Did you know that Millennials spend an hour each week taking a selfie. Furthermore, research shows that selfies make up 30% of the photos and videos we take of ourselves.
If this sounds like a negative, self-indulgent, and narcissist statistic — there is some good news. Research also shows that recording smart phone video selfie of ourselves tooth brushing can actually HELP people learn to improve their oral health care techniques.
In a fascinating new study, people filmed their tooth brushing at home by propping their smart phones up on stands. After analyzing the videos, researchers saw an:
- increase in the accuracy of brush strokes
- an increase in number of strokes
- an 8% improvement in tooth-brushing skill
“Often, tooth-brushing is learned and practiced without proper supervision,” said Lance T. Vernon, a senior instructor at the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine and co-author of the study. “Changing tooth brushing behaviors — which are ingrained habits tied to muscle memory — can take a lot of time and guidance.”
“Our study suggests that, in the future, recording these selfies can help shift some of this time investment in improving brushing to technology,” added Vernon. “Patients can then receive feedback from dental professionals.”
While the act of taking selfies have become ingrained in our daily habits, it’s ironic that recording a selfie while tooth brushing actually DISRUPTS our ingrained oral health habits. This is a good thing, of course, because it makes us “aware” of our brushing.
The results of this small pilot study, published in the Indian Journal of Dental Research, also reinforce the budding importance of selfie usage in the dental setting. Video and picture selfies are increasingly used in medical fields to assess, monitor and determine the progression of diseases and effectiveness of treatment.
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