The Onvi Prophix video toothbrush lets you spot-check your dental care

By Mike Epstein Published June 28, 2016

Have you ever wondered what your teeth looked like while you’re brushing them? Well wonder no more. Dental care start-up Onvi has created a toothbrush that lets you scope out your teeth as you brush them by watching a live video on your phone.

“[The Prophix] is going to empower people to take better care of their health,” said Onvi founder Dr. Craig S. Kohler. “It’s a system that’s designed to work with their dental health professional to … do a more thorough job because they can see what’s going on in their mouth.”

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The Prophix is not the first smart toothbrush. In fact, there’s a whole wave of them either on the market or coming soon. They are all based on a similar proposition; by connecting your toothbrush to a smartphone app — iOS only for now, but the Android app is on the way — your toothbrush will be able to get more data on how you brush, which can help users and their dentists take better care of their teeth. Where many of the connected brushes, including a Bluetooth-enabled model by Oral-B, simply projects user brushing data on a chart, the Prophix lets you modify and spot clean your teeth based on what’s actually there.

The difference is a matter of immediacy: Tracking data on brushing your teeth is only useful if you study it. With Prophix’ feed, you can attend to the spots you might have missed the moment you notice them. While you can’t record and save the entire video through the app, it is possible to snap a picture of any trouble spots to share with your dentist.

In addition to the standard electric toothbrush, the Prophix comes with interchangeable heads that offer other dental tools, such as a mirror, a prophy cup that cleans under the gum line, and a rubber gum stimulator tip. There’s an expanded bundle that also adds a “scaler” for removing plaque from your lower front teeth. If the prospect of using all those tools seems daunting, that’s OK: The Prophix tracks your brushing and offers tips on how to brush more effectively.

The Prophix toothbrush is expected to ship to pre-order customers in the first quarter of 2017.

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Michael is a New York-based tech and culture reporter, and a graduate of Northwestwern University’s Medill School of…

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