Connected Oral Health: Applications of Connected Brushes in Prevention and Practice

Oral health conditions represent some of the most common diseases at the population level both in the UK and globally(1). Dental caries and/or periodontal diseases affect approximately half of the world’s population despite being largely preventable conditions when appropriate preventative health behaviours are employed (i.e. regular tooth brushing)(2,3). ‘Smart’ toothbrushes provide an ability for users to not only track their oral hygiene routines in association with mobile applications but to receive personalised coaching which aims to improve their toothbrushing efficacy. From a research perspective, access to this data provides an opportunity to authentically monitor brushing behaviours outside of the professional environment with a high degree of fidelity.At present, the connection of these novel datasets back into the primary care provider’s clinical workflow remains largely unexplored, with widespread adoption not yet a reality. This research will explore the utility of harnessing this connected oral health data as part of an innovative approach to delivering effective prevention in a primary care setting. Specifically, this will be achieved through the triangulation of existing dental care records/disease history, contemporaneous brushing data collected via connected toothbrushes and changes in oral health over a defined time period.The overall aim is, therefore, to explore and validate the utility of harnessing data collected from smart oral health devices alongside routinely collected data obtained from clinical records for the longitudinal improvement of oral health, and to modernise and enhance the impact of delivering prevention in practice with an emphasis on enabling and sustaining positive behaviour change.A goal of this research is to advance our understanding of an individual’s behaviour and related health factors over disease progression. The findings will yield novel information on the utility of this data to inform clinical preventative advice as part of routine dental visits within primary care teams.The student will be based at the Dental Health Unit, a unique collaboration between the University of Manchester and Colgate-Palmolive. Working in this environment, the student will be exposed to a variety of projects ranging from public health to controlled clinical testing of novel technologies with excellent opportunities for collaboration across academic and industrial partners. Training opportunities will be provided in the area of developing and carrying out trials within a clinical setting, statistical analyses and exploring, validating and utilising various health data. There is also the opportunity for exposure to Colgate-Palmolive both within the UK and the USA.
https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/iain.a.pretty.html
https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/michaela.goodwin.html

Entry Requirements:
Applications are invited from UK/EU nationals only. Applicants must have obtained, or be about to obtain, at least an upper second class honours degree (or equivalent) in a relevant subject.