Everyone knows that brushing your teeth is important for your health. It is also good for improving your breath and the appearance of your teeth. However, when rushing out the door in the morning to work or school, the minute or two spent brushing can be a real hassle. Many times, you might have to decide between brushing your teeth or leaving on time. If only there were a way to speed up the process while still thoroughly cleaning your teeth.
Introducing the Teethbrush. The Teethbrush is a toothbrush designed to clean the front, top, and back sides of your teeth simultaneously. This product will significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to brush your teeth. In fact, we estimate that brushing will only take a fraction of the time it previously did! The Teethbrush is also very affordable, with a predicted cost of under $3.00. This time-saver will be a great purchase for anyone who values their time and dental hygiene. Included with the brush is a stylish vertical brush holder, which provides for easy storage on your bathroom counter.
The Teethbrush has bristles facing three directions to accomplish simultaneous cleaning of the front, back and top of each tooth. Each row of teeth (top and bottom) can be cleaned in one pass with the Teethbrush. Conventional brushing would require three passes for each row, and hence three times the total time for brushing.
The Teethbrush has a rotating "head" (the part to which the bristles are attached) so that all parts of the mouth can be easily reached from any angle. The head is connected to the handle with a durable, easily rotating pivot. The Teethbrush handle has a wavy, contoured shape, making it easy to grip securely. When done brushing, the Teethbrush is stored in it's counter-top holder to keep brush clean and easily accessible. The holder comes in two different styles: Our hourglass design is useful for making sure that brushing time is sufficient for cleaning teeth (approximately one minute). The rocket design makes your toothbrush appear ready for lift-off.
The Teethbrush has bristles facing three directions to accomplish simultaneous cleaning of the front, back and top of each tooth. Each row of teeth (top and bottom) can be cleaned in one pass with the Teethbrush. Conventional brushing would require three passes for each row, and hence three times the total time for brushing.
The Teethbrush has a rotating "head" (the part to which the bristles are attached) so that all parts of the mouth can be easily reached from any angle. The head is connected to the handle with a durable, easily rotating pivot. The Teethbrush handle has a wavy, contoured shape, making it easy to grip securely. When done brushing, the Teethbrush is stored in it's counter-top holder to keep brush clean and easily accessible. The holder comes in two different styles: Our hourglass design is useful for making sure that brushing time is sufficient for cleaning teeth (approximately one minute). The rocket design makes your toothbrush appear ready for lift-off.
The Teethbrush went through many iterations before we arrived at the final design. Originally, we wanted to make a motorized toothbrush that would fit in the mouth like a mouthguard or retainer and brush all teeth simultaneously. This design went by the moniker "Hands-Free Toothbrush", because the first design was supposed to operate with minimal use of the hands. Later versions of this design included a handle, but still did not require much manual work. There were three or four ideas for the internal mechanisms of the brush, all detailing how the rotating action of a motor or servo would be transformed into the horizontal or vertical motions of brushing. Eventually, these designs were abandoned because of the complexity and unfeasability they involved.
Our next set of designs were similar to our final product. The main feature we wanted in our brush was to have bristles surrounding the tooth as it was being brushed. Bristle length, "head" shape, and bristle angle were all optimized for cleaning and comfort. We wanted the head to rotate relative to the handle, so we needed a connecting mechanism that would allow the rotation, but maintain the durability of the Teethbrush at the same time. After reviewing at least seven different solutions for this part, we chose the "push-fit" design, which was very durable. This solution allowed the entire brush to be manufactured in only three parts.
The handle and holder went through a similar design process. We optimized the handle for comfort, grip and style. We started with a flat, rectangular handle, and then added various "bubbles", ridges, and contours in different combinations. We came up with two solutions for the handle and conducted some small-scale market research on the campus of IIT. We chose the current design based on this research and on our analysis of the designs. The two available holder designs were chosen in a similar way.
The handle and holder went through a similar design process. We optimized the handle for comfort, grip and style. We started with a flat, rectangular handle, and then added various "bubbles", ridges, and contours in different combinations. We came up with two solutions for the handle and conducted some small-scale market research on the campus of IIT. We chose the current design based on this research and on our analysis of the designs. The two available holder designs were chosen in a similar way.