Plans For A New Tooth Brush Using...

Light.


I came across a number of articles which suggest blue light and also ultraviolet light tends to inhibit and/or kill bacteria.

Therefore it occurs to me to attach blue leds or ultraviolet leds to a toothbrush and using a non flouride chemical free toothpaste one could improve tooth health by making the mouth and teeth germ free.

so why not incorporate either blue leds which are dirt cheap nowadays and or ultraviolet leds in a toothbrush?

seems simple enough.after all you have electric toothbrushes already .why not add blue leds which are very cheap.


Basically as you brush the teeth a powerful blue light will radiate from the tooth brush killing germs.


there are loads of articles about blue led light/uv light killing bacteria in google and google scholar.


"Two groups of bacteria are responsible for initiating caries: Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus. If left untreated, the disease can lead to pain, tooth loss and infection.[2] Today, caries remains one of the most common diseases throughout the world..."


en.wikipedia.org...


The mouth contains a wide variety of oral bacteria, but only a few specific species of bacteria are believed to cause dental caries: Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacilli among them...Lactobacillus acidophilus, Actinomyces viscosus, Nocardia spp., and Streptococcus mutans are most closely associated with caries, in particular root caries. Bacteria collect around the teeth and gums in a sticky, creamy-coloured mass called plaque, which serves as a biofilm...


Any comments?

There's a reason we use UV radiation to kill germs...it's like a slow-acting poison. And you want us to stick it in our mouth?

Ouch.

I believe high intensity UV light, as well as bleaching agents, are used for teeth whitening. They are just learning that its bad for you because too much UV = cancer. I would use the LEDs, but for after your done brushing, as a sterilizing light.

Good idea though, now lets see who gets to the patent office first, lol.

Originally posted by jimmyb0nz
I believe high intensity UV light, as well as bleaching agents, are used for teeth whitening. They are just learning that its bad for you because too much UV = cancer. I would use the LEDs, but for after your done brushing, as a sterilizing light.

Good idea though, now lets see who gets to the patent office first, lol.

Let's see which idiot sues the crud out of the inventor first, after losing their teeth due to mouth cancer.

reply to post by nobodysavedme



mmmmmm! GumSkin Cancer WOO HOOO!!!

but yeah there are tons of toothbrush UV sanitizers... but i think a straight on treatment repeatedly daily might be an issue... you can always try opening your mouth and lettting in sunshine!

A radiation tooth brush. I think it would have been extremely popular in the days of Marie Curie, although today... We know a little bit more about cancer.

Might as well get the other end while your at it...

Not a good idea to put light on cells that have no pigment protection, causes cancer. I have cancer on my nose from light.

reply to post by nobodysavedme


UV toothbrushes? Are you kidding me? So if they can't kill us with poisonous fluoride, kill us with cancer causing radiation....sounds like a great way to continue de-populating us

Hey Op don't listen to knee jerk naysayers; I say draw up some diagrams, build a prototype and file a patent, you may just get rich. Of course there would need to be a lot of testing and eventually FDA or equivalent approval, but I wouldn't toss the idea completely.

And to all the knee jerk reactionaries, spouting nonsense about cancer from UV; don't be ignorant, it's all in the level UV and time of exposure and really unless your are brushing your teeth for hours you probably won;t get cancer from it, especially at low doses.

While, my mother was going to college she worked as a manicurist and used UV lamps to dry peoples nails etc. I guess according to all of you keyboard scientists, her hands should be riddled with cancer and falling off by now, from all the UV exposure they received. lol

Anyway OP, I wouldn't give up on it yet, and I would work to protect the idea, better it doesn't pan out then one day you wake up and see your idea on the store shelves, without a dime in your pocket.

reply to post by nobodysavedme


Anything about the effect it would have on yeast/fungus left unchecked in the absence of the bacteria? I'll have to stick with a medium brush and baking soda and occasionally swishing sunshine around. Yeah that'll be my UV.

Hey OP,

UV light kills germs and bacteria by damaging the chemical bonds in their DNA. It also damages the chemical bonds in human DNA as well... that is not good. Like others have said, it will cause cancer and other skin problems.

www.sciencebuddies.org...

Also, different germs and different forms of bacteria take different lengths of exposure time in order for them to be killed by UV light. 10 seconds of exposure would be the minimum, and there would still be some left.

Because of the shape of the mouth, and the teeth, etc. I think it would be really difficult and inefficient to use UV light effectively enough to clean the entire mouth. There would be too many places where the light would not reach. Too many shadows. You would have to expose multiple areas of the mouth to long exposures of UV light, and increase the chances of skin irritation and cancer, and it still would NOT kill as much germs and bacteria as normal mouth wash.

On top of that, I think you would have a hard time getting the device approved. Then even a harder time proving the device didn't cause someone's mouth cancer when they get it.

If you are looking for a perfectly safe and environmentally friendly mouth wash to kill bacteria and germs, you should use Hydrogen Peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is simply water with an extra oxygen atom attached (H2O+O), and is completely safe and painless to rinse your mouth with. You can even use it for many other things:


reply to post by prisoneronashipoffools

Originally posted by prisoneronashipoffools
While, my mother was going to college she worked as a manicurist and used UV lamps to dry peoples nails etc. I guess according to all of you keyboard scientists, her hands should be riddled with cancer and falling off by now, from all the UV exposure they received. lol

www.chron.com...

The paper states, "It appears that exposure to UV nail lights is a risk factor for the development of skin cancer."

I think your reaction to everyone else was a knee-jerk reaction. It has been proven scientifically for years now that UV light breaks chemicals bonds in DNA.

The light wouldn't be in contact long enough to kill the bacteria probably, or it'd have to be pretty strong. In which case it probably wouldn't be healthy for the rest of the mouth.

Any bacteria that was on the tongue/sides of the mouth would just get back on to the teeth even if they were free of bacteria.

If the brush was covered with toothpaste, how is the light going to get through?

reply to post by imp0ssibru

reply to post by prisoneronashipoffools Originally posted by prisoneronashipoffools While, my mother was going to college she worked as a manicurist and used UV lamps to dry peoples nails etc. I guess according to all of you keyboard scientists, her hands should be riddled with cancer and falling off by now, from all the UV exposure they received. lol www.chron.com... The paper states, "It appears that exposure to UV nail lights is a risk factor for the development of skin cancer." I think your reaction to everyone else was a knee-jerk reaction. It has been proven scientifically for years now that UV light breaks chemicals bonds in DNA.

Thanks for the reply and your source is duly noted, but I still stand by my example, my mother never developed cancer skin related or otherwise and worked with uv lamps for quite a few years and I would add she is fair skinned, which would actually would make her more susceptible to UV then others with darker skin.

And, frankly I wasn't telling the OP to willy nilly start dosing themselves with UV, simply that they should protect their idea and if later testing proves it's effective and safe then they may make some money.

Also, frankly I find the modern day irrational fear towards UV, to be a problem. After all the same people that have everyone terrified of skin cancer are the same people selling them sun tan lotion, which actually has more of a factor in causing skin cancer then reducing it. Also, you have enough people with a knee jerk reactionary fear of UV and the sun that you actually have a lot of studies showing a large increase in the number of people with vitamin D deficiency; which is also a risk factor for cancer.

Like I said I wasn't saying that the OP should just rush forward with idea, but at the same time he shouldn't just throw it away either, because of people on ATS that seem to have an irrational phobia of UV; and yes I know to much UV isn't good for you,but your not going to burst into flames and die like a vampire; nor will you necessarily develop skin cancer.

Anyway thanks for the reply, the source and your time.

reply to post by prisoneronashipoffools


seems to have been done already.

lo0k:-

www.toyoliving.co.jp...

Blue light has effect on the gingivitis treatment
Researchers at Boston-based Forsyth Institute discovered that seconds of blue light irradiation was effective for prevention and treatment of periodontal disease. It may lead to a new treatment with quick effect and less stress in patients.

A few seconds of light radiation can effectively kill bacteria. The effect also has been confirmed through experiments using dental plaque of patients with a gum disease.


* Researchers found that seconds of blue light(380～520nm wavelength) irradiation was effective for prevention and treatment of gum diseases such as periodontitis.（*1）。
* Doctors also announced that the 405nm visible light was sufficient to inhibit growth of Porphyromonas gingivalis.（*2）。
* Researchers confirmed that LED light inhibited Porphyromonas gingival through their experiments requested by Toyo Living.（*3）。


The japanese have also something similar called "illness prevention".

www.coolest-gadgets.com...


This was in 2005 !!!

i have never seen it in a shop or catalogue.

at $20 the bedante people may have pitched the price too high .

also never seen advertising for it anywhere.

you need to use transparent toothpaste.

i mean all that extra money for a crummy led?

a led costs a few cents nowadays...look at all those 5 disco finger rings for $1.34 on ebay with 5 leds in them...

a classic case of pricing yourself out of the market.