Image credit: Dyson
Today, Dyson launched its first toothbrush and the world's first electric toothbrush with an integrated camera: The CameraJet. This $499 electric toothbrush has a built-in camera that detects gaps between your teeth and shoots a targeted jet of water at each one as you brush to remove plaque.
To accomplish this complex cleaning dance, the 100,000-pixel lens built into the brush head scans your teeth 28 times a second. Dyson's Gap Optical Targeting software, trained on nearly half a million dental images collected during development, uses that feed to spot the gaps where plaque tends to build up. Once it finds one, the brush fires a burst from its jet within a tenth of a second, aimed at that spot. Dyson says these needle-style jets, the kind used in most water flossers, punch a hole through plaque without clearing it, while its broader, cone-shaped jet sweeps more of it away, at lower pressure.
Image credit: Dyson
The camera only activates during live viewing or while it's auto-jetting, and Dyson says it doesn't record or store images anywhere, on the device or in the cloud. Through the MyDyson app, you can watch the live feed as you brush, plus get coverage mapping and technique feedback showing where you're actually missing spots.
The paired brush head moves nearly 1,000 times a second, using variable sonic oscillation to keep the bristles from stalling against your teeth, especially in the back corners of your mouth people tend to rush through. The dual-bristle head pairs firmer bristles for lifting surface stains with softer ones along the gumline, and an RFID tag in each head tracks how many cleans it's completed and flags in the app when it's time to swap it out. Dyson says its lab testing found the CameraJet removes up to 69% more plaque in those hard-to-reach spots than market-leading premium electric toothbrushes, though it doesn't name which ones it tested against.
A non-foaming toothpaste and mouthrinse, formulated without the foaming agent SLS so the camera keeps a clear view, are coming later; for now, Dyson recommends pairing the CameraJet with any SLS-free toothpaste and rinse.
The 12.5ml mouthrinse tank uses a diaphragm pump, engineered to keep delivering fluid whether you're holding the brush upright, angled, or flat against your back teeth. This solves a problem with typical water flossers, whose straw-style tanks can draw in air and lose pressure when the water runs low and you tilt them. A charging dock refills the tank in three seconds at the push of a button and charges the handle between uses.
I tested the Soocas Neos II, the first electric toothbrush with a built-in water flosser. It does the job of a separate water flosser and toothbrush well enough that I stopped using both. And it's ideal for travel when a standalone water flosser isn't practical to bring along. The CameraJet builds on that same combination and adds the piece I want most: proof that I covered every gap. If a live camera can help me catch the chia seed still wedged between two molars, that's a helpful upgrade over a brush that just tells me time's up.
Read more: Why I think the Soocas Neos II redefines oral care
Maintenance looks like an upgrade too. Dyson's cleaning guide calls for a simple monthly rinse: remove the brush head and tank, use white vinegar to descale the spigot tip and tank, flush the tank twice with water until the vinegar is gone, and let everything air-dry. That's a lot less hands-on than the Soocas Neos II, which I have to scrub with a brush to keep clean.
At $499, the CameraJet costs significantly more than most electric toothbrushes, including Oral-B’s iO Series 10 ($399.99) and Philips Sonicare's DiamondClean 9900 Prestige ($399.99). And the Soocas Neos II Ultra is less than half the price at $199.99. Dyson also doesn't have a track record in oral care the way it does with vacuums or hair care, so how the CameraJet holds up in daily use, whether the camera proves accurate over time, and whether the app's feedback actually changes anyone's brushing technique are questions only real testing will answer.
The Dyson CameraJet is available in two colors, Ceramic Ultra Blue and Ceramic Pink, and comes with two brush heads and a travel case in the box. It's available now through Dyson's stores and dyson.com.
