirelessly in a glass cup. I love it. I recently tried

I have an older Phillips toothbrush without Bluetooth, Internet or vendor-locked heads, and it charges wirelessly in a glass cup. I love it. I recently tried to buy a second one and could only find newer models with all these garbage features I don't want. Who the hell wants their toothbrush to connect to the internet? Wound up turning to eBay to find stock of the old one. It might sound cruel, but I hope the moron who decided to add these features into their product, and the lackey who implemented it, are having a bad day and reflecting on the wisdom of what they did.

jhbadger 3y ago
Wifi is silly, but there really is a benefit to the Bluetooth/app connection -- it is used to see where you are brushing and spots you are missing. My dentist definitely has seen an improvement in the plaque in my back teeth since I started using a smart toothbrush that uses an app on my phone.
- kwhitefoot 3y ago
  > spots you are missing Just brush each tooth systematically. My dentist tells me "Just keep doing what you are doing." I have the cheapest Braun Oral-B with a two minute timer. I've worked out by trial and error that that is about the time to stroke each face of each tooth about twelve times. Now I do that even if it takes a bit longer than two minutes because I occasionally brush slower.
- progbits 3y ago
  How does it know the location you are brushing?
  - zelphirkalt 3y ago
    Bluetooth from the teeth! It is in the name ; )
    - jhbadger 3y ago
      Ha! But presumably the bluetooth is there to tell the app what it measured and to visualize it. But presumably through a combination of sensors and accelerometers
  - quenix 3y ago
    I would presume a bunch of IMUs and fusing together orientation/accel data? I can see how knowing the orientation and relative motion of the head might allow one to map this out.
    - progbits 3y ago
      I assume you mean the head of the toothbrush but what about my head? The IMU data is relative to earth (kinda). But toothbrush position over teeth is relative to my head. Moving around and turning your head gets added to the IMU measurements with no way to tell it apart. Did I turn my head/body 90 degrees left, or did I move the toothbrush 90 degrees from my front teeth to the rear left ones? Impossible to tell these apart.

jhbadger 3y ago

Wifi is silly, but there really is a benefit to the Bluetooth/app connection -- it is used to see where you are brushing and spots you are missing. My dentist definitely has seen an improvement in the plaque in my back teeth since I started using a smart toothbrush that uses an app on my phone.

kwhitefoot 3y ago
> spots you are missing Just brush each tooth systematically. My dentist tells me "Just keep doing what you are doing." I have the cheapest Braun Oral-B with a two minute timer. I've worked out by trial and error that that is about the time to stroke each face of each tooth about twelve times. Now I do that even if it takes a bit longer than two minutes because I occasionally brush slower.
progbits 3y ago
How does it know the location you are brushing?
- zelphirkalt 3y ago
  Bluetooth from the teeth! It is in the name ; )
  - jhbadger 3y ago
    Ha! But presumably the bluetooth is there to tell the app what it measured and to visualize it. But presumably through a combination of sensors and accelerometers
- quenix 3y ago
  I would presume a bunch of IMUs and fusing together orientation/accel data? I can see how knowing the orientation and relative motion of the head might allow one to map this out.
  - progbits 3y ago
    I assume you mean the head of the toothbrush but what about my head? The IMU data is relative to earth (kinda). But toothbrush position over teeth is relative to my head. Moving around and turning your head gets added to the IMU measurements with no way to tell it apart. Did I turn my head/body 90 degrees left, or did I move the toothbrush 90 degrees from my front teeth to the rear left ones? Impossible to tell these apart.