Willo tooth-brushing robot for kids: fun for children, reassuring for parents
Are you 100% sure your children brush their teeth properly? New York startup Willo has spent several years developing a device that is meant to change how kids think about brushing their teeth.
Willo is not a new electric toothbrush. It is an oral care device that looks nothing like a toothbrush. The startup worked with dentists to build the project from scratch, focusing on oral care.
The device itself can seem a little intimidating when you don't see it in action, since it takes up quite a bit of shelf space and you don't know what to do with it. But once you see it in action, everything looks much simpler than expected. Willo is specifically aimed at children, because they usually struggle to reach every tooth and brush them properly.
Kids just have to take the handle and put the device's mouthpiece in their mouth. Brushing starts after a button press. That's all they need to do. The silicone-based mouthpiece has soft bristles. When the child presses the button, it vibrates in the mouth.
The handle connects to a larger docking station that holds a water reservoir with a special rinsing liquid. Kids don't need to use toothpaste or rinse their mouths. The device handles everything. In addition, Willo lets parents track their children's oral care in a mobile app.
You can choose a multi-user setup, in which case children will have to swap the mouthpiece before use. Willo costs $199, and then you must pay $13 a month to get rinse pods as well as new mouthpieces. The startup has already tested the device with real families.
Kids rated Willo 4.73 out of 5, and 8 out of 10 parents said the robot improved their daily life. All of them kept using the tooth-brushing robot after the testing phase ended. The product is backed by a team of 33 people in France and the US. Over the past seven years they have filed more than 50 patents, 30 of which have already been granted. The company has raised $17 million in funding for this unusual project.
“Willo is a completely new approach to oral care that is changing how people around the world brush their teeth. Our mission is to give everyone the same level of consistent brushing. I am proud of the results we have helped families achieve, and I am glad to bring people access to the best way to brush teeth at home”
It is worth noting that the concept of the toothbrush has not changed. Creating a device that will change how teeth are brushed is an ambitious undertaking. However, the startup has put considerable effort into solving this problem. Now we just have to wait and see whether they can convince parents around the world of the benefits of a robot for children's tooth brushing.
Today, Willo is designed for children aged 6 to 17. The company focuses on those who have the most difficulty brushing their teeth. The main goal is to emphasize the importance of building good brushing habits from an early age. Although Willo is not yet available to people over 18, the company is already working on a version for adults in the near future.
The specially designed Willo Rinse Pods act like toothpaste during brushing and last 45 days if you brush twice a day using the main cycle. Every three months, users receive two new rinse pods per person.
Like a regular toothbrush, the mouthpiece needs to be replaced every three months. With the Willo's Refills subscription, users receive a new mouthpiece along with two rinse pods.
Always remember that good home care is only one part of maintaining oral health. Only licensed dentists can diagnose gum disease and cavities, take X-rays of teeth to check for problems, remove tartar below the gums, and screen for other oral diseases.
“Willo's innovative approach to oral care will bring great benefits to parents and children, which is our initial focus. Parents see oral hygiene as a struggle for two main reasons: compliance, meaning making sure kids actually brush their teeth, and effectiveness, since children don't always know how to brush their own teeth well. Willo addresses these and other issues by offering an automated approach that optimizes effectiveness and gives parents access to their children's brushing data through the app”
Willo was named one of TIME's best inventions of 2020. The engineers and dentists who worked on the device did not intend to create a better toothbrush; they decided to completely change the concept. Dentists around the world see patients every day with problems that could easily have been avoided with better brushing.
