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Brush up

The XR School › Biology › Brush Up VR
$0.99 Games That Work One minute brushing game PC VR • SteamVR
Released 1 February 2017 for Children's Dental Health Month • Concept by a family dentist

Brush Up VR

A tiny VR game about brushing teeth properly. Grab a giant toothbrush, scrub a friendly monster's dirty teeth before the music runs out, and see at the end which surfaces you missed. Simple and short, but it makes a memorable point about the inside surfaces most people forget.

Developer: Games That Work
Price: $0.99 (US)
Platform: PC VR via SteamVR
Subject: Health education • Science
4.8
/10
XR School Score
Niche
Clear health message • Friendly cartoon style • Shows missed areas • About a minute per round • PC VR only • Very simple
$0.99 • Steam Short, family friendly
Overview

Brush Up VR is a small virtual reality game from the studio Games That Work, released on Steam on 1 February 2017 to coincide with National Children's Dental Health Month in the United States. Its concept came from a family dentist, Dr Bob Jacobson, who wanted children to understand that brushing only what you can see in the mirror leaves much of the mouth dirty.

In the game you stand in a cartoon bathroom, pick up a giant toothbrush with your controller and brush the dirty teeth of a friendly monster. Music speeds up as time runs out, and at the end the game shows the dirt that is left, especially on the inside surfaces of the teeth, and gives a rating from zero to five stars. Each round lasts about a minute. The reviewer at The Ghost Howls liked the idea and the friendly graphics but found it too short and simple to hold attention for long.

The Surfaces You Miss The best moment in Brush Up VR is the end of each round, when the game reveals the plaque still left on the inner surfaces of the teeth. It turns a familiar health message into something students see for themselves, and it is easy to link to real advice on brushing for two minutes and reaching every surface.
How It Works
🪥
Grab the brush
Pick up a giant toothbrush in a cartoon bathroom.
👾
Brush
Scrub a monster's dirty teeth with up and down movements.
⏱️
Beat the clock
The music speeds up as time runs out.
⭐
See the results
Find the dirt you missed and get up to five stars.
A Note on Age Brush Up VR is aimed at children, but most headset makers set a minimum age for using their devices, commonly 10 or more depending on the headset, and earlier guidance suggested 13. Check your headset's age guidance before using it with younger pupils. The game also needs a PC capable of running SteamVR.
Classroom Value
Health message
7.0
Engagement
5.5
Curriculum links
5.0
Ease of setup
4.5
Depth and replay value
2.5
Strengths and Limitations
Strengths
  • Clear, practical health message
  • Concept from a practising dentist
  • Shows exactly which areas were missed
  • Friendly, cartoon style
  • Very cheap
Considerations
  • Each round lasts about a minute
  • Repetitive after a few goes
  • PC VR only
  • Aimed at children, but headset age limits apply
  • Tagged as Early Access on Steam
For Teachers: A Quick Starter on Oral Health Use one round as a hook for a lesson on teeth and oral hygiene in KS2 science or PSHE, or on the role of bacteria and plaque. Ask the class to predict which surfaces will be missed, then compare with the real NHS advice on brushing. Keep it short; the game is a talking point rather than a full activity.
$0.99
PC VR via SteamVR
Get on Steam → More biology apps →
Quick Facts
Developer
Games That Work
Release
1 February 2017
Price
$0.99 (US)
Platform
SteamVR
Round length
About 1 minute
Scoring
0 to 5 stars
Concept
Dr Bob Jacobson, family dentist
Verdict
Brush Up VR makes one good point very well: most of us miss the inside surfaces of our teeth. As a game it is tiny and repetitive, and it needs PC VR and a check on headset age guidance. Treat it as a quick, cheap discussion starter for oral health rather than a learning resource in its own right.

Gareth Griffiths

Gareth Griffiths is a scientist and the founder of World of Teaching, a free library of over 1,000 teacher made PowerPoints. He set up The XR School to help teachers, schools and parents find virtual and augmented reality apps that genuinely help young people learn, and to give an honest view of what each app teaches, which headsets it needs and what it costs.