Brushy Toothy
Gamified Learning App for Children's Dental Hygiene
Brushy Toothy is a gamified mobile learning experience designed to help young children develop consistent tooth-brushing habits through visual instruction, timed activities, and reward-based progression. The project combines UX design, gamification, and instructional design principles to transform daily routines into engaging learning experiences.
Built in Adobe XD
Built in Articulate Rise 360
The Problem
Establishing healthy dental habits early in childhood is critical for long-term oral health, yet many children struggle to consistently brush their teeth effectively. Dental professionals recommend brushing twice daily for two minutes, but for young children this task can feel repetitive, boring, or difficult to sustain.
Caregivers often face several common challenges when encouraging children to brush:
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Children rush through brushing and stop before reaching the recommended two-minute duration.
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Young learners lose focus quickly, making it difficult to complete the full brushing routine.
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Daily hygiene tasks are often perceived as chores rather than engaging activities, leading to resistance or avoidance.
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Many children do not fully understand proper brushing technique, such as brushing all tooth surfaces or using gentle circular motions.
Traditional methods of teaching dental hygiene—such as verbal instruction from caregivers or occasional demonstrations at dental visits—are often passive and short-lived learning experiences. Without reinforcement, children may struggle to retain proper brushing techniques or build consistent daily habits.
For early learners, motivation and engagement play a significant role in whether new behaviors are adopted. Children in the 4–8 age range typically learn best through visual instruction, play-based experiences, and immediate feedback. When learning experiences feel interactive and rewarding, children are more likely to remain engaged and repeat the behavior.
This project explores how interactive design, gamification, and visual storytelling can transform tooth brushing from a routine task into a playful learning experience. By integrating instructional content, a brushing timer, and a reward-based progression system, the Brushy Toothy concept aims to encourage children to practice proper brushing techniques while developing a consistent daily habit.
The goal of the design is not only to teach children how to brush, but also to support habit formation through positive reinforcement, guided practice, and engaging feedback mechanisms.
The Brushy Toothy experience was designed for young children who are learning to brush their teeth independently while still receiving guidance from caregivers.
Audience & Learners
Primary Learners
Children ages 4–8 years old
At this stage of development, children are beginning to take ownership of daily routines but still benefit from visual guidance, repetition, and playful motivation.
Key learner characteristics include:
• Short attention spans
Young children may struggle to stay focused during the recommended two-minute brushing duration.
• Learning through play
Interactive experiences, characters, and rewards help maintain engagement.
• Visual learning preferences
Animated demonstrations and simple visual cues help children understand brushing techniques more effectively than verbal instruction alone.
• Developing independence
Children are beginning to complete hygiene tasks on their own but still benefit from guided support.
Because of these factors, learning experiences for this age group must be simple, visual, and rewarding in order to maintain engagement.
Secondary Learners
While the primary users are children, caregivers also play an important role in the learning experience.
Parents and caregivers often:
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introduce the app to the child
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guide early brushing sessions
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reinforce brushing routines
The design therefore supports shared interaction, allowing caregivers to help children start the brushing timer or watch the instructional video together.
Before designing the experience, clear learning objectives were defined to guide the instructional strategy and
user experience design. These objectives focus on helping children not only understand proper brushing techniques,
but also build consistent daily habits.
By the end of the Brushy Toothy learning experience, children will be able to:
1. Brush for the Recommended Duration
Children will complete the full two-minute brushing cycle, using the app’s timer as a guide.
2. Demonstrate Proper Brushing Technique
After watching the instructional video, children will be able to identify and imitate proper brushing motions, including brushing the front, back, and chewing surfaces of their teeth.
3. Build a Daily Brushing Habit
Through repeated interaction with the brushing timer and reward system, children will begin to associate brushing with a consistent morning and bedtime routine.
4. Stay Engaged During the Brushing Process
Gamified elements such as star rewards, character unlocking, and progress tracking help children remain engaged throughout the brushing activity.
These objectives guided the design of each feature within the learning experience,
ensuring that the interface supports both instruction and habit formation.
The Brushy Toothy experience uses a gamified microlearning strategy designed to support young learners with short attention spans and visual learning preferences.
Rather than presenting large amounts of information at once, the experience breaks learning into small interactive steps that reinforce brushing behavior through practice and rewards.
The instructional strategy combines several key learning approaches:
Visual Demonstration
Children watch a short animated demonstration showing proper brushing technique. This supports observational learning, allowing children to imitate the behavior they see.
Guided Practice
The two-minute brushing timer guides children through the recommended brushing duration, helping them stay focused while completing the task.
Immediate Feedback
When a brushing session is completed, children receive visual rewards such as stars and egg-cracking animations, reinforcing positive behavior.
Gamified Motivation
Children collect stars and progress along a journey map, unlocking new dinosaur characters. This reward system encourages repeat engagement and habit formation.
Together, these strategies transform tooth brushing from a routine task into a
playful learning experience that supports repetition and behavior change.
To support both instruction and engagement, the user experience was designed as a simple sequence of actions that children can easily follow.
The flow guides learners from instruction to practice to reward, reinforcing the brushing habit each time the experience is used.
Step 1 — Watch the How-To Video
Children begin by watching a short animated video demonstrating proper brushing technique.
Step 2 — Start the Brushing Timer
After learning the technique, children begin the two-minute brushing timer, which visually guides them through the brushing session.
Step 3 — Complete the Brushing Session
As the timer runs, animated elements keep children engaged while they brush.
Step 4 — Earn a Star Reward
Once the timer is completed, children earn a star and receive positive visual feedback.
Step 5 — Progress on the Journey Map
Collected stars move the child along the adventure map, unlocking dinosaur eggs and new characters.
This loop encourages children to return to the experience each day and continue progressing.
The following screens demonstrate key moments within the Brushy Toothy learning experience.
Each interface was designed to support both the instructional objectives and usability needs of young learners.
Because the primary audience includes children ages 4–8, the interface prioritizes:
• simple navigation
• large touch targets
• minimal reading requirements
• visual guidance through characters and animation
These design decisions help children stay focused on the brushing activity
while making the experience intuitive and engaging.
Click through the gallery to learn more about the Instructional Design Rational and the UX Design Considerations for each screen.
Several consistent design principles guided the development of the Brushy Toothy interface:
Visual Learning
Animated characters and demonstrations help children understand brushing technique without relying heavily on text.
Gamification
Stars, eggs, and unlockable characters provide motivation and encourage repeated participation.
Simplicity
The interface limits complexity to ensure that children can navigate the experience independently.
Positive Reinforcement
Celebratory feedback encourages children to continue brushing regularly.
Because Brushy Toothy focuses on building healthy brushing habits, learning success is measured through behavioral engagement rather than traditional quizzes or tests. The goal of the experience is not only to teach brushing technique, but to encourage children to consistently practice the behavior over time.
The following indicators can help measure whether the learning objectives are being met.
Brushing Session Completion
The brushing timer tracks whether children complete the full two-minute brushing cycle.
Completing the timer indicates that the learner has successfully practiced the recommended brushing duration.
Tracking timer completion helps determine:
• whether children remain engaged for the full brushing session
• whether the timer successfully reinforces the recommended brushing length
Star Rewards Earned
Each completed brushing session awards a star, which contributes to the child’s progression along the journey map.
The number of stars earned can provide insight into:
• how often children are brushing
• whether the reward system motivates repeated engagement
Consistent star collection suggests that children are repeating the brushing routine regularly.
Progression on the Journey Map
As children earn stars, they move along the adventure path and unlock dinosaur characters.
Tracking journey progression can help measure:
• long-term engagement with the learning experience
• sustained brushing habits over time
Because unlocking new characters requires multiple brushing sessions, the system encourages habit formation through repeated interaction.
Parent Observation and Reinforcement
Caregivers can also play an important role in evaluating learning outcomes.
Parents may observe whether their child:
• brushes for the full two-minute duration
• demonstrates proper brushing technique
• independently initiates the brushing routine
These observations provide valuable feedback about whether the learning experience supports real-world habit formation.
Brushy Toothy was designed to explore how instructional design principles, gamification, and visual storytelling can be combined to support habit formation in young learners. Through this project, I examined how everyday routines—such as brushing teeth—can become opportunities for learning when paired with engaging interaction design and clear instructional guidance.
One of the most important insights from this project was the value of simplicity when designing for children. Young learners benefit from interfaces that minimize cognitive load, rely heavily on visual cues, and guide users through clear sequential steps. By keeping the experience simple and predictable, the design allows children to focus on the behavior being practiced rather than navigating complex controls.
Another key takeaway was the role of gamification in reinforcing positive behaviors. Elements such as star rewards, egg hatching animations, and character progression were intentionally designed to create small moments of excitement that motivate children to continue brushing consistently over time.
The project also highlighted how instructional design and user experience design naturally complement one another. While instructional design focuses on defining learning goals and guiding behavior change, UX design ensures that the interface makes those learning moments intuitive and engaging.
Although this project began as a concept, it demonstrates how digital tools can support real-world habit formation in a playful and meaningful way. Future iterations of the experience could expand on this foundation by incorporating additional learning activities, caregiver dashboards, or personalized progress tracking.
Ultimately, Brushy Toothy reflects my interest in designing learning experiences that blend education, interaction, and storytelling to make everyday learning moments more engaging for young users.