A dentist has designed an innovative toothbrush to aid older people's oral health and quality of life.

Johan Flyborg has over 30 years of experience as a dentist and has seen that there can be a drastic deterioration in oral health as patients as get older.

Johan said, “The deterioration in the mouth surprised both me and the patients, and I wondered what it could be due to. Research has shown that early and mild cognitive decline often leads to a drastic deterioration in oral health and quality of life. However, I did not find what could be the solution to the problem. That’s why I decided to take a closer look at this particular issue.”

Following five years of research in applied health technology at the Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH), Johan designed a toothbrush specifically for older patients.

Oral health and quality of life

A common thread throughout Johan’s research was the need for an intelligent, powered toothbrush.

Johan subsequently designed a product to help, he explained, "an innovative, intelligent toothbrush that can communicate with wi-fi and Bluetooth, and it stores, transmits, and receives data from sensors integrated into the toothbrush.”

The data produced by the toothbrush shows where the brush is in the mouth, which teeth have been cleaned and for how long, and how hard the toothbrush has been pressed. When it is switched off, the feedback is immediate.

Johan said, “It can be an eye-opener for many people to get this feedback, but for stroke patients, for example, who can’t feel where the brush is in their mouth and which tooth surfaces it hits, a function like this can be essential for maintaining good oral health.”

A simple solution

The toothbrush represents a new way of thinking about elderly care and oral health. Johan has said he hopes it will soon become a natural part of care, helping older people with cognitive impairments to live a healthy and dignified life. He said, “Such a simple solution can have a huge impact.”

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