

Gamification of teeth brushing - pelumi
http://www.playbrush.io/

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huskyr
I've got an electric toothbrush that already has a really simple form of
'gamification'. You're supposed to brush each of the four 'quadrants' of your
teeth for 30 seconds, after 30 seconds the brush starts to buzz a little bit,
reminding you to switch quadrants.

It sounds pretty stupid, but i was surprised how well it actually works. When
i'm brushing my teeth with an 'ordinary' brush i tend to miss the automatic
buzzing :)

~~~
FroshKiller
I have that same toothbrush. When I have to use a regular toothbrush, I feel
very self-conscious that I'm probably not brushing as long as I would be if I
were using the electric one.

I like to make a game of seeing whether I can do other tasks in the time it
takes me to brush my teeth. Can I make cinnamon toast while brushing my teeth
in under two minutes?

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AndrewKemendo
I both love this and hate it at the same time.

As a father of three I recognize how hard it is to get kids to do the stuff
they are supposed to and that is good for them without hovering over them or
just forcing them to do it. Anything that makes good habits easier is a win in
my book.

At the same time, if we gamify everything that takes willpower, even the good
for us stuff, then we slowly chip away at the ability to be internally
motivated when there is no immediate benefit/reward.

I also recognize that minimizing ego depletion [1] across the spectrum
throughout the day could make it easier to make better decisions - a big thing
for kids behavior actually.

My guess is that this is a net gain overall, but I am concerned slightly that
hacking motivation/willpower might have some drawbacks that we don't see yet.

[1]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ego_depletion](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ego_depletion)

~~~
chatwinra
Good point. re: drawbacks- what about creating a reliance on the game itself?
If the game is removed, will the kid stop brushing their teeth?

~~~
AndrewKemendo
Well, this is the point. If we do things because we have added in a "game"
feature, then will we stop doing those things if/when the game is removed from
it?

Gamifying good behavior is just the latest form of "Nudge theory" which
applies positive feedback or design elements to guide users toward a specific
action. I think in an of itself is not a bad thing but has had some criticisms
[1].

[1]
www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/new_scientist/2011/11/does_nudge_policy_work_a_critique_of_sunstein_and_thaler_.html

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userbinator
Appropriately enough, it uses Bluetooth...

The idea isn't new though, this just seems to be aimed at a younger
demographic.

[http://www.oralb.co.uk/en-GB/electric-toothbrush-with-
blueto...](http://www.oralb.co.uk/en-GB/electric-toothbrush-with-bluetooth-
oral-b-smartseries)

However, there's something about holding a toothbrush in one hand and a
smartphone in the other that... just doesn't feel right to me.

Edit: gamification of toothbrushes for the young ones has been done before
too:

[http://www.usvigilant.com/rainbow/](http://www.usvigilant.com/rainbow/)

~~~
amplebrain
I suppose the difference is what they use the data from the toothbrushes for.
OralB produces pretty dashboards with the information while this is a game. I
suppose this is closer to your rainbow example.

Another difference would be that this is not a toothbrush in itself so it can
be used with multiple manual toothbrushes.

I would agree that holding the smartphone in the other hand is a bad idea. It
would be better to prop it up against something or use one of the bathroom
kits showed in the video on the page.

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thejrk
Getting kids to brush better can be fun and this product seems to hit that
point very well. However, from my experience as a parent of an 8yo, phones and
tablets around a basin of water for too long spells disaster. I don't want a
product that would require me to hover over my kid while he's brushing his
teeth.

~~~
AndrewKemendo
Galaxy S5 has changed this equation for us.

My daughter knocked mine into a full bathtub with the only result being a
funny sounding speaker for an afternoon. My wife dropped hers in the toilet,
while holding our youngest, without issue. It has saved us quite a few times
over the year - definitely worth it.

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whiteshadow
Maybe unrelated with the product, but I think that the whole problematic of
brushing your teeth is still a tabu on many environments (such as corporate).
If you see someone brushing their teeth after a meal, chances are you will be
looked jokingly and a joke about it is going to fall on your lap. Now imagine
that on bathrooms we could have something that would tell everyone that
"washing your teeth is cool!". Like having tooth paste available, just like
soap. Better yet, if there is a critical mass of people in the company that
washes their teeth, than the whole company might start doing it! It kind of
sucks that you have to feel like a criminal when you wash your teeth and
people are just passing by with judgmental looks.

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osi
This one works great with my daughter. The light flashes for a minute

[http://www.amazon.com/Toothbrush-Star-Flash-Light-
color/dp/B...](http://www.amazon.com/Toothbrush-Star-Flash-Light-
color/dp/B007IL88FS)

~~~
JTon
That's neat. Nice price too

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londonymous
Possibly inspired by Jesse Schell's fantastic DICE2010 talk:

[https://youtu.be/9NzFCfZMBkU?t=2m15s](https://youtu.be/9NzFCfZMBkU?t=2m15s)

~~~
amplebrain
Interesting talk. Love the multiple examples of the same concept!

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jobu
They need a bonus level for flossing.

Every kid is different, but brushing teeth has never been a huge problem for
my kids. However, getting them to floss is pure hell.

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squidbot
First, there is no way I'm going to put my several hundred dollar smart
phone/tablet on the sink, especially with my not exactly neat or careful 7
year old.

Second, this won't fit on his Sonicare. It already has a timer and plays
musical notes though, so I don't see that we would want this anyway.

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youngtaff
Looks very similar to this hackathon idea…
[http://www.oxfordshirebusinesssupport.co.uk/news/2014/novemb...](http://www.oxfordshirebusinesssupport.co.uk/news/2014/november/emerging-
tech-weekender-teenage-team-win-with-brus)

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dmamills
Very similar kickstarter:
[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2134904849/kolibree-
the...](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2134904849/kolibree-the-worlds-
first-connected-electric-tooth)

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rasz_pl
toothbrush flappy bird?

I gamified my brushing too, by combining it with leg exercises. I do one leg
quarter squats, 30 per leg per mouth quadrant. I started with only calf
raises, but that got boring quick.

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clarry
I just want a toothbrush that doesn't break Very Soon after warranty ends. No
games, thank you.

