A new solar-powered brush designed by Canadian dentistry professors works without paste, using electrons instead. Brushes like this just might make paste a thing of the past.
Kunio Komiyama and Gerry Uswak, dentistry professor emeritus and dean of the University of Saskatchewan College of Dentistry respectively, worked with Japanese manufacturer Shiken to create a prototype for a special toothbrush. The brush, which they're calling the Soladey-J3X, has a small solar panel and titanium dioxide rod embedded inside. As TreeHugger's Jaime Heimbuch explains, when a small amount of light hits the brush, the base transmits electrons to the bristles. Those electrons react with acid inside the mouth, causing plaque to break down. The brush also kills two types of bacteria responsible for periodontal disease.
Currently the dentistry professors are planning to test the brush on 120 teenagers to see how they'll find it compared to a normal brush. Fickle teens sound like the perfect test group, although I wish anyone could try it out. No word on whitening capabilities yet, which I'm sure it will need if these guys want their brush to compete head-on with paste. Wonder what we'll do without minty flavor, too
Kunio Komiyama and Gerry Uswak, dentistry professor emeritus and dean of the University of Saskatchewan College of Dentistry respectively, worked with Japanese manufacturer Shiken to create a prototype for a special toothbrush. The brush, which they're calling the Soladey-J3X, has a small solar panel and titanium dioxide rod embedded inside. As TreeHugger's Jaime Heimbuch explains, when a small amount of light hits the brush, the base transmits electrons to the bristles. Those electrons react with acid inside the mouth, causing plaque to break down. The brush also kills two types of bacteria responsible for periodontal disease.
Currently the dentistry professors are planning to test the brush on 120 teenagers to see how they'll find it compared to a normal brush. Fickle teens sound like the perfect test group, although I wish anyone could try it out. No word on whitening capabilities yet, which I'm sure it will need if these guys want their brush to compete head-on with paste. Wonder what we'll do without minty flavor, too
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