Don't just brush, Playbrush | Turn your child's toothbrush into a fun game

I'm sure we can all agree that getting your kids to brush their teeth for a full two minutes, twice per day can be a real chore at times, especially if they have a stubborn nature like Jack does. We have had many a bathroom battle over the years and as brushing your teeth is very important, I won't let it go so we are both left feeling stressed. The people behind Playbrush recognised this all to familiar battle and have designed a fun device that attaches to your existing brush and then connects to a smartphone/tablet via bluetooth to transform your child's brush into a gaming controller. We were sent a Playbrush to review, here's what we thought:-

In the box you will receive a blue or pink (you can choose) controller, a USB charging wire and instruction manual. You need your own smart device (iOS, Android or Amazon Kindle Fire) and your own toothbrush. The device takes just one minute to charge and should require charging every 3-4 weeks so it doesn't require the same upkeep as an electric toothbrush for instance - charging time is an absolute minimum.

It states clearly on the front of the Playbrush box 'Turns any manual toothbrush into a game controller'.

However all three of my children's brushes didn't fit due to their larger bases/characters. It also won't fit electric toothbrushes (but this is made clear). We are just a regular household and I'm sure many children own these types of toothbrushes so I do think the front of the box is misleading.

So Jack tried out Playbrush with one of our spare toothbrushes. Any regular toothbrush with an end like the one below will work.

We downloaded the Playbrush App (for free) from itunes and it was super simple to set up - simply choose a character and enter your name and you're all set. You then give your brush a little shake to activate (indicated by the flashing orange light), ensure your device has bluetooth switched on and then hit connect. It's honestly not technical at all and after a couple of practices, my 5 year old could do all of this himself.

You can download/play multiple games for free AND you can set up multiple profiles so Playbrush is especially very good value if you are a larger family. The games are fun and engaging. In this example, Jack had to brush his teeth in certain ways to shoot lasers and kill the gremlins moving around on the screen.

The game really held his attention and there is a 2 minute countdown timer in the corner which seems to go down in no time - I guess the saying is true, time flies when you're having fun!

Jack found it tricky at first but soon found the right technique and was shooting gremlins left, right and centre (whilst brushing his teeth of course).

What I wasn't expecting was that when you are finished, you are given a score and the app shows where your child brushed in their mouth and where they need more work. Now this was Jack's first time and I have to say his overall performance was pretty poor - I have used this data though to encourage Jack to focus more on the parts of his mouth that he misses. It's really helpful to have this and there has definitely been an improvement in his scores even in the space of the week we've been using Playbrush which is ecouraging to see.

If your children are competitive (as my three are), you can also see a leaderboard and how you compare to other children across the country - my three would love to see their name on there so this is all extra incentive.

Reasons we liked Playbrush:

*Very easy to use
*Works with a wide variety of smart phones/tablets
*Once you have purchased Playbrush, there is no subscription fee and all games are free
*It actually works and encouraged Jack to brush his teeth for a full 2 minutes morning and night
*It was fun
*I loved the detailed report showing where your child needs to brush more
*Minimal charging is required & does not require batteries

How Playbrush could improve:

*Playbrush is currently on sale for £19. The RRP is £39 which I think if you only have one child is far too expensive. Personally, I think £10-£12 would be a good price point, however it is still good value at £19 if you have 3 children like I do and can get three times the use out of the device.

*I don't agree with the claim on the front of the box that the device fits all manual toothbrushes

*I'm not keen on my iPad being in the bathroom alongside children and water! I would recommend a holder and adult supervision

Overall, I was really impressed with Playbrush. You can buy your own Playbrush and find out more here.

Intrigued to find out more? Check out this video and watch Playbrush in action:

Disclosure: Collaborative Post