The Electric Toothbrush
By: Jordan Bunkley-Drain
Writing For Engineering
City College Of New York
Julianne Davidow, Professor
March 8th, 2024
Table of Contents :
Introduction… Page 3
History of the Toothbrush… Page 3 – Page 4
Benefits of Electric Toothbrush… Page 4 – Page 5
How the Electric Toothbrush Works… Page 5 – Page 7
Conclusion… Page 7
References… Page 7 – Page 8
References (Images)… Page 8
Introduction
The Toothbrush is a very interesting piece of technology. Different iterations of it have been used for thousands of years. The purpose of this technology is for the cleaning of people’s teeth, tongue , and gums. It helps promote good oral hygiene by making sure food and gunk isn’t stuck in or on your teeth, and when used with things like toothpaste, can also help clear your teeth of bacteria as well. The Electrical toothbrush was created as an even better way to help clean your teeth by enhancing the ordinary toothbrush. In this technical description I will go over the history of toothbrushes, the benefits of using an electric toothbrush, and I will go over how the electric toothbrush works.
History of the Toothbrush
Figure 1 (Courtesy of researchgate.net):
So as seen in figure 1, The toothbrush had a long history. Those are just some examples of historical toothbrush iterations.The Earliest known versions of toothbrushes originated from around 3000 – 3500 B.C, Ancient Civilizations such as the Babalonians and Egyptians used Sticks with frayed ends as the original form of toothbrush (The History of The Toothbrush, n.d) . Also known as a “Chew Stick”, These were usually rubbed on the person’s teeth to clean it . In 1498 in China, the toothbrush more familiar to what we use today (Which is one that has a handle and head with bristles) was invented. This used rough hair from a pig or hog (as the bristles) , and attached them onto a handle made of bone or bamboo (Who invented the toothbrush and when was it invented, November 19,2019). In 1780 William Adis developed the first toothbrush with specially carved handles , using cow bone. In 1844 this same design was further added upon when the first 3 row toothbrush was developed . 1938 is when the toothbrush became really like how it is today, This is because the manufacturing company Dupont de Nemours created Nylon ( Which is used for the bristles), and by the 1950’s the Nylon toothbrush became very popular for consumers. Also in 1939 the First Electric toothbrush was invented (The History of The Toothbrush, n.d). Toothbrushes overall had a lot of important development over several millennia into the hygienic items we know and love today.
The Benefit of using The Electric Toothbrush
Figure 2 (By Oral B):
There are several benefits of using the electric tooth over an ordinary one. A major benefit for example is that the Electric toothbrush is that it is much better for tooth, gum, and tongue health. The Electric toothbrush is electrically powered to provide much more movement every time you brush . This makes sure that everything is extra clean, as well as being able to more accurately dig into places in which food and gunk get stuck in your teeth. Many electric toothbrushes also have timers so you can make sure you accurately brush your teeth for the right amount of time. Cleaner teeth and mouth means less money spent on the dentist and dental procedures, because your teeth stay healthy for much longer . The Electric toothbrush is also much better for people with disabilities who may not be able to move their hands properly to brush well , and it’s also more engaging for kids. (6 Benefits of an Electric toothbrush, September 26, 2022). There’s even some toothbrushes that have things like several settings and monitoring systems to track brushing habits, and even some have the ability to connect to mobile apps (The Benefits of electric toothbrush vs manual, n.d). Overall, there are so many advantages to using electric toothbrushes vs using ordinary regular ones. They are really good for making sure your Oral Health is as good as possible.
How the Electric Toothbrush Works:
Figure 3 (By explainthatstuff.com):
Figure 4 (By explainthatstuff.com):
Lastly, I will cover how the Electric toothbrush works. At the top is the removable brush. The brush has a head (the part where the bristles are at) that turns from side to side as the mechanism inside the handle rotates . The crank and gear unit ( Which is located under the brush) is the unit that turns the rotating movement from the motor ( Which is inside of the brush handle mechanism) into the side to side motion that the brush head has when you turn it on and use it to clean your teeth. This unit is connected to a gear which is connected directly to the motor. Under the motor there is the rechargeable battery , which is what keeps everything powered. There is also a circuit board attached to the inner casing connected to the battery which turns the brush on and off when you press the buttons on the outside of the brush (Chris Woodford, August 6, 2022). The way the battery is charged is through the process of induction charging , Which takes the power from the charging stand, and brings it to the battery wirelessly without having to use an ordinary charger wire like phones for instance need to use.(Chris Woodford, April 28,2023) .
Conclusion
The Electric Toothbrush is an amazing invention that enhances the experience of tooth brushing. It makes the process of brushing your teeth much easier, as well as making you be able to more accurately clean your teeth, gums, and tongue , to have much improved oral hygiene compared to using normal toothbrushes . It will be great to see how the toothbrush develops into something even better in the future as technology evolves.
References :
-The History of The Toothbrush (n.d) . The History of the toothbrush. Smile Concepts Dentistry,
-Who invented the Toothbrush and when was it invented? (November 19,2019) , library of
-6 Benefits of an Electric toothbrush, (September 26, 2022), Radomile Family Dental Care ,
-The Benefits of electric toothbrush vs manual, (n.d), Oral B,
https://oralb.com/en-us/oral-health/why-oral-b/electric-toothbrushes/benefits-of-electric-toothbrush
-Chris Woodford, (August 6, 2022),Electric toothbrushes, explainingthatstuff.com,
https://www.explainthatstuff.com/electrictoothbrush.html
-Chris Woodford ,(April 28,2023), Wireless Chargers , explainingthatstuff.com
https://www.explainthatstuff.com/inductionchargers.html
Image References :
- Figure 1 , from researchgate.net,
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Evolution-of-Toothbrush_fig1_339102415
- Figure 2 , Oral B io3 Electric toothbrush , picture from target.com,
https://www.target.com/p/oral-b-io3-electric-toothbrush-black/-/A-88693684
- Figure 3 and 4, Chris Woodford, (August 6, 2022),Electric toothbrushes, explainingthatstuff.com,
