Smart toothbrushes have been around for a few years now, but they haven't quite caught on. Sure, they promise better habits via connected sensors, but they also tend to be very expensive ($100 and up). Colgate, however, has come up with a potential alternative. Called "hum by Colgate," it's a smart toothbrush that's more affordable. The rechargeable model is $69.99, while the one with replaceable batteries is only $49.99, which isn't that much more than a non-smart electric toothbrush.

By now, everyone who is familiar with artificial intelligence knows its immense applications in healthcare. Making its way through one's body, AI has now reached the human being's mouth. AI already demands a certain amount of data to work better. Now, apart from data like fingerprints, retina scans or X-rays the AI will now have the chance to look at your teeth and everything inside your mouth using the smart toothbrush. This AI-based system will let the user know that there is something stuck in between their teeth, by telling the user that they missed a spot.

Once you indicate which hand you brush with, the app invites you to use its "smart brushing analyzer," which taps artificial intelligence to map your mouth and give feedback on how long you've brushed and which spots you've missed. The E1's vibrating bristles were more comfortable than those of most electric toothbrushes I've tried, but on my first run I earned a scolding. It seems I only brushed for 79 seconds, rather than the recommended two-minute minimum, and skipped five teeth entirely. On later brushes, a pushy in-app coach painstakingly guided me through scrubbing both sides of the teeth in every corner of my mouth. The coach offers an illustrated view of your teeth, tracking each section as you brush and warning if you go astray. The biggest challenge was figuring out exactly where to prop my phone; I needed to see it clearly but not risk drooling on it (as I learned the hard way) or accidentally elbowing it into the toilet.