Patent ID: 8839476
Filing Date: 2014-09-23
Classification: A46B,A61B,A61C

Abstract:
1. An oral care apparatus comprising: a care member for caring for an oral cavity; an orientation detection unit that detects an orientation of the care member; an area estimation unit that estimates a care area in the oral cavity, based on the detected orientation; a light source that emits light having a predetermined wavelength to which plaque reacts; a photoelectric conversion unit that receives light and converts the received light into an electric signal; an image capture unit that causes the light source to irradiate the care area with light, and that obtains image data, based on the electric signal of light reflected from the care area that is converted by the photoelectric conversion unit; a plaque detection unit that detects an amount of plaque in the care area, based on the image data obtained by the image capture unit; and a storage unit that is configured to store, in a memory, the care area estimated by the area estimation unit and the amount of plaque in the care area detected by the plaque detection unit in association with each other.