Back in my day, we didn’t have any fancy smartphone-enabled toothbrushes. Nosiree; we brushed our teeth without any game to go with it, two minutes twice a day, in ten-foot snowdrifts! And we liked it!
Kids these days, though, have things like the Kolibree, a Kickstarter project for a toothbrush that connects to your iPhone or Android phone. The idea is that the toothbrush-app combo can give you information on your toothbrushing escapades (how thoroughly you brush, for example), help you make sure you brush as long as you should (your dentist will be pleased!), and give you some incentive to brush your teeth—aside from, you know, avoiding costly dental work.
While it seems gimmicky to us adults, the Kolibree’s designers say it can help kids establish good dental hygiene habits through brushing-powered iPhone games. For example, your kids’ brushing can get them through a race course, or help them accomplish an in-game milestone of some sort. Clever. And of course, Kolibree is working on some developer tools so others can get in on that toothbrushing action.
Kolibree has raised over $96,000 in pledges so far, surpassing its funding goal of $70,000. There are still 15 days to go, so if you want to help make the Kolibree a reality, you still have time to do so,
These darn kids might have it easy, but sometimes that isn’t such a bad thing. Now if only they could make flossing more fun…
