Brushing your teeth can feel like a job you have already mastered. You move the brush around your mouth for a few minutes, rinse, and get on with your day.
But there is one problem you cannot easily see while doing it: the spaces between your teeth.
Those narrow gaps can collect plaque and food debris, yet a conventional toothbrush cannot always reach them effectively. That is why dentists recommend cleaning between the teeth separately, usually with floss or an interdental brush.
Dyson is now taking a very different approach. Its new CameraJet toothbrush puts a tiny camera inside the brush head and uses artificial intelligence to identify the spaces between teeth as a person brushes. The device can then direct a jet of mouthrinse towards those areas.
The result is a toothbrush that does more than clean. It attempts to show people what they are missing while they are still brushing.
A Camera Inside The Brush Head
The CameraJet's unusual feature is its built-in macro camera, which Dyson says captures 100,000 pixels and records 28 images per second.
As the brush moves around the mouth, the system analyses the images and maps the position of the teeth. It can identify gaps between them and activate a targeted mouthrinse jet when it detects one. The live view can also be displayed through the MyDyson app.
That means users can watch areas of their mouth that would normally be difficult to see, even in a bathroom mirror.
The idea is particularly relevant to interdental cleaning, because the spaces between teeth are easy to overlook. Plaque is a sticky film of bacteria that constantly forms on teeth. If it remains in place, it can contribute to tooth decay and gum disease.
Cleaning between the teeth helps remove buildup from areas that brushing alone may miss.
Why Cleaning Between Teeth Is So Difficult
The front and outer surfaces of teeth are relatively straightforward to brush. The narrow spaces separating neighboring teeth are another matter.
Depending on the size and shape of those spaces, people may need floss, interdental brushes or another type of cleaner to remove plaque effectively. The American Dental Association recommends cleaning between teeth once a day as part of routine oral care.
The CameraJet does not make those spaces physically wider or turn brushing into flossing. Instead, Dyson is trying to solve a different part of the problem: knowing where attention is needed.
That distinction is important. Someone may spend the recommended amount of time brushing and still repeatedly miss the same areas without realizing it.
The camera gives the device information that an ordinary toothbrush does not have.
What The AI Actually Does
The artificial intelligence is not diagnosing cavities or telling users that they have gum disease.
Its job is much narrower. It analyses what the camera sees and helps the toothbrush determine where the teeth and interdental gaps are during brushing.
When the system identifies a gap, the device can send a controlled stream of mouthrinse towards it. Dyson says the jet is designed to reach between the teeth while the brush handles the tooth surfaces.
That creates a feedback loop that conventional brushing lacks. The device sees where it is, identifies an area that needs attention, and responds while the user is still cleaning.
Whether that changes long-term oral health is a different question.
Does It Remove More Plaque?
Dyson says the CameraJet removed up to 69% more plaque from hard-to-reach areas than leading premium electric toothbrushes in its testing.
That figure comes from the company, however, so it should not be treated as independent evidence that the toothbrush will prevent cavities or gum disease better than standard dental care.
Plaque removal is also only one part of oral health. Once plaque hardens into tartar, or calculus, brushing cannot simply remove it. Professional dental cleaning may be needed.
The same basic advice from dental organizations still applies: brush twice a day with fluoride toothpaste and clean between the teeth regularly.
In that sense, the CameraJet is not replacing established oral hygiene. It is adding technology to a routine dentists have recommended for decades.
Could Seeing Your Missed Spots Change How You Brush?
That may ultimately be the more interesting part of the invention.
Most people have little immediate feedback about their brushing. They cannot easily tell whether they spent enough time on their back teeth, whether they consistently miss one side of the mouth, or whether they are neglecting the spaces between certain teeth.
The CameraJet attempts to make those blind spots visible.
For someone who already brushes carefully and cleans between their teeth every day, a camera-equipped toothbrush may offer little additional benefit. For someone who routinely misses particular areas, being able to see those spots could make the problem much harder to ignore.
The technology also raises a broader question about how much information people actually need to maintain good health. A toothbrush has traditionally been a remarkably simple device. Dyson is turning it into something closer to a small imaging and feedback system.
At £419.99 in the UK, the CameraJet is also far from an ordinary toothbrush.
Whether that price is justified will depend on something Dyson's demonstrations cannot yet fully answer: whether seeing inside your mouth actually leads to healthier habits and better dental outcomes over time.
