Tooth Tunes

Tooth Tunes is a children's toothbrush released by the Tiger Electronics division of Hasbro in 2007. 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.

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.[1][2][3] 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.

Andrew Filo, one of the toothbrush's inventors, said that he worked on the project because of his childhood fascination with his ability to hear himself humming.[1]

In September 2012 Arm & Hammer Spinbrush rereleased the toothbrushes with new songs.[4]

Artists and Songs Featured

2007

2012

2013

2014

2015

Tooth Tunes Junior

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]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "I'm a punk toothbrush ... you're a blues toothbrush". London: the Daily Mail. 2006-09-02. Retrieved 2007-01-31.
  2. ↑ "Hasbro Tooth Tunes toothbrush makes you a loud mouth". Engadget.com. Retrieved 2007-01-31.
  3. ↑ "Hasbro's Tooth Tunes". we make money not art. Retrieved 2007-01-31.
  4. ↑ http://www.spinbrush.com/toothtunes.html
  5. ↑ "United States Patent 6,115,477". USPTO. Retrieved 2008-03-05.

External links

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