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Tooth Tunes is a children's toothbrush released by the Tiger Electronics division of Hasbro in 2007.[1] A single toothbrush has a manufacturer's suggested price of US$9.99. Each brush plays a two-minute song clip from a particular artist to encourage a child to brush their teeth for the dentist-recommended two minutes. A single toothbrush comes with one song. The toothbrush is officially accredited by the British Dental Health Foundation.[2]
Once activated, a small CPU in the handle plays the featured song on the chip by transferring vibrations through the bristles, which act as transducers, into the front teeth, through the jawbone, and into the inner ear. The user hears a mix between a natural vocal hum and the song being played.[3][4] The intended result was for the music only to be audible to its user, however the music emanating from the toothbrush can be heard by those nearby, with increasing volume as pressure is applied to the brush head.
Patents
Tooth Tunes claims Intellectual Property protection under Patent # 6,115,477 ("Denta-mandibular sound-transmitting system") and unspecified pending patents. This patent was filed on December 3, 1997, and granted on September 5, 2000. [5]
References
- ^ Buckleitner, Warren (2007-03-01). "That Tune in Your Head Could Be Your Toothbrush". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-06-21.
- ^ "What are Tooth Tunes?". Reference. Retrieved 2017-06-21.
- ^ "Hasbro Tooth Tunes toothbrush makes you a loud mouth". Engadget.com. Retrieved 2007-01-31.
- ^ "Hasbro's Tooth Tunes". we make money not art. Retrieved 2007-01-31.
- ^ "United States Patent 6,115,477". USPTO. Retrieved 2008-03-05.