A Japanese research team made a fascinating recent discovery when focusing on oral hygiene effectiveness. How satisfied you are with the brushing job you do may hinge upon the auditory experience you have of the bristles rubbing against your teeth. As bristles scrub away, what you hear not only determines how hard and how long you brush, but also how you perceive the experience.
Microphoned Toothbrushes
Volunteers for the study were equipped with tiny microphones inside special toothbrushes so the distinct sounds of their brushing activity could be recorded and played back. The sounds were also amplified and played back via headphones to the participants for immediate aural feedback. Study details on brushing efficacy and satisfaction were authored by Taku Hachisu and Hiroyuki Kajimoto of The University of Electro-Communications, in Chofu, Japan and published in the International Journal of Arts and Technology.
Toothbrush of the Future?
The scientists discovered that by manipulating the pitch and loudness of the tooth brushing sounds they could alter the volunteers’ perception of comfort and accomplishment in brushing teeth. As the frequency was increased making the bristle sounds more intense, volunteers had a more pleasant time brushing their teeth and believed their smile to be more polished at the end of their dental self-care endeavors. In the future, these researchers plan to potentially market a toothbrush with such amplification capabilities as well as a built-in force sensor so brushers won’t get carried away and brush their teeth too aggressively, thereby damaging gum tissues.
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