Force-Sensitive Classic Toothbrush: System Analysis, Design, and Simulation

Starting from the chewing stick to the smart toothbrush, methods of brushing the teeth in the elite society have improved greatly. But so far, theusage of manual toothbrushes is much higher than that of the automatic ones. Brushing is an everyday practice; it is very important to ensure aconstant, applied force in the range of 1.0-2.5 Newtons, and duration should be 2-4 minutes. Excessive pressure on the teeth will damage the gums andenamels. Conversely, insufficient pressure and shorter duration will not serve the purpose of brushing. Brushing teeth with a classic toothbrush resultsin uncertainty in terms of applied pressure and duration. Thus, improvement in the general design of the classic toothbrush is necessary. This paperpresents the design of a force-sensitive classic toothbrush which will ensure the pressure applied during brushing is in between a certain minimum andmaximum. The classic toothbrush with a smart sensing capability will enhance the brushing exercise and make it more efficient and effective. A tinycircuit was designed for sensing, decision making, and indication of applied forces. The system was modeled using simulations, and a prototype wasdeveloped. The prototype was tested with several weights (50 g–300 g). The results show the viability of the proposed system for practical applicationsin the general market

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