Oral B iO series 5: When the toothbrush is smarter than the holder

Oral B wants to know what you get up to in the bathroom, and its ‘smart’ toothbrushes are the secret agents assigned to find out.

I should probably start this review by apologising to anyone who has ever shared a drink with me, and all romantic partners past and present.

Apparently, I’ve spent the last 20-something years of my life brushing my teeth wrong. Or at least according to Oral B.

While I’m not exactly opposed to it, and I’ve never argued the advice of dentists, I can honestly say I never thought I’d be outsmarted by a toothbrush. But here I am, 6:47am in the morning, stood in front of my mirror and watching a $399 toothbrush flash red through sleepy eyes.

I’m brushing too hard, according to the new iO series 5, one of two new models from Oral B – the other being the series 4 ($299) – which have been introduced as low-cost entries to the company’s smart brush range.

The iO series 4.

Beside me on my mobile phone, which is balanced between the cabinet and the wall, the Oral B app is open, and I’m obsessing over trying to get a perfect score.

After about thirty seconds I’m obedient to my new master, and I’ve had about several flashes of green, which in Oral B series 5 toothbrush language translates to good.

As I brush, I watch two sets of teeth – each divided up into three sections – slowly change colour from blue to white.

Two minutes is the recommended brush time, but after a week I’m yet to get “perfect coverage” in anything less than three. Once reached a little rainbow marks clean and sparkly gums.

It’s no real surprise that toothbrushes are but one of the latest everyday instruments to adopt smart technology.

The electric toothbrush, for one, was invented near seven decades ago by Dr Philippe Guy Woog in Switzerland in 1954. I wonder if Dr Guy Woog ever thought his design would one day tell him he is doing it all wrong.

Oral B’s esteemed ‘perfect coverage’.

Oral B wants to know what you get up to in the bathroom.

While its app doesn’t require a user to sign up, Oral B makes it all the more alluring with awards and medals won by completing challenges.

Is that healthy? In some ways, yes, but it also teaches us to become dependent on an app while in what is essentially one of the most private rooms in our household: the bathroom. And I’m not sure about you, but there’s something not quite right with me about my toothbrush talking to my phone.

On the one occasion I forgot to bring my mobile along, by the time I went back to get it while still brushing, I opened the app to find I’d been brushing for 29 seconds.

While data about one’s teeth brushing habits might seem dull, when paired with Apple’s Health app – which it can – it provides insight into your daily hygiene habits.

Did you sleep in on Saturday and only brush your teeth before brunch at 1pm? Brushing at 3am in the morning after the staff party will also be saved.

Apple already knows the exact moment you put your iPhone down at night as well as your heart rate – read from your smartwatch – when viewing certain content.

Oral B’s peak model remains the Series 9 which has seven modes and 3D teeth tracking across 16 zones as opposed to the iO series 5’s mere 6.

How good were the sensors? There was anywhere between a 0.5 to 1.5 second delay most of the time. Sometimes the app confused the exact placement in my mouth, which led to some exaggerated brushing to see it reach “perfect coverage”.

Originally published as Oral B iO series 5: When the toothbrush is smarter than the holder