HISTORY OF THE ELECTRIC TOOTHBRUSH

Background

The electric toothbrush was an invention derived from the regular toothbrush which was invented around 3000 BC. The electric toothbrush was invented as early as 1954 in Switzerland by Dr. Philippe Guy Woog (Barron 2019). In general the toothbrush was created to clean the teeths and tongue which promotes oral hygiene however the electric toothbrush was created specifically for people who were struggling to brush their teeth with braces attached. The idea of brushing teeth/oral hygiene was recently implemented in human daily life. In the 1900s only 7% of Americans were brushing their teeth, however this changed to 65% due to the creation of affordable tooth paste 10 years later (Horbar 2016).

SECTION 1: How To Use

    There are a few differences when using an electric toothbrush rather than a regular toothbrush. One of those differences is obvious, you have to push a button to turn on the electric toothbrush. Another difference is that it’s not necessary to press hard or scrub the electric toothbrush onto your teeth (Panatella Dental). Since the brush is already moving and vibrating all you have to do is place the brush gently against each tooth and gum. Don’t forget to also place the electric toothbrush behind your teeth/gums and tongue in order to get those parts clean as well.

Exterior

    The exterior of an electric toothbrush is mainly made out of plastic and rubber. The shape of an electric toothbrush is noticeably different from a regular toothbrush. The base and the overall handle of the toothbrush is thick and cylinder. Then towards the neck and head part, it keeps most of its features of a regular toothbrush. The picture below shows what a normal electric toothbrush looks like.

As you can see the big part of the toothbrush is in the middle towards the end which gives your hand a good grip when holding it.

SECTION 2: Top

    The top piece of the electric toothbrush is the brush head. In some cases the brush head can be removable and inside the brush head there are gear units which are responsible for the bristles’ vibrate movements (Lawrence 2021). Lastly, under the brush head is the long neck of the toothbrush which contains the wires for the gears to move. The pictures below show the inside and outside of the brush head.

The inside of the toothbrush is hard to see but it had one gear under the bristles that would make them spin around.

Middle

    The middle part of the electric toothbrush is mostly where the controls are. On this particular electric toothbrush it has two buttons. One to turn on the bristles and one to turn them off. The material of those buttons are made out of rubber and whenever you click the buttons it makes a fairly loud clicking sound. The picture below gives you a visual of how the middle part of the toothbrush looks like.

The two buttons are clearly visible, with the big one being able to turn on the bristles of the toothbrush and the smaller one to turn it off. When touching these buttons it feels fairly easy and squishy, so no excessive pressure needed. 

Bottom

    The bottom part of the electric toothbrush is where the batteries are stored. On this particular electrical toothbrush the bottom has a blue piece which is screwed stuck with the batteries inside. The material of this bottom piece is also plastic just like the rest of the toothbrush from head to toe. The visuals below show the bottom piece and the place where the battery is store. 

As you can see in the pictures, this electric toothbrush requires only one battery for it to work and it was sealed shut to the point where I had to use a knife to rip the bottom piece off.

Interior 

    The interior of an electric toothbrush contains a circuit, battery, motor, cam and gears. Each of these components help the toothbrush to turn on in order to clean your precious teeth. When the button is clicked on the electric toothbrush it activates a switch on the circuit board which then draws power from the battery to the motor so the gears can spin in the brush head (Love 2021). The gears receive power from the motor which results in the bristles to move when the electrical toothbrush is turned on. The pictures below show each component labeled and separated. 

In the first picture it shows the gear and motor. The gear is the long stick that spins the gear around in the brush head when it receives power from the motor. The second picture shows the circuit which is made out of steel like metal. It attaches to the motor so the motor can receive power from the battery. The third picture shows the battery and another steel piece which connects to the battery so the power can be given to the motor. The picture below shows when all 4 of these components work together. 

As you can see the stick on top of the motor is spinning around which would spin the gears inside the brush head so the bristles can move.

Conclusion

    In conclusion, it’s clear to say that there are more features that an electric toothbrush has than a regular toothbrush and it’s more efficient. You don’t have to worry about bleeding or hurting your teeth when you’re brushing them. I believe everyone should normalize having electrical toothbrushes because it’s a harmless electrical object and does more wonders to your life than a plain toothbrush.

References:

Barron, J., DMD. (2019, May 30). The Electric Toothbrush Has Come A Long Way Since 1954. Barron Family Dental. 

The Electric Toothbrush Has Come A Long Way Since 1954

Electric Toothbrush Manufacturing You Should Know About. (2021, September 21). Cinoll. https://www.cinoll.com/blog/electric-toothbrush-manufacturing-you-should-know-about/

Love, J. (2022, January 17). How does an electric toothbrush work? Electric Teeth. https://www.electricteeth.com/au/how-does-an-elecitrc-toothbrush-work/

Song, A. (2022, April 6). History Lesson – How America Started Brushing Teeth. 209 

NYC Dental. https://www.209nycdental.com/history-lesson-america-started-brush-teeth/

W. (2020, February 24). The Proper Way to Use an Electric Toothbrush. Panatella Dental. https://panatelladental.com/blog/the-proper-way-to-use-an-electric-toothbrush

REFLECTION:

My experience with writing this technical description was different from any other writing assignments I have had in a while because I have the free will of writing whatever object of technology and breaking it apart. This assignment made me curious on how different objects work and what materials are used in order for the object to work. The only issue I had with this assignment is the lack of evidence and information of my chosen object; the electrical toothbrush. There was mainly information for electrical toothbrushes that cost over 50 dollars which had different materials from what I bought from Target for 8 bucks. Another problem I experienced in this project is citation. I had many photos of my toothbrush being broken apart but I didn’t know I had to cite my own photos. Fortunately, now I know in the future that I have to cite any photo in the document in order to inform the reader where the pictures are from.