Rethinking
the way of cleaning teeth
This was a classroom project which I did for the course “Simple product design”. The aim is to rethink the ways of cleaning teeth.
Team
Tejas Pawar
Mentors
Kuntal De
Duration
6 weeks
Brief:
“To create a new way of cleaning teeth which provides good efficacy and experience to the user.”
Process and Task analysis
This helps in getting a broader perspective of the whole process, What is the user's goal, How many steps are required to achieve that goal, Is any assistance required, and to see the influence of the environment on the user in the process.
It was done by just observing my family members brushing for a series of mornings.
Problem Identification
After observing the toothbrush in the context of usage, I moved on to sorting problems that are faced while using it.
01
Not using the correct brushing technique
Lack of using a correct brushing technique causes random movement of the toothbrush and not targeting
03
Brushing harder
Having hard bristles or brushing too hard in a hurry can wear out the enamel covering our teeth.
02
Brushing for 2 mins
As the task is mundane and boring, brushing for 2 mins seems hard, so we just brush to get rid of our daily task.
Brushing for 2 mins really means brushing each quarter within our mouth for 30 secs.
04
Not able to brush between the gaps
Due to a single head size using different brush movements within our teeth seems hard and feel like impossible to target smaller sections within our teeth.
Secondary research:
Research on the toothbrush and use which brushing technique to use was necessary, to inculcate good product habits within the product-user ecosystem, and to understand what key elements to keep in the toothbrush while ideating.
Modified Bass method:
Study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4170543/
The study showed that the "Modified Bass technique" is a more effective brushing technique.
Major take away:
01
Maintaining a 45-degree angle between bristles tufts and teeth.
02
Brushing all parts of the teeth (in and out).
03
Brushing with different movements: scrubbing, rolling motion.
Softer Toothbrush bristles:
0.2 mm diameter filament
It is recommended to have soft bristles on your toothbrush as they do not harm your gums.
It was also observed that 0.2 mm diameter filament tends to clean marginal gingiva more effectively than 0.18 diameter filament. Studies showed that plaque removal was significant with thicker filament when used with the roll brushing technique for brushing facial and interproximal areas of teeth.
Ideation
Prototyping
Earlier I did quick prototyping of a toothbrush handle with polypropylene sheets of different measurements. Then moved to 3D print the toothbrush for the user testing as well as checking the form.
TOOTHBRUSH
Flexible neck
Toothbrush handle
Toothbrush head
Varied Bristles
Thumb section
Small tufted brush
Straight bristles
Thumb section
Curved head
The curved head is designed to brush all parts of the teeth in one go, which provides a faster and better brushing experience. Rather than getting tired of brushing every section of your teeth.
45-degree tilted head
The head is already designed to make a 45-degree angle to your gumline, this helps the toothbrush to clean your gumline more effectively.
Small tufted toothbrush
Easy snap-fit designed tuft brush can be used to target specific sections within your teeth. The smaller head makes it easier to move around quickly and clean the gaps between our teeth.
The small tufted brush is designed to be removed with one thumb push.
Softer 0.2 mm diameter bristles
0.2 mm diameter filament tends to clean marginal gingiva more effectively than 0.18 diameter filament.
Softer bristles help in not damaging the gum.
Colors
