Influence of Childrenʼs IoT Toothbrushes on Their Toothbrushing Behavior and Parentsʼ Psychology

Abstract

With recent progress in technology, IoT devices that connect objects to the Internet have proliferated rapidly, facilitating daily routines in various ways.

We conducted a questionnaire survey on how the continuous use of IoT toothbrushes for children changes their behavior and skills, as well as parentsʼ concerns about their childrenʼs tooth-brushing behavior. The following results were obtained.

1. Regarding childrenʼs tooth-brushing skills from the parentsʼ point of view, more than 90% of the children answered that they could move their toothbrushes in their entire oral cavity through continuous parent-child tooth-brushing.

2. Regarding childrenʼs tooth-brushing behavior, approximately 70% of children utilizing the test product, which consisted of a device attached to the toothbrush and a smartphone app for the device with visual and auditory tooth-brushing guidance, reported that they started brushing by themselves.

3. Regarding parentsʼ concerns related to tooth-brushing, approximately 90% of the parents whose children used the test product suggested that their anxiety reduced with its continued usage.

These results suggest that IoT toothbrushes may motivate children to initiate tooth-brushing by themselves and improve their tooth-brushing skills, which may reduce parentsʼ concerns.