Solar-powered toothbrush doesn't require toothpaste

August 20, 2010 by Lisa Zyga

The Soladey-J3X toothbrush. Credit: cnbeta.com.

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers have designed a toothbrush that cleans teeth by creating a solar-powered chemical reaction in the mouth, doing away with the need for toothpaste.

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Dr. Kunio Komiyama, a dentistry professor emeritus at the University of Saskatchewan, designed the first model of the unconventional toothbrush 15 years ago. Today, Komiyama and his colleague Dr. Gerry Uswak are seeking recruits to test their newest model, the Soladey-J3X. The toothbrush, which is manufactured by the Shiken company of Japan, will soon be tested by 120 teenagers to see how it compares to a normal toothbrush.

The Soladey-J3X has a solar panel at its base that transmits electrons to the top of the toothbrush through a lead wire. The electrons react with acid in the mouth, creating a chemical reaction that breaks down plaque and kills bacteria. The toothbrush requires no toothpaste, and can operate with about the same amount of light as needed by a solar-powered calculator.

The researchers have already tested the toothbrush in cultures of bacteria that cause periodontal disease, and demonstrated that the brush causes “complete destruction of bacterial cells,” Komiyama said.

Last month, the researchers presented their research at the FDI Annual World Dental Conference in Dubai, where their poster won first prize out of 170 entries.

More information: via: Canada.com and cnbeta.com [Japanese]

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4.8 /5 (62 votes)

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Quasi_Intellectual
Aug 20, 2010

Rank: 4.6 / 5 (20)

Brush your teeth, with SCIENCE!!!!

Hunnter
Aug 20, 2010

Rank: 3.1 / 5 (9)

Lead, eh? I'll stick with the plaque and minty freshness.

Bob_Kob
Aug 20, 2010

Rank: 3.3 / 5 (9)

Yeah I hate the word lead. Sometimes ambiguous to what its referring to however I think in this context it is "lead (electronics), a metallic wire for electrical devices and equipments" rather than metallic lead.

crhylove
Aug 20, 2010

Rank: 4.1 / 5 (11)

I want! I can never buy what I hear about on physorg!!!

Wowter
Aug 20, 2010

Rank: 4.3 / 5 (6)

This is rather old news. See: http://www.canada...c66345c6 , from November 2007. Did the 120 previous testers die?

kasen
Aug 20, 2010

Rank: 4.4 / 5 (5)

Why teenagers? Nevertheless, I doubt the toothpaste industry would sit idly by, letting this catch on. Shame, really, it would be really useful for camping trips, or places with poor infrastructure in general. No toothpaste means no water, I presume.

marcin_szczurowski
Aug 20, 2010

Rank: 4 / 5 (2)

I don't mind lead, it's perfectly safe unless you breathe and eat tons of Pb dust. Lead is deadly as a form of bullet heading towards you :P
And yes, I'd miss mint too much to go for that.
I agree with kasen, it's good when you're far from any civilization.

Ravenrant
Aug 20, 2010

Rank: 4.8 / 5 (6)

I think that is supposed to be lead wire as in leed not the element.

I also think that toothpaste is a waste. I use mouthwash first after floss for that minty taste then brush. I haven't noticed any difference since I stopped using paste a few years ago. Also I can't stand the overpowering flavor of most pastes. I really don't need that taste in my mouth for hours.

So many people would rather use toothpaste than kill the germs, must be our shrinking brains.

Skultch
Aug 20, 2010

Rank: 5 / 5 (1)

I would love this. I drive an hour to work and am always looking for ways to free up a little personal time.

ClickHere
Aug 20, 2010

Rank: 5 / 5 (2)

This plus sonic shower and warp drive, please.

Anthony_Casey
Aug 20, 2010

Rank: 5 / 5 (2)

@Hunter
Lead: : an insulated electrical conductor connected to an electrical device

ViktorF
Aug 20, 2010

Rank: 5 / 5 (4)

@ Wowter. I read your link, interestingly it seems to be the same story. Almost verbatim in fact. How sad, this is the 5th or 6th story in a week that seems to be recycled from someone else's site. I know it's very common to have multiple reports on a breaking matter, but taking 3 years to break the story here seems to me that the writer has some originality issues here.

Trim
Aug 20, 2010

Rank: 5 / 5 (1)

If you had an mild acidic wash, couldn't you turn this into a electric loofah and kill all bacteria and fungus's on your skin maybe doing away with soap as well?

Aloken
Aug 20, 2010

Rank: 1 / 5 (2)

Does this brush do something to freshen your breath? If not I don't see anyone using it for more than a couple of days...

knowitall599
Aug 20, 2010

Rank: not rated yet

Don't answer that. I thought about it a while and it was my dad's stupid question. I answered him it lasts as long as there is no bacteria in your mouth. He didn't read the part about paradontal bacteria. He is very maticulous man.

plastikman
Aug 20, 2010

Rank: not rated yet

You can still get that fresh minty taste after using this toothbrush. It's called mouthwash!

danny6114
Aug 20, 2010

Rank: not rated yet

I wonder is that a lead (led) or (leed) wire? BTW I hate mint!

tarheelchief
Aug 20, 2010

Rank: not rated yet

If everyone has bad breath,no one has it.Ask a zebra.

htour
Aug 20, 2010

Rank: 2.3 / 5 (3)

For comments about lead toxicity: You do realize that fluoride is also toxic, right? A tube of toothpaste can kill a kid if they consume it. It also can damage your teeth fairly easily.

ueli
Aug 21, 2010

Rank: 3.7 / 5 (3)

Just use Xylitol, a natural sugar, instead of ordinary sugar and you do not need any fancy gadget to supress plaque building and unwanted bacteria. In fact you don't even need to clean your teeth!

cmn
Aug 21, 2010

Rank: 5 / 5 (4)

Just use Xylitol, a natural sugar, instead of ordinary sugar and you do not need any fancy gadget to supress plaque building and unwanted bacteria. In fact you don't even need to clean your teeth!

Uhhh... I'm pretty sure it's not *just* sugar that plaque consume.

knikiy
Aug 21, 2010

Rank: 5 / 5 (1)

You can lead a horse to water, but its hard to get him to use a toothbrush.

cyberCMDR
Aug 21, 2010

Rank: 5 / 5 (1)

I wonder how this electrolytic process interacts with metal fillings. I have old ones that probably still have some mercury in the amalgam.

Paradox
Aug 21, 2010

Rank: not rated yet

This plus sonic shower and warp drive, please.

RIGHT! and a transporter. No more cars!

hodzaa
Aug 23, 2010

Rank: 1 / 5 (5)

It's an apparent hoax, as the solar cell of given area (covered by palm) can produce neither voltage, neither current required for effective electrolysis described.

Skeptic_Heretic
Aug 23, 2010

Rank: 5 / 5 (1)

It's an apparent hoax, as the solar cell of given area (covered by palm) can produce neither voltage, neither current required for effective electrolysis described.

How about when it sits on the counter unused all day long and charges the batteries?

mdr
Aug 23, 2010

Rank: 5 / 5 (1)

Toothpaste is the worst part of brushing teeth, because it always feels like it never gets fully washed out for a few hours after wards. I'd definitely prefer one of these. As for bad breath, that's why you use a tongue scraper- they sell them right next to the toothbrushes.

suddencrayon
Aug 26, 2010

Rank: 5 / 5 (3)

the study was completed on university students and the results were statistically significant in that the brush did reduce plaque and bleeding scores as compared to as standard toothbrush. The brush uses a titanium dioxide rod and it is connected by a lead-wire to the solar panel. There is no lead (Pb) involved in the process. The paper is in the process of being submitted to a scientific journal.

Modernmystic
Aug 28, 2010

Rank: not rated yet

Yet another pointless advance in a (for the most part) DEAD END technology...huzzah

Ulg
Sep 10, 2010

Rank: 5 / 5 (1)

It's an apparent hoax, as the solar cell of given area (covered by palm) can produce neither voltage, neither current required for effective electrolysis described.

Atleast that is their claim
"the photo-sensitive titanium rod inside Soladey converts light into negatively-charged ions (electrons). The rod releases these ions, which blend with saliva to attract positive (hydrogen) ions from the acid in the dental plaque on your teeth." -company producing and selling it. However it has also been speculated that a redox reaction between coenzyme A occurs which turns it into a sort of time bomb for bacteria

No extra water needed and you can still use a small amount of toothpaste if you want to.

The toothbrush is available for purchase right now by the way from http://www.solade...arch.htm too bad Komiyama does not get royalties on it though.

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4.8 /5 (62 votes)

Solar-powered toothbrush doesn't require toothpaste

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