Effectiveness of an Ionic Toothbrush in Dental Plaque Removal
Evaluation Study
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R.L.Van Swol, D.E.Van Scotter, A.R.Dentino, J.J.Pucher
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A clinical study at Marquette University School of Dentistry has demonstrated the effectiveness of a manual IONIC toothbrush in unsupervised brushing for six months. The double-blind study had 64 adult subjects ranging in age from 18 to 67 years. They were divided into two groups: Group 1, the test group, had 30 subjects using the hyG Ionic Toothbrush with an active battery. The control group, Group 2, had 34 subjects using the hyG IONIC toothbrush without an active battery.
The mechanism for the ionic action is due to a change in the polarity of the teeth. The tooth is normally negatively charged and the plaque is positively charged. Opposite charges attract and bond to each other. The plaque, therefore, is attached to the tooth surface by "ionic bonding".
The Ionic Toothbrush has a three (3) volt lithium battery located under the metal band on the handle. The battery is similar to a watch battery and just as safe. The toothbrush bristles are negatively charged through the metal rod with the brush head. When holding the metal band on the toothbrush handle with moistened fingers, the positively charged ions are transferred to the teeth.
The tooth polarity changes from negative to positive. The positively charged tooth ions repel the positively charged plaque ions. The positively charged plaque ions are then attracted to the negatively charged bristles of the hyG toothbrush for removal from the oral cavity.
BEFORE: Opposite polarity makes plaque (+) adhere to teeth (-).
AFTER: hyG temporarily reverses polarity of tooth surface from (-) to (+), repelling plaque toward negatively polarized hyG toothbrush head.
This important ionic exchange along with the normal mechanical action of the bristles on the tooth surface enhances plaque removal. Moist finger contact with the metal band on the hyG toothbrush handle is essential to maximize ionic transfer of plaque molecules between the teeth and the toothbrush bristles.
