Ultrasonic toothbrush

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Ultrasonic toothbrush (Megasonex)

An ultrasonic toothbrush is a household electric toothbrush that uses ultrasound to help remove plaque and to neutralize plaque bacteria . It usually works at a frequency of 1.6 MHz, which corresponds to 96 million pulses or 192 million movements per minute. Ultrasound is defined as a series of acoustic pressure waves that are generated at a frequency that is imperceptible to the human ear.

background

Electric toothbrushes have been used by the public since the early 1950s. In the meantime, they have evolved and, depending on the speed of their vibration, can be divided into three categories: electrical, sonic and ultrasonic.

Electric toothbrushes vibrate either up / down or in a circular motion. Sometimes both are combined. Usually the speed of the vibration is measured in movements per minute. Ordinary electric toothbrushes vibrate at a speed between a few thousand up to about 10,000 / 12,000 movements per minute. Sonic toothbrushes are so named because the speed or frequency of their vibration, unlike the sound of the motor, falls within the average range of human communication. The voiced speech of the average adult male has a base frequency of 85 to 180 Hz (10,200 to 21,000 movements per minute) while the base frequency of the voiced speech of the average adult woman is between 165 and 255 Hz (19,800 to 30,600 movements per minute). Ultrasonic toothbrushes in turn generate ultrasonic waves, usually through a piezo crystal , the frequency of which can start at 20,000 Hz (2,400,000 movements per minute). The most common frequency, in the area of ​​which many scientific studies have been conducted, is around 1.6 MHz, which corresponds to 96 million waves or 192 million movements per minute.

history

The first ultrasonic toothbrush, initially released under the name Ultima and later as Ultrasonex by the Sonex Corporation, was first patented in the United States by Robert T. Bock in 1992, the same year the FDA approved it for daily home use. The Ultima initially only worked with ultrasound. A few years later, a motor was added to the Ultrasonex toothbrush, which generated additional sound vibrations. Sonex was then sold to Salton, Inc., which began selling the product in the United States and many other countries. In 2008 the new owner of Salton Corporations decided to withdraw from the market for oral hygiene products. Since then, several new companies have started selling ultrasonic toothbrushes. Including Ultreo, Megasonex and Emmi-dent.

effectiveness

Ultrasound in the 1.0 to 3.0 MHz range is used in therapeutic medical devices to accelerate the healing of fractures, to treat aphthous stomatitis and bleeding gums, and to remove plaque.

Ultrasound Safety

Ultrasound has been used in medicine since around 1970 and its safety has been studied for almost as long. In 1992 the US FDA approved ultrasound at a frequency of 1.6 MHz in a toothbrush for the first time. In 1993, the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM), together with the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), developed the Output Display Standard (ODS), which includes the thermal index and the mechanical index, both of which have been incorporated into the new FDA regulations . These regulations limit the output of these devices to a level that is low enough to prevent the temperature of the surrounding tissue from increasing by more than 1 ° C.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ High Intensity Focused Ultrasound - Physics . In: uci.edu . Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  2. ↑ Titze, IR (1994). Principles of Voice Production, Prentice Hall (currently published by NCVS.org) (pp. 188), ISBN 978-0-13-717893-3 .
  3. ↑ Baken, RJ (1987). Clinical Measurement of Speech and Voice. London: Taylor and Francis Ltd. (pp. 177), ISBN 1-5659-3869-0 .
  4. ↑ K Shinada, L Hashizume, K Teraoka, N Kurosaki: Effect of ultrasonic toothbrush on Streptococcus mutans . In: Japan J. Conserv. Dent. . 42, No. 2, 1999, pp. 410-417.
  5. ↑ US Patent number US5247716, August 18, 1992, Robert T. Bock
  6. ↑ Padilla F, Puts R, Vico L, K Raum: Stimulation of bone repair with ultrasound: a review of the possible mechanic effects . In: Ultrasonics . 54, No. 5, Jul 2014, pp. 1125-45. doi : 10.1016 / j.ultras.2014.01.004 . PMID 24507669 .
  7. ^ SL Brice: Clinical evaluation of the use of low-intensity ultrasound in the treatment of recurrent aphthous stomatitis . In: Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod . 83, No. 1, Jan 1997, pp. 14-20. doi : 10.1016 / s1079-2104 (97) 90084-6 . PMID 9007917 .
  8. ↑ GT Terezhalmy, H Iffland, C Jelepis, J Waskowski: Clinical evaluation of the effect of an ultrasonic toothbrush on plaque, gingivitis, and gingival bleeding: a six-month study . In: J Prosthet Dent. . 73, No. 1, Jan 1995, pp. 97-103. doi : 10.1016 / s0022-3913 (05) 80278-1 . PMID 7699607 .
  9. ↑ K Shinada, L Hashizume, K Teraoka, N Kurosaki: Effect of ultrasonic toothbrush on Streptococcus mutans . In: Japan J. Conserv. Dent. . 42, No. 2, 1999, pp. 410-417.
  10. ↑ American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM). Bioeffects and safety of diagnostic ultrasound. Laurel, MD: AIUM Publications; 1993