Sir, I would like to describe a potentially novel use of a selfie stick as a toothbrush handle in patients with physical disability.

A 41-year-old woman presented with the chief complaints of halitosis, toothache and recurrent dental infections. Her medical history was significant for rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis; both conditions caused her profound physical disability with very limited mobility of all limbs and neck. She was totally dependent on her younger sister who took care of her feeding, personal hygiene, and other needs. Oral examination revealed a very limited mouth opening (less than 10 mm inter-incisal distance), multiple carious and unrestorable teeth, chronic gingivitis, and poor oral hygiene with excessive plaque accumulation. Apparently, the patient was unable to use her hands to brush her teeth, and her sister, who took care of everything else, could not help with tooth brushing. Unrestorable teeth were extracted and scaling was performed to remove plaque and food debris. The patient was scheduled for restorative treatment and periodontal maintenance therapy.

To help the patient take care of her oral hygiene, a conventional selfie stick was adjusted to act as a handle for an electric toothbrush. The distance between the patient's hands and mouth was measured to adjust the length of the selfie stick handle. The phone holder part of the selfie stick was filled with a rubber-based impression material, and the toothbrush was placed in it for an impression of the handle. After setting, the phone holder was unscrewed from the selfie stick and a plaster mould was made to replace the rubber impression with acrylic. The electric toothbrush was locked in the adjusted phone holder, and the power button of the selfie stick was connected to the toothbrush, using an electric wire. The patient was educated on how to use the modified toothbrush to which she adapted well and felt satisfied at being independent in tooth brushing (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1
figure 1

The adapted selfie stick toothbrush for a patient with complex needs

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