TechTraveler

Triumph in dentistry: Not only Bluetooth is wireless

Even when you travel, you should keep up with your oral hygiene.
Oral-B's New Triumph with with SmartGuide, appropriately enough in this age of wireless Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, takes toothbrushing wireless, plus the new brush is smart.

My old Oral-B power brush was rather stupid. It gave me a two-minute warning that my time was up. That was about it.
The Triumph has a standalone unit that displays the progress you're making in with your hygiene. It also lights up if you happen to apply too much pressure; not really a problem for me anyway. The floss-style brushhead has sensors that detect if you are too vigorously brushing and risking gum recession. We may have a recession coming on, but at least we can prevent gum recession and please Dr. Greenspan, DDS.
Back-lighting would be a nice addition to the display.
Oral-B says that this feedback--which includes a goofy smile after two minutes--increases average brushing time from a disappointing 47 seconds. Seconds count in this oral hygiene game, and we need 120, bunkies.
Oral-B Triumph with SmartGuide ilists for $150 and is available at department, retail and specialty stores. There's more information at www.oralb.com.
What's next? How how a brush that detects early decay and zaps it with a laser. Now that would be a triumph in dental technology.

OSHO Marco: Preventing tooth decay--and international incidents

  Our encounter at the security check at Benito Juarez International Airport in Mexico City had all  the earmarks of an international incident as we switched from a US international flight to a domestic flight to Veracruz.
Our bag went through the X-ray device, but it was causing a stir.
The problem? There was a noise in the valise.
A couple of tough-looking Indian--Native Mexicans?--soldiers came running up. They appeared very concerned. They looked like the guys you see there armed with submachine gubs.
We unzipped the bag to reveal a fully charged  electric troothbrush that inadvertently had been turned on in the baggage handling.
The soliders relaxed and we all had a laugh.
Incident over? Not really. I wondered what we could do to avoid it from happening again. I bought a cheapo power brush for a trip to Europe that had a removable battery.
By taking out the battery, I hoped to avoid a repeat. I did. But then the brush sucked. It simply wasn’t as powerful as my regular brush.
I found another solution: the OSHO Marko travel toothbrush. This sleek brush, available in chrome or clear models, looks like a big fat  pen. But inside, it’s all toothbrush. It has changeable brushes so two or more can share.
Plus, you can “upload” your favorite toothbrush into the handle, simply by hooking up the “universal adapter” to your regular brand and squeezing.  The latest in “suction” technology works like a charm.
A water-tight O-ring holds the cap on so you don’t get leakage. Presumably this O-ring works better than that on the Challenger Shuttle.
Put some paste on the brush and apply old-fashioned elbow grease.
The OSHO Marko  whitens your teeth and lightens your load, sparing you from taking your toothpaste tube along.
Marko goes for $18 from ThinkGeek $20 and can be purchased at www.go-ohso.com, or a bit more from amazon.com and other e-tailers. A package of three replacement heads sells for about $8.
The OSHO Marko can help prevent cavities—and international incidents.