• by Aaron Baar , September 23, 2013

Procter & Gamble has launched a new app under its Oral-B brand designed to help consumers have more understanding about their oral health care. 

“At P&G Oral Care, the ultimate vision is perfect oral health,” Kris Parlett, senior communications manager for Oral-B Power, tells Marketing Daily. “If you look at the trends in oral care, health care and consumer behavior, they’re all converging on health care apps.”

The new app, available free through the App Store, works with Oral-B’s power toothbrushes to provide a timer and “quadrant guide” to ensure even and thorough tooth cleaning. It also includes a statistics function to chart brushing sessions and a content feed of calendar events, news and weather to keep people’s attention while brushing for a two-minute session. 

“We are all so used to constant stimulation, and [this is] turning an everyday chore into something productive,” Parlett says. “With our children’s products, we know if you provide kids with an activity for their brushing, they’ll go for the entire two minutes.”

The app is targeted at consumers who use some of the company’s higher-end, powered toothbrushes (it’s even sound-sensitive to start when it detects the power brush’s motor), though users of traditional toothbrushes can manually set the app’s timer and use its other features. The owners of powered toothbrushes are also more likely to have and use smartphone apps, and that using an app in conjunction with those brushes will lead to a greater brand connection, Parlett says. 

“These power users are willing to spend more on a toothbrush, and have more smartphones,” he says. “What we’re finding is as people get more involved with powered toothbrushes, they’re willing to invest more.”