I Tried the New Dyson Camera Jet Toothbrush and Flossing System—Here Are My Honest Thoughts

I do not play about my teeth. Ever since my dentist told me a few years ago that if I didn't A) wear a mouthguard at night and B) start flossing in earnest, then I'd be staring down the barrel of expensive and painful tooth caps, I take my oral care routine very seriously. Now, given all the research that connects oral hygiene to your hormones and overall health (not to mention it's wide-ranging impact on your longevity goals) it seems that tooth and mouth care is a permanent fixture in the beauty and wellness space—and brands are starting to take notice. Case in point? Dyson has launched a $499.99 toothbrush, the Camera Jet, which boasts three-in-one functionality with brushing, flossing, and mouthwash dispensing capabilities.

The latest innovation from the home and beauty technology giant has little to do with the trending wave of oral care products; rather, founder James Dyson and his team have been hard at work developing the Camera Jet over the last six years, ever since the 80-year-old (finally) started flossing. "It's difficult and very time consuming, so I just wasn't doing it," he tells Marie Claire exclusively. "So I thought, why can't we floss as you brush?" And while he does note that more advanced flossers have been around for many years, they could never "hit the spot 100 percent" where they needed to. "Above all, you can't find the gap or the right angle of the gap [when using a water flosser]," he explains. "And by the way, the needle jet is not a good jet. We discovered that you need a broad jet to do a good job," which the Dyson design offers to better hit your teeth and remove more plaque and debris.

The Camera Jet is also so-named because it contains a "100k pixel macro lens camera" that allows you to watch the toothbrush get to work inside your mouth, via an accompanying app. The development used (you guessed it) AI to offer this first-to-market camera, specifically "a machine learning system trained on 470,000 dental images collected during development," which helps to better identify the gaps between your teeth and target the spray of mouthwash accordingly. The app also offers tips and personalized feedback on how to better brush your teeth, as well as tracking your overall brushing abilities during each use. And don't worry—Dyson also developed non-foaming toothpaste, in ginger mint or spearmint flavors, so you can get an unobstructed view of your mouth (a measly $11.50 per tube).

As somebody who is extremely interested in the health of her teeth and gums (a tooth on my right side has a bit of receding gum line and I consider it my health enemy number one at the moment) I was eager to give this new gadget a try; however, I am not the most techy-y human being on the planet, especially in my beauty routine. I rarely blow dry my hair (although when I do, I use a Dyson Supersonic R dryer) and I retired my electric toothbrush many years ago in favor of a slimmer, analog option. I also use good old-fashioned string floss (almost) every night. Plus, you know, I'm not the typical consumer to drop $500 on a piece of beauty tech—LED masks are the notable exception. Alas! I gave the Dyson Camera Jet a go for the sake of beauty research.

What Does the Dyson Camera Jet Feel Like?

First and foremost, I was worried about the weight of the toothbrush. Dyson has something of a reputation for debuting slightly bulky tools, especially for V1 launches, but I was pleased to find that the Camera Jet felt much lighter than expected, less than one pound (230 grams to be exact). The soft plastic on the outer packaging also makes it easy to grip, even if you're a sloppy brusher and your hands get wet.

I will note that while there are two ways to fill the anti-gravity chamber with the Dyson mouthwash (which allows you spray evenly no matter how low the liquid levels become), I could only figure out how to fill it from the base of the brush, rather than filling the tank and hitting the refill button—when I tried, I only managed to spray myself with mouthwash, so there's a bit of a learning curve there.

How Does the Dyson Camera Jet Perform?

Now it was time to turn on the Camera Jet and get to work on my teeth. I applied a pea-sized amount of toothpaste to the brush head (it's quite tacky so be aware as you squeeze it out) and pressed the "On" button. The typical whir of an electric toothbrush started up, but the sound of the mouthwash jet was much louder than I expected. High-pitched and closer to an air gun than any toothbrush I've tried before, it at least indicated rather clearly when the AI located a gap in my teeth and sprayed the mouthwash. It's honestly pretty jarring, especially if you're still groggy in the morning, so be aware that your coffee won't be the only thing jolting you awake if you use the Camera Jet.

The best technique with this toothbrush is less about that round-and-round motion you might have learned as a kid and more of a slow and steady line across your teeth. I worked my way from the back of my mouth on the front edge of my teeth, moving forward, and then swapped sides. Then I repeated the motion on the interior part of my teeth.

I'll admit that because the device is repeatedly spraying mouthwash (the average person has 32 teeth, which means you likely have 16 gaps in need of spritzing) I did need to spit every few seconds, but that's pretty typical for the amount of toothpaste I use. I've also traditionally been a rather vigorous brusher, which isn't great for my gums, so this felt like a marked shift from my usual style.

Is the Dyson Camera Jet Worth It?

Listen, I'm not going to lie: $500 for a toothbrush is steep. Did it clean my teeth? Yeah, but so does my $10 Moon toothbrush. Still, when you look at the market for electric toothbrushes from top oral care brands it's not that much higher than your fanciest model, which tends to top out around $400. At least with the Dyson you get the added benefits of a snazzy water flosser and a camera to take a deeper look inside your mouth. Did I use this particular benefit? No, no I did not. It kind of grosses me out to think about analyzing my teeth, gums, and spit that closely—that's for my dental hygienist and dentist to examine, and them alone.

However, if you're having some mouth issues, or you've trying to finally adopt healthier oral care habits, and you have some serious budget to throw around, this could be a nice option for you. Or, you know, if you're into any type of longevity-maxxing habits. But for the casual tooth brusher who sticks to the typical twice a day schedule, flosses at night, swills around some mouthwash on occasion, and doesn't have many hefty dental bills, the Camera Jet might just be a new-age toothbrush to admire on your favorite health influencer's Tik Tok page.

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