Thrive Global and Oral-B have partnered to explore the links between oral care and overall well-being through habit stacking. Learn how to improve your brushing routine with guided brushing and progress tracking, and sign up to be one of the first to try Oral-B’s WiFi-enabled toothbrush by visiting oralbconnect.com.
Historically, brushing my teeth has been my least favorite part of my nighttime routine. I don’t mind it in the morning as much, although that’s probably because it would be truly disgusting for anyone close enough to smell my breath if I skipped it. Nighttime brushing feels like a different ballgame. No one will shame me for getting into bed with unclean teeth, whereas they definitely would if I came into work with morning breath — so it feels less urgent and necessary. I still brush at night (fine, most nights), but I do it begrudgingly, and oftentimes, too quickly.
There’s ample scientific literature on the connection between our oral health and our well-being, and there are serious side effects to neglected oral health: People with bad teeth can be stigmatized in social and work settings, and some oral diseases, like gum infections, are associated with an increased risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease. Even though 70 percent of people report brushing for the dentist-recommended two minutes in the morning and evening, many of us know that’s not really the case. Personally, if there were a way for me to see the benefits of brushing my teeth in real time — kind of like how the benefits of morning brushing are so clear — I’d be more likely to brush consistently, and correctly.
Oral-B was one step ahead of me. For nine days, I got to try their soon-to-be-released product Sense by Oral-B, a WiFi-enabled base that delivers real-time feedback to you about how you’re brushing. The base itself, which is also a charging station, gives visual cues when it’s time to move to a different quadrant of your mouth, and it also lets you know when your brush is over. But it doesn’t end there: Included in its daily feedback message is Thrive content on ways to de-stress while brushing your teeth, and tips to build other positive, meaningful mental habits into your daily brushing routine. These messages help you with “habit-stacking” — a sustainable way to build new daily habits. Watch the video to see exactly what I’m talking about.
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