Oral-B® Unveils New App Technology At Mobile World Congress 2015

CINCINNATI, March 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Oral-B, the worldwide leader in oral care, unveils improvements to its App that connects to its highest performing toothbrushes, by creating seamless brushing routines and allowing for expanded professional guidance, at the 2015 annual GSMA Mobile World Congress meeting in Barcelona, Spain. Oral-B continues to innovate and personalize the Oral-B App, which is already changing oral care behaviors when used with the Bluetooth-connected toothbrush, with the creation of Dental Care Journeys and Professional Guidance. Additionally, Oral-B is proud to announce the opening of the Oral-B App's Application Programming Interface (API) and Software Development Kit (SDK) in October 2015, which will enable users to become a part of the increasingly connected oral care digital experience by working with third parties.

Since the SmartSeries and Oral-B App's debut at Mobile World Congress last year, initial results indicate improved worldwide oral care behaviors in a number of important measures. The App data shows that Oral-B electric toothbrush users are now brushing on average 2:24. This increased from less than 60 seconds with a manual toothbrush[1]. Additionally, over half of the recorded brushing sessions included flossing, rinsing, and tongue cleaning. Through a combination of these statistics and consumer feedback, Oral-B can deduce that with real-time feedback, users are encouraged to brush longer, with less force and more in-line with their dental professionals' recommendations.

Oral Care Statistics from Oral-B SmartSeries and App Use[2]

• A total of 83 percent of brushing sessions are over two minutes, with a global average brushing duration of 2:24.
• The Oral-B App has been downloaded nearly 300,000 times since launch; there were 87 percent active users in the month of December 2014.
• Approximately 60 percent of brushing sessions are leveraging the rinsing, flossing and tongue cleaning App reminders, for a more holistic oral care routine.
• The Oral-B SmartSeries with the Oral-B App has helped users achieve thorough brushing across all quadrants and areas of the mouth.

"We are encouraged by the consumer feedback and data regarding our App's ability to improve and maintain oral care routines and have used this proof as inspiration to continue investing and innovating in this area," said Stephen Squire, Global Brand Director, P&G. "In partnership with dental professionals and consumers, Oral-B has created the next generation brushing experience that utilizes personal goals, unique dental considerations and entertainment to ensure our consumers are getting the best possible results outside a dentist chair."

After a year of collaborating with consumers and dental professionals to enhance the App, Oral-B has addressed the need for a more personalized brushing experience. Oral-B users can now select journeys to fit their oral care goals and their dental professional can provide direct recommendations and feedback within the App. The goal for these improvements is to ensure a user can comply with their dental professionals' recommendations between office visits through a streamlined App experience.

Dental Care Journeys: 

• Each personalized Dental Care Journey is tailor-made to help users' achieve their oral care goals, including whiter teeth for an upcoming wedding, or fresh breath for food lovers.  
• The journeys deliver a more active and engaged brushing routine for a pre-designated period of time, and also offer recommendations for corresponding products to match each journey.
• Users can select among five journeys: Fresh Breath, Plaque Fighter, Whitening, Gum Health or Ortho Care.

Professional Guidance:

• A dental professional can add extra brushing time for certain focus areas in the mouth, select dental conditions and provide specific brushing and interdental cleaning instructions for his/her patient to follow at home.
• A dental professional can provide product recommendations via the App, selecting products based on their patients' specific needs.
• Patients can share their compliance statistics with their hygienist and dentist via e-mail, as a way to track and discuss improvement areas and help advance their oral care routines.

Beginning in late 2015, the App will allow users to voluntarily integrate their oral care information into other digital programs by opening the API. This will create a seamless venue for users to holistically monitor their well-being, and could potentially provide an opportunity for users to be rewarded for good brushing behavior through various reward programs. Oral-B is working to enable developers to create or extend apps with a user's brushing data. If interested, please email Oral-B at sdk@oralb.com.

Oral-B will showcase these advancements in the Innovation City during Mobile World Congress, allowing attendees to experience Oral-B's technology at digital brushing stations, under the guidance of dental professionals.

"The GSMA Innovation City is all about demonstrating how cutting-edge mobile technology is changing our lives for the better and we are delighted that Oral-B is partnering with us for a second consecutive year with its display of oral health technology," said Michael O'Hara, Chief Marketing Officer, GSMA. "Mobile technology is having a transformative effect on billions of people around the world, in everything from wearables to health and fitness. Oral-B is a prime example of this and we look forward to welcoming them to the City once again."

The Oral-B SmartSeries electric toothbrush with Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity is now available in more than 20 markets in Western Europe, North America and Asia. By the summer of 2015, the brush will be available in nearly 50 global markets. Bluetooth connectivity will be introduced to Oral-B Pro 5000 and 5800 models in summer 2015, creating more interactive options at varying price points. The Oral-B App 3.0 will be available for free in iOS and Android in summer 2015.

For more information on Oral-B electric toothbrushes with Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity, visit oralb.co.uk.

About Oral-B
Oral-B^® is the worldwide leader in the over $5 billion brushing market. Part of the Procter & Gamble Company, the brand includes manual and electric toothbrushes for children and adults, oral irrigators and interdental products, such as dental floss. Oral-B^® manual toothbrushes are used by more dentists than any other brand in the U.S. and many international markets.

About Procter & Gamble
P&G serves nearly five billion people around the world with its brands. The Company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Duracell®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, Wella® and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

[1] British Dental Health Foundation. May 25, 2010. Retrieved from http://www.dentalhealth.org/news/details/399
[2] IconMobile December Quarterly Report, 2014