Custom Toothbrush Made with 3-D Printing

When scientist say they can sink their teeth into a project, they mean it figuratively. Now we can literally sink our teeth into advanced science, in the form of a 3-D printed toothbrush.

The custom-fit toothbrush by Blizzident made newsaround the world last month, with claims that it can completely clean teeth in only 6 seconds.

The brush is created by 3-D printing using a custom mold. It’s made of biocompatible VisiJet®  material by 3D Systems. Matthew Mientka explains it further in Medical Daily:

The piece fits within the mouth like a pair of dentures. For $299, the manufacturer prints a personalized device using a digital scan taken at a local dental office. Technicians then use a computer-aided design model of the brush, which they convert into a 3-dimensional object using stereolithography, a method of shaping liquid plastic with an ultraviolet laser. They then place 600 soft and tapered bristles on the device.

By simply biting down and grinding his or her teeth, the user may accomplish the chore in approximately 6 seconds. The biting motion achieves the same effect as the two common teeth cleaning motions — the Modified Bass technique, in which the brush is positioned at a 45-degree angle to the teeth and moved back and forth, and the Fones technique, in which the brush is held at right angles to the teeth and moved circularly.

The importance of oral care has been recognized for more than 5,000 years. According to Chinese medicine, each tooth affects a specific meridian, or energy pathway within the body, and, consequently, an internal organ.

The first toothbrushes (or tooth sticks) were used in Babylon, Sumeria and Egypt, followed by ancient Greece and Rome. The Chinese made the first bristle toothbrush from hog bristles on bamboo or bone handles. Europeans started using bristle toothbrushes in the 17th century. With invention of plastics, animal hair in toothbrushes was replaced by nylon fibers in 1938, and the handle became celluloid and later thermoplastic. Electric toothbrushes appeared in 1954. Since then, the shape, the thickness and softness of the bristles, and the shape of the toothbrush head and the handle have constantly been changing, but never as radically as now.

The new toothbrush uses chewing instead of a brushing motion, and, because all the teeth are cleaned simultaneously, it is much faster. The makers of Blizzident claim it is 100% effective in removing dental plaque, compared to 70% for electric toothbrushes and 65% for manual. According to Blizzident.com, clinical studies about the brush’s efficacy in plaque removal will soon be published.

Speaking of plaque removal, it is just as important to clean your toothbrush after use to remove bacteria. Dental plaque can harbor up to 200  bacterial species, and some are quite nasty. Just a few days ago, scientists at NSF International’s Applied Research Center (ARC) discovered a new bacterium, Klebsiella michiganensis, on a toothbrush holder. Some bacteria in the genus Klebsiella are pathogenic and drug-resistant, and can cause pneumonia, and respiratory and urinary tract infections. Some people opt for disinfecting toothbrushes in UV light. The Blizzident can be refurbished with new bristles yearly by the manufacturer.