Methods and devices for detecting scrubbing motion during use of a personal hygiene device are provided wherein false scrubbing feedback is eliminated. A method (500) may include receiving (502) motion information data of the personal hygiene device from an inertial measurement unit located within the personal hygiene device, monitoring (504) scrubbing motion data of the personal hygiene device along a first axis, monitoring (506) rotation motion data of the personal hygiene device for excessive rotation around a second axis and a third axis of the personal hygiene device, rejecting (508) a scrubbing detection when excessive rotation is detected, and providing (510) a user operating the personal hygiene device with scrubbing feedback in response to a determination that the motion information data are within predefined parameters of a targeted motion of the personal hygiene device, wherein false scrubbing feedback is eliminated from the scrubbing feedback.

An oral treatment device includes a head for use in treating an oral cavity of a user, an inertial measurement unit, IMU, configured to generate signals dependent on position and/or movement of the head relative to the oral cavity, and intraoral image sensor equipment configured to generate image data representing at least a portion of the oral cavity. The oral treatment device includes a controller configured to process the generated signals and the generated image data using a trained classification algorithm to determine an intraoral location of the head of the oral treatment device. The controller is configured to control the oral treatment device to perform an action based on the determined intraoral location.

A pet brush system that includes a brush with a set of vibrating bristles at an application end of the brush. A handle extends from the set of vibrating bristles with a power connection at a distal end of the handle. A battery is included within the handle for power. The system further includes a power cord adapted to connect to the power connection to supply power to the brush.

A toothbrush has a handle and a treatment head mounted for movement relative to the handle against a spring force when a treatment force is applied in at least one treatment direction onto the treatment head. A treatment force measurement unit for determining the applied treatment force includes a capacitive force senor having a first electrode fixedly mounted with respect to the handle and a second electrode mounted at a distance from the first electrode. The second electrode is movably mounted with respect to the handle. A spring unit is arranged between the first and the second electrode. A control circuit determines at least one parameter indicative of the capacitance between the first and second electrodes, wherein the second electrode is mechanically coupled with the treatment head and is arranged to be moved relative to the first electrode when the treatment force is applied at the treatment head.

A method for controlling display of a user interface for optimizing performance in using a personal care appliance is provided including: receiving a user info or regimen; receiving a protocol or routine to use the appliance; receiving an appliance status related to a user's usage of the appliance; comparing the appliance status to a target usage of the appliance in the protocol or routine; and controlling display of an indicator of the user's performance based on the comparison.

A plaque detection apparatus (70) and method make use of an excitation source (72), a light detector (74) and a controller (76). The excitation source (72) outputs wavelength modulated light (.sub.ex) to an evaluation site (80) that has a periodically changing wavelength centered around a wavelength corresponding to a non-linearity in an absorption and/or a fluorescence excitation spectrum for a chosen plaque. The chosen plaque exhibits spectral characteristics different from non-chosen plaque and/or interfering species. The light detector (74) detects light (.sub.site) (84) received from the evaluation site (80), including site reflected light (.sub.refl) and/or site emitted light (.sub.em). The controller (76) operatively couples to the excitation source (72) and the light detector (74) for controlling the excitation source to output the wavelength modulated light and detecting plaque as a function of the detected light (.sub.site) and at least one higher harmonic of the wavelength modulation frequency.

A toothbrush (10) includes a brushhead (18), a first force sensor (30A) for measuring a first force exerted by the brushhead at a first angle relative to a tooth and a second force sensor (30B) for measuring a second force exerted by the brushhead at a second angle relative to the tooth, the second angle being different than the first angle, and a processing unit (26). The processing unit is structured to: (i) receive first information indicative of the first force as measured by the first force sensor, (ii) receive second information indicative of the second force as measured by the second force sensor, and (iii) determine information regarding a current brushing angle of the brushhead based on the first information and the second information.

A manual tooth brush having a timer function. The tooth brush has a body that defines a cavity therein and in which a timer is located. The brush uses an inversion switch instead of an accelerometer to activate the timer. The inversion switch, or tilt switch, may be a mercury type tilt switch or a ball type tilt switch. When the tooth brush is tilted such that the head is below the brush body, the tilt switch is activated and the switch in turn activates the microprocessor. Activating the tilt switch also starts the timer that is linked to the microprocessor. Because the microprocessor is only activated when the tooth brush is tilted, the battery life of the tooth brush is extended. The brush timer is programed to run for about 2 minutes. The tooth brush vibrates or makes a sound every 30 seconds. The timer deactivates after 2.5 minutes.

Systems, methods, and devices for providing feedback to an individual based on brushing performance, and providing guidance for the individual's brushing, are provided herein. In one exemplary embodiment, after an oral hygiene device is orientated, a determination is made as to a segment within the individual's mouth that a brush head of the oral hygiene device is located. Upon this determination being made, a sub-segment within the individual's mouth where the brush head is located is also determined. A brushing performance within the sub-segment is calculated and displayed to the user. A level of compliance for the particular segment is determined based on the brushing performance of the various sub-segments within the particular segment. If the level of compliance exceeds a pre-set compliance level for that segment, the individual is guided to a different segment within their mouth for brushing.