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Team of Dentists Create "The Six-Second Toothbrush" 98
dryriver writes "A team of dentists has created a toothbrush they say can clean teeth thoroughly in less than six seconds. Manufacturer Blizzident uses the same scans dentists use to fit braces and an extremely precise 3D printer to create a brush for each individual customer. Each brush contains about 400 soft bristles and requires the wearer to grind their teeth in order to clean. Its makers say it eliminates brushing errors that people typically make, but experts say more research is needed. The technology comes at a price — a customer's first brush, which will last for a year, costs 299 euros ($405; £250). Subsequent brushes are cheaper, and old ones can be reconditioned for less than 100 euros, the company says. 'Because you are brushing all your teeth at the same time, you are brushing extremely quickly,' the company says. 'You brush all the difficult-to-reach and interdental regions without even having to think about it.'"
SkyMall (Score:3)
I predict that this item will show up very shortly for around $100 in SkyMall magazine...
Re:SkyMall (Score:4, Funny)
after a year, you can flip your old brushes on craigslist...
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http://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/exchange/eurofxref/html/eurofxref-graph-usd.en.html [europa.eu]
The euro started at about $1.17, in 1999. It's now about $1.35. The highest value was close to $1.60, just before the 2008 crash.
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http://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/exchange/eurofxref/html/eurofxref-graph-usd.en.html [europa.eu]
The euro started at about $1.17, in 1999. It's now about $1.35. The highest value was close to $1.60, just before the 2008 crash.
that high of $1.60 was due to Khadaffi trading his oil in euros..... ;)
It is going to take a while until some science is (Score:2)
done to determine whether this type of brush is effective, or more specifically, whether it is MORE effective than brushing with a standard manual or electric brush. At that price, it better be MORE effective.
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It doesn't necessarily have to be more effective. If it's equally effective there are probably a number of people who will buy it just because it's interesting and saves them maybe one minute of time every day.
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9 day week? not sure if trolling, or just dumb....
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What, do you just brush once a day?
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I would have added more features (Score:2)
You just have to pop the device in, let it run for 10-30 seconds, and your teeth are clean, and it could even floss for you.
Guess that will be next year's model . . .
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You just have to pop the device in, let it run for 10-30 seconds,
Yeah, that'll be so awesome when the next model takes FIVE TIMES AS LONG!!1!
Re:I would have added more features (Score:4, Insightful)
You just have to pop the device in, let it run for 10-30 seconds, and your teeth are clean, and it could even floss for you.
That doesn't really sound better than something that you use for 4-24 seconds less, doesn't have any moving parts, and doesn't require a power source. The device from TFA already reaches the interstices of your teeth, so it should have the same effects as flossing anyhow.
Re:I would have added more features (Score:5, Funny)
Next up is the 1000 blade shaver, perfectly moulded to your face. One quick stroke and your whole face is clean shaven.
Either that or you are bleeding to death.
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Careful you don't use the programming for the wife's beav.
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I just had the most hilarious webcomic idea pop into my head. Starts with a guy walking into work with a mustache and beard that exists only under his nose in a thin line.
It'd probably look too much like a Hitler 'stache though. Maybe if he was blonde. Hmmm.
For someone with no artistic talent, I'm giving this a lot of thought.
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She's old fashioned. Have it heart shaped.
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Punchline: Lucky I didn't use my mistress's program, I'd look like Hitler.
Old Soviet joke (Score:2)
There was a joke in the Soviet Union that a shaving machine was displayed in a technology fair. All the man had to do was to insert his head in the machine and press a button, and the machine did the rest.
-"How amazing!", a bystander said. "Just think about this, every face has a different shape!"
-"Not after going through this machine!", the inventor replied.
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Guess that will be next year's model . . .
Clean up is a snap! And you don't even need a toothbrush anymore with the new wild ride edition: Just squirt some toothpaste in the bush before going down town.
A flossing version (Score:2)
The idea of a flossing version has occurred to me as well. A similar kind of custom-molded set of trays with floss strands.
Put it in your mouth and bite a couple of times and you floss your entire mouth.
I'm not sure how you'd change the floss without a complex re-stringing process, but maybe it could be strung with some kind of strong filament that could be easily cleaned and sterilized without needing to be changed.
Prior Art (Score:2, Funny)
Just chew on this for six seconds...
http://img1.etsystatic.com/005/0/6262900/il_fullxfull.399675811_ozpd.jpg?ref=l2
Health, convenience, and scale (Score:2)
Sounds pretty ground-breaking. Six second from the recommended 120 seconds--and how many of us do that?--is a lot of time saved, and if the device cleans our teeth better than we normally do (needs verification as noted above), that's a net win there too. Given the market for teeth whiteners and electric toothbrushes, there's certainly a social premium placed on attractive teeth, not to mention the very important health benefits of consistent dental care.
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Six second from the recommended 120 seconds--and how many of us do that?--is a lot of time saved
I can't tell you how thankful I am that my schedule has never been so tight that saving 114-seconds on personal care could feel significant.
How do you find the time to post on slashdot?
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114 seconds a day * 365 days (life of the brush) works out to about 11 1/2 hours. At $405 that means it costs about $35 per hour of time savings. Not a great investment in time but not horrible, and probably worth it to a fair number of people.
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and probably worth it to a fair number of people.
That is absolutely insane.
That 11 1/2 hours is not in any way contiguous -- what could you accomplish in that time, in 114 seconds a day? How could that possibly offer any advantage, let alone one worth $35/hour?
Even if you could come up with some fantastic task that could justify the value placed on that tiny bit of time, who the hell can't manage to find 114 seconds of extra time per day? Go to bed 114 seconds later than normal, no weird untested toothbrush or dentist appointment required.
What if you sha
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Oh shit... I'm supposed to be at work in 10 minutes... pull on clothes, shove toothbrush in mouth, grind teeth, run out the door.
Sometimes 2 minutes is the difference between brushing and not brushing. This would have a place in the glove box, next to the cordless razor and the cologne. They should make a watertight case so you can leave it soaking in mouthwash when you put it away.
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Be two minutes late for work. Make the time up by staying two minutes late or working 0.004% harder and faster throughout the day.
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It's not about the 2 minutes (Score:3)
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Subtract the time spent at the dentist, getting to the dentist, waiting for the dentist !
I assume the cost includes the dentist visit or does it?
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If I had one of these, I'd keep it in my pocket and brush after every meal, snack, or peice of candy, or whenever my mouth felt I could use it. There'd be a big benefit in going from once or twice a day to 10-15 times a day.
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5 seconds toothbrush !!! [youtu.be]
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Because I already brush for 6 seconds only, and I'd rather the 6 seconds I can be bothered for actually clean my teeth properly?
Re:Yeah.... riiiight... (Score:5, Funny)
An EU company says you only need to brush for six seconds....
Yeah, but those are metric seconds instead of US imperial seconds...
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I'd believe it if it was a British company...
If this works as advertised... (Score:2)
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> Although I wonder if fluoride ions take longer than six-seconds to work their magic.
I hear fluoride is just industrial waste and is being used by the government for mind control. I got this info from sites that folks who claim that mercury in vaccinations is causing autism pointed me to, and it's on teh interwebz so it must be true. ;)
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The same site has instructions for making tinfoil hats to block "them" from controlling your mind with their mind-control satellites. ;)
fluoride ions (Score:2)
Fluoride has several functions when it comes to dentistry.
1) act as a catalyst for rebuilding teeth. It helps calcium and phosphates dissolved in your saliva to be (re)introduced in your teeth and rebuilds them that way. It does this by remaining in the porous surface of a tooth.
2) It acts as an antibacterial agent. Again, any bacteria it encounters will have trouble functioning and reproducing, slowing or killing the damage to your teeth. If your teeth are clean, there are very few bacteria in your saliv
My mother should know (Score:3)
Getting ME to brush my teeth for even six seconds as a kid was an amazing feat.
Parallel processing (Score:2)
Multi-core parallel processing comes to toothbrushes!
Let the one-upmanship begin! Can anyone say "razor blades"?
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If you use razor blades for brushing teeth you're doing it wrong.
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Can anyone say "razor blades"?
Spishak can! [youtube.com]
A toothbrush from Blizz(IDENT)? WoW! (Score:5, Funny)
Does this mean trolls teeth get cleaner due to surface areas being easier to access? Should I roll a troll for better hygiene?
If we do heroic brushing runs will we get epic gum lines?
Will it be a bad thing if a good tooth drops?
Can I rez a molar to avoid an extraction?
Will we be able to eat on Tuesdays, or will nutrition be down due to maintenance?
Should I just go ahead and plan to make my wisdom teeth shamans, priests and mages or are there options?
Subscription based MMORPG's (Molar-based Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) are obviously the wave of the future. I can see Blizz changing the Headless Horseman to the Tooth Fairy this year.
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The point of brushing (and flossing or interdental brushing) is to remove the biofilm of bacteria living on your teeth and gum margins, which:
1) Produce acids through their metabolism which dissolve your tooth enamel
2) Stop anything else from actually reaching your teeth
Dentic (Score:2)
No thanks, I would rather use a Dentic [wikia.com] - minty!
Just remember: *never* swallow one and they taste horrible fried - words to live by.
TMJ Disorder (Score:1)
As someone who suffers from TMJ disorder the thought of deliberately grinding my teeth every day makes this idea a non-starter.
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I'd imagine it would be of similar dimensions to the device they use to take a cast of your teeth. That has never given me any issues.
No thanks. (Score:2)
It's $435 for the first year, and $135 each year thereafter.
That's more than 50 times what I spend on toothbrushes in one year right now.
But it would only reduce my brushing time by about a factor between 15 and 25.
The economics are not worth it.
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I like my 4 minutes. (Score:2)
I do. Strange as it sounds, it gives me a few minutes to think midday or just before bed. Furthermore, I thoroughly enjoy the 4 minutes I spend brushing my 2 year olds teeth.
Serious question. (Score:1)
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Not really. Brushing works mainly by mechanical action. The "chemicals" are mostly there for flavor.
In this sense, 6 seconds seems just about right. My dentist recommends 7-10 passes with the toothbrush per tooth (or group of teeth, given that you can brush more than one tooth at the same time). Grinding your teeth for six seconds would make at least this number of passes.
If you ask your dentist how to brush your teeth properly, you'll learn that proper brushing also involves massaging your gums, which is s
I would buy this. (Score:2)
Surprised nobody has said they would buy this, though some could see the benefits. If it works as good as my electric (Oral B, one of those expensive ones with the charging base and the 30-second alert so you know to change quadrants) I'm all in. I hate brushing my teeth but do it pretty religiously, and if I can not do it for 2 minutes twice a day, sounds like a pretty good use of my money.
Someone else mentioned that they could brush easily after every meal and that seems a good idea as well. Also, wheneve
Seriously, who's going to use this? (Score:1)
Who is in such a dire need of a quick brush that they need this? Is two minutes too much to spare these days?
Six Second Teeth (Score:1)
But what happens when someone comes out with Five Second Teeth? Then you're in trouble...
Noooo NOT Five, I said SIX. No one's coming up with Five..Who brushes their teeth in five seconds?
My hard-earned oral hygiene secret (Score:2)
I avoided the dentist for about 5 years because each visit was more like a trip to a confessional, with lots of criticism and guilt about not flossing. I was brushing my teeth about twice a day and they said I absolutely HAD to floss. I would try flossing but it would be a 35 minute ordeal and there was just no way I was going to spend that much time every day doing that.
After a filling broke I knew I had to go to the dentist but rather than go back to the asshole I figured I'd look into sedation dentistr
Consumable Pricing (Score:1)
Calling out this project (Score:2)