10-second toothbrush: first new design in 1,400 years unveiled
THE humble toothbrush hasn’t changed drastically since the Chinese invented it in 619.
But now one French company is attempting to redesign the product with a gadget that it claims can clean teeth in just 10 seconds.
FasTeesH’s £100 (€110) Y-Brush, which will be available in April, was showcased this week at the Consumer Technology Show being held in Las Vegas.
The device looks like a mouthguard with hundreds of small nylon bristles laid out at 45-degree angles – the recommended angle of brushing.
Users place the Y-Brush over their upper teeth, along with some toothpaste.
They then press a power button to begin the cleaning process.
“Y-Brush functions like an electric toothbrush – a handle activates a brush with sonic vibrations, but its head is in the shape of a Y allowing complete coverage of all of the teeth,” the company claims.
After five seconds, the user can flip over the device to clean their lower teeth.
The entire process takes around 10 seconds, compared to the two minutes that dentists recommend when using a normal toothbrush.
Y-Brush removes 15pc more plaque and brushes each individual tooth for up to four times longer than a standard toothbrush, the company claims.
This isn’t the first time someone has created a brush that cleans several teeth simultaneously.
Amabrush, which also looks like a mouth guard, can dispense toothpaste and vibrates to clean teeth.
Unlike the Y-Brush, the system uses bespoke toothpaste capsules which cost £2.60 (€2.88) and last around one month.
The humble toothbrush hasn’t changed since it was invented by the Chinese in 619