SASKATOON -- Toss the toothpaste. The future of oral hygiene is solar.
University of Saskatchewan dentistry professor emeritus Dr. Kunio
Komiyama and his colleague Dr. Gerry Uswak are recruiting 120 teens
willing to brush with a prototype light-powered toothbrush and sit in a
dentist's chair for a few extra inspections.
The manufacturer, the Shiken company of Japan, is paying the
researchers to investigate whether the brush, which causes a chemical
reaction in the mouth, does a better job of eliminating plaque and
bacteria than a conventional toothbrush.
Now Komiyama's back with a newer model, the Soladey-J3X, which he
says packs twice the chemical punch compared to the original. Protruding
from the base of the brush is a solar panel, which transmits electrons
to the top of the toothbrush through a lead wire.
It won't work in the dark, though - the brush needs about as much light as a solar-powered calculator would to operate.
In the lab, Komiyama tested the newer brush on cultures of two types
of bacteria which are major culprits in periodontal disease.
"You see complete destruction of bacterial cells," he said.
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