Personal care products and methods

Abstract

In one embodiment, an oral-care system is provided. The oral-care system includes an electric toothbrush having a motor, a power source in electrical communication with the motor, and a bristle holder operatively connected to the motor. A display is in data communication with the electric toothbrush.

1 . A oral-care system, comprising: 
 an electric toothbrush; and    a display in data communication with the electric toothbrush, wherein the display is structured to display information associated with a plurality of functional characteristics of the electric toothbrush and information associated with a plurality of characteristics of an oral-care regimen, wherein the display is separate from the electric toothbrush.    
   
   
       2 . The oral-care system of  claim 1 , wherein the electric toothbrush comprises a motor, a power source in electrical communication with the motor, and a bristle holder operatively connected to the motor.  
   
   
       3 . The oral-care system of  claim 1 , wherein the data communication is continuous during a brushing cycle.  
   
   
       4 . The oral-care system of  claim 1 , wherein the data communication is intermittent during a brushing cycle.  
   
   
       5 . The oral-care system of  claim 1 , wherein the information associated with the plurality of functions is displayed simultaneously.  
   
   
       6 . The oral-care system of  claim 1 , wherein the visual information is selected from the group consisting of icons, graphics, text, numerals, video, and images.  
   
   
       7 . The oral-care system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of functional characteristics are selected from the group consisting of brush-head speed, the type of cleaning elements, brush-head pressure, and power-source status, and combinations thereof.  
   
   
       8 . The oral-care system of  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of oral-care products, wherein the plurality of oral-care products can transmit data to the oral-care system.  
   
   
       9 . The oral-care system of  claim 8 , wherein the plurality of oral-care products comprises at least one electric toothbrush.  
   
   
       10 . The oral-care system of  claim 8 , wherein the plurality of oral-care products comprises at least one manual toothbrush.  
   
   
       11 . The oral-care system of  claim 8 , wherein the plurality of oral-care products is selected from the group consisting of at least one packaged dentifrice product, at least one packaged rinse product, and any combination thereof.  
   
   
       12 . The oral-care system of  claim 1 , wherein the timer is structured to be activated when the electric toothbrush is being removed from a base.  
   
   
       13 . The oral-care system of  claim 1 , wherein the timer is structured to be activated when the electric toothbrush is being energized.  
   
   
       14 . The oral-care system of  claim 1 , wherein the display is structured to be slideably received within a mounting structure for mounting the display to a hard surface.  
   
   
       15 . The oral-care system of  claim 1 , wherein the display comprises a plurality of light sources for illuminating an oral cavity.  
   
   
       16 . The oral-care system of  claim 1 , wherein the display comprises a night light.  
   
   
       17 . The oral-care system of  claim 1 , wherein the display is structured to display a reward after the timer has expired.  
   
   
       18 . The oral-care system of  claim 1 , wherein the display is structured to display visual information associated with four quadrants of an oral cavity.  
   
   
       19 . An oral-care system, comprising: 
 a plurality of oral-care products; and    a display capable of data communication with each of the plurality of oral-care products, wherein the display is structured to display information associated with one or more functional characteristics associated with each of the plurality of oral-care products.    
   
   
       20 . A personal-care system, comprising: 
 a plurality of personal-care products; and    a display in data communication with the plurality of personal-care products, wherein the display is structured to display information associated with at least one functional characteristic associated with at least one of the plurality of personal-care products.    
   
   
       21 . A display for use with a personal-care product, comprising: 
 a screen; and    at least one light source for illuminating an oral cavity, wherein the display is structured to communicate data with the personal-care product.    
   
   
       22 . An oral-care device for illuminating an oral cavity, comprising: 
 a mirror; and    at least one light source structured to emit light having a wavelength between about 400 nm and about 800 nm.    
   
   
       23 . An oral-care system, comprising: 
 a packaged oral-care product having an RFID tag; and    a display structured to communicate data with the RFID tag.    
   
   
       24 . A kit, comprising: 
 a plurality of personal-care products; and    a display structured to communicate data with at least some of the plurality of personal-care products.    
   
   
       25 . An oral-care system, comprising 
 a display;    a first oral-care product having a first data transmitter and data associated with a first reward that can be displayed on the display; and    a second oral-care product having a second data transmitter and data associated with a second reward that can be displayed on the display,    wherein the display is structured to communicate data with the first data transmitter and the second data transmitter.    
   
   
       26 . The oral-care system of  claim 25 , wherein the first and second data transmitters are of the same type.  
   
   
       27 . The oral-care system of  claim 25 , wherein at least one of the first data transmitter and the second data transmitter comprises a bar code.  
   
   
       28 . An oral-care product, comprising: 
 a package;    a product for use in an oral cavity; and    a data transmitter structured to transmit data associated with a reward that can be displayed on a display.    
   
   
       29 . The oral-care product of  claim 28 , wherein the data transmitter is associated with the package.  
   
   
       29 . An oral-care system, comprising: 
 an electric toothbrush;    a data reader associated with the electric toothbrush; and    at least one oral-care product comprising a data transmitter, wherein the data reader and the data transmitter are structured to communicate data.    
   
   
       30 . The oral-care system of  claim 29 , wherein the at least one oral-care product is selected from the group consisting of a dentifrice product, a floss product, a rinse product, a tooth-whitening product, a denture product, and any combination thereof.  
   
   
       31 . The oral-care system of  claim 29 , wherein the data reader comprises a hall-effect sensor and the data transmitter comprises a magnet.  
   
   
       32 . The oral-care system of  claim 29 , wherein the data transmitter comprises a RFID tag.  
   
   
       33 . The oral-care system of  claim 29 , wherein the data reader is structured to transmit the data from the data transmitter to at least one processor.  
   
   
       34 . The oral-care system of  claim 29 , wherein the electric toothbrush further comprises at least one processor.  
   
   
       35 . The oral-care system of  claim 34 , wherein the at least one processor is structured to process the data communicated by the data transmitter to the data reader.  
   
   
       36 . The oral-care system of  claim 34 , wherein a characteristic of the electric toothbrush is at least partially determined through the data processed by the at least one processor.  
   
   
       37 . The oral-care system of  claim 36 , wherein the characteristic is a frequency of a toothbrush head.  
   
   
       38 . The oral-care system of  claim 36 , wherein the characteristic is a speed of a toothbrush head.  
   
   
       39 . The oral-care system of  claim 36 , wherein the characteristic is a position of a bristle field of a toothbrush head.  
   
   
       40 . The oral-care system of  claim 36 , wherein the characteristic is a pressure-sensor limit.  
   
   
       41 . The oral-care system of  claim 36 , wherein the characteristic is a timer limit.  
   
   
       42 . The oral-care system of  claim 36 , wherein the at least one processor is structured to determine a value of the characteristic at least in part from the data transmitted by the data transmitter to the data reader.  
   
   
       43 . An oral-care system, comprising: 
 an electric toothbrush;    at least one processor; and    an interactive display in data communication with the electric toothbrush, wherein the interactive display is structured to display at least one question selectable by a user.    
   
   
       44 . The oral-care system of  claim 43 , wherein the interactive display is structured to display at least one user-selectable answer to the at least one question selected by a user.  
   
   
       45 . The oral-care system of  claim 44 , wherein a characteristic of the electric toothbrush is determined at least in part by the at least one processor processing the at least one answer.  
   
   
       46 . The oral-care system of  claim 45 , wherein a characteristic of an oral-care regimen is determined at least in part by the at least one processor processing the at least answer.  
   
   
       47 . The oral-care system of  claim 46 , wherein the characteristic of the oral-care regimen is a length of time for the oral-care regimen.  
   
   
       48 . The oral-care system of  claim 46 , wherein the characteristic of the oral-care regimen comprises steps of the oral-care regimen.  
   
   
       49 . The oral-care system of  claim 46 , wherein the characteristic of the oral-care regimen comprises products used in the oral-care regimen.  
   
   
       50 . The oral-care system of  claim 46 , wherein the characteristic of the oral-care regimen comprises a reward.  
   
   
       51 . The oral-care system of  claim 50 , wherein the reward comprises a coupon.  
   
   
       52 . The oral-care system of  claim 42 , wherein the at least one processor is located in a handle of the electric toothbrush.  
   
   
       53 . The oral-care system of  claim 43 , wherein the at least one answer is selected by a button.  
   
   
       54 . The oral-care system of  claim 43 , wherein the display comprises a touch-screen and the at least one answer is selected by touching the screen.  
   
   
       55 . An oral-care system, comprising: 
 at least one manual toothbrush having a data communicator; and    at least one display structured to communicate data with the data communicator.    
   
   
       56 . The oral-care system of  claim 1 , wherein the display is structured to display visual information associated with at least two segments of an oral cavity.  
   
   
       57 . The oral-care system of  claim 1 , wherein the display is structured to display visual information associated with six segments of an oral cavity.  
   
   
       58 . An oral-care system, comprising 
 a display;    at least a first oral-care product; and    at least a first data transmitter associated with the at least a first oral-care product and structured to transmit data associated with at least a first reward displayable on the display, wherein the display is structured to communicate data with the at least a first data transmitter, and wherein the at least the first data transmitter is selected from the group consisting of a bar code, a magnetic device, an electromagnetic device, an optical device, and any combination thereof.    
   
   
       59 . The oral-care system of  claim 58 , wherein the at least a first oral-care product comprises a plurality of oral-care products selected from the group consisting of a manual toothbrush, an electric toothbrushes, a tooth paste, a mouth rinse, a floss, and any combination thereof.