JP2021104316A - Light application tooth brush - Google Patents

Abstract

To apply, into a mouth, a plurality of light beams of specific wavelengths with which composite effects can be expected for the maintenance of health.SOLUTION: In a light application tooth brush, a portion with bristles for brushing has a tip part attached thereto, the tip part composed of light-passing material, for example, transparent polyester. The center of the tip part has an emitter to be a light source to apply light beams of specific wavelengths into a mouth. A light source used in the emitter has a first peak of radiation intensity in a wavelength band of 460 nm-470 nm and a second peak of radiation intensity in a wavelength band of 650 nm-700 nm, and has a radiation intensity of 70% or more in a wavelength band of 650 nm-700 nm with respect to the second peak.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to a light-irradiating toothbrush.

Brushing is indispensable to prevent diseases in the oral cavity such as tooth decay and periodontal disease. For example, periodontal disease, which is one of the two major diseases of dentistry, is said to affect 80% of adults or is a reserve force thereof, according to one theory. In addition, it has been pointed out that oral diseases such as tooth decay and periodontal disease are related to diseases such as respiratory diseases, heart diseases and diabetes. Under such circumstances, there is an increasing need to prevent or suppress oral diseases by more effective and simple methods.

For example, Patent Document 1 describes a light-irradiated toothbrush capable of suppressing bacterial growth that causes periodontal disease.

In recent years, it has become clear that the growth of bacteria that cause periodontal disease can be suppressed by irradiating with light of a specific wavelength. For example, Non-Patent Document 1 describes that the colony size of Porphyromonas gingivalis becomes smaller when irradiated with light in the wavelength range of 430 to 480 nm.

In addition to oral diseases such as tooth decay and periodontal disease, it has been known in recent years that irradiation with specific wavelength light has various effects. For example, photoimmunotherapy uses near-infrared light (700 nm), and photodynamic therapy uses 650 nm light. These treatments are expected to develop into various disease areas.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-183665 Growth inhibitory effect of Porphyromonas gingivalis by irradiation with specific wavelength light Makoto Fukui Shikoku Dental Journal 23 (2): 91-96, 2011

By the technique described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to effectively and easily obtain a preventive effect on periodontal disease and the like. In addition, in daily life, it is required to prevent various diseases including oral diseases by using a simple method that can be easily realized by anyone and to improve health. That is, by irradiating the oral cavity with a plurality of specific wavelengths at the same time, it can be expected that a more complex effect can be obtained for maintaining health.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a light-irradiated toothbrush that makes it possible to irradiate the oral cavity with a plurality of specific wavelength lights that can be expected to have a combined effect on maintaining health. ..

One side surface of the light-irradiating toothbrush of the present invention is provided at a portion where bristles for brushing the tip of the main body are provided, and a tip component made of a material that allows light to pass through and light emission provided inside the tip component. The light emitted by the light emitter has a first peak of radiant intensity in the wavelength band of 460 nm to 470 nm and a second peak of radiant intensity in the wavelength band of 650 nm to 700 nm.

Another aspect of the light-irradiated toothbrush of the present invention has a radiant intensity of 70% or more in the wavelength band of 650 nm to 700 nm at the second peak of light emission by the illuminant.

On the other side of the light-irradiated toothbrush of the present invention, the difference in relative radiant intensity between the first peak and the second peak is within 30% in the light emission by the illuminant.

According to the present invention, it is possible to irradiate the oral cavity with a plurality of specific wavelength lights that can be expected to have a combined effect on maintaining health.

It is a top view of the light irradiation toothbrush 1 which is an Example of this invention. It is a side view of the light irradiation toothbrush 1 which is one Example of this invention. It is a side sectional view of the light irradiation toothbrush 1 which is one Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the wavelength of the irradiation light and the relative radiation intensity. It is a figure which shows an example of the wavelength of the irradiation light and the relative radiation intensity.

Hereinafter, the light-irradiated toothbrush according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

FIG. 1 is a top outline view of a light-irradiated toothbrush 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side outline view of the light-irradiated toothbrush 1. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the light-irradiated toothbrush 1.

The light-irradiated toothbrush 1 has a tip component 12 made of a material that allows light to pass through, for example, transparent polyester, attached to the tip portion of the main body 11, and bristles 13 for brushing are provided on the tip portion 12 thereof. There is.

At the center of the tip component 12, a light emitting body 14 serving as a light source for irradiating the oral cavity with light having a specific wavelength is provided. As the light emitting body 14, any light source such as an LED, a semiconductor laser light source, or an optical fiber may be used as long as it can emit a specific wavelength. Further, the light emitting body 14 may be provided in a plurality of light emitting bodies 14 instead of one, and the light emitting direction may be any direction as long as the brushing surface by the hair 13 is included. Specifically, the illuminant 14 can be attached by using, for example, a method as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-183665. Further, a filter for cutting unnecessary wavelength components may be provided inside or near the light emitting body 14.

A power supply 15 is provided at any position inside the main body 11 of the light-irradiated toothbrush 1. The power source 15 may be, for example, a replaceable dry battery, a replaceable rechargeable battery that can be charged externally, an adapter for connecting to an external power source, or the like.

The power switch 16 is provided at a position outside the main body 11 of the light-irradiated toothbrush 1, preferably at a position close to the grip portion of the light-irradiated toothbrush 1 that is easy for the user to operate. When the power switch 16 is operated by the user, the power supply to the light emitting body 14 is started or stopped from the power supply 15 via the internal printed circuit board 17, and the light emitting and extinguishing of the light emitting body 14 are operated. Needless to say, the power source 15 may supply power to the light emitter 14 by using wiring instead of the printed circuit board 17. The electric power supplied to the light emitting body 14 is a value that can be appropriately designed depending on the light emitting intensity required for the light emitting body 14, the cost of the power supply 15, the ease of design, and the like, and is, for example, a value of 60 to 65 mW. It becomes.

A specific example of the light emitted by the light emitting body 14 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing the relationship between the relative radiant intensity and the wavelength when a general white LED is used for the light emitting body 14. The relative radiant intensity indicates the relative intensity of other wavelengths when the wavelength having the strongest irradiation intensity is 1.

When a general white LED is used for the light emitting body 14, a steep peak appears at a wavelength of 460 nm in the relative radiant intensity as shown in FIG. As shown in Patent Document 1 described above, when light in the wavelength band of 430 to 480 nm is irradiated, the colony size of Porphyromonas gingivalis becomes small, so that a general white LED is used for the light emitter 14. Therefore, daily brushing using the light-irradiated toothbrush 1 can suppress the growth of bacteria that cause periodontal disease.

Further, even in a general blue LED, a steep peak appears in the relative radiant intensity at a wavelength of 460 nm. That is, even when a general blue LED is used for the light emitting body 14, daily brushing using the light-irradiated toothbrush 1 can suppress bacterial growth that causes periodontal disease. Whether to use the white LED or the blue LED for the light emitting body 14 can be determined by the appearance and usability due to the irradiation of light, the cost, and the like.

Next, with reference to FIG. 5, a case where a light source having a relative radiant intensity different from the case described with reference to FIG. 4 is used as the light emitting body 14 will be described.

FIG. 5 has a first peak of radiant intensity in the wavelength band of 460 nm to 470 nm, a second peak of radiant intensity in the wavelength band of 650 nm to 700 nm, and with respect to the second peak. It is a graph which shows the relationship between a relative radiant intensity and a wavelength when a light source having a radiant intensity of 70% or more in a wavelength band of 650 nm to 700 nm is used as a light emitter 14. The relative radiant intensity indicates the relative intensity of other wavelengths when the wavelength having the strongest irradiation intensity is 1.

As shown in FIG. 5, it is preferable that the first peak and the second peak have the same radiant intensity, but the difference in relative intensity between the first peak and the second peak is within 30%. It should be.

The configuration of the light emitting body 14 for obtaining the relationship between the relative radiation intensity and the wavelength shown in FIG. 5 may be any configuration. For example, the light emitting body 14 may be configured by using a plurality of light sources, or may be configured by using a phosphor that excites light in a wavelength band of 650 nm to 700 nm with respect to a blue light emitting diode. good. Further, the light emitting body 14 may obtain the relationship between the relative radiant intensity and the wavelength as shown in FIG. 5 by cutting unnecessary wavelengths with a filter.

As shown in FIG. 5, in addition to having a first peak in the wavelength band of 460 nm to 470 nm, which can be expected to have an effect of suppressing the growth of bacteria that cause periodontal disease, for example, photoimmunotherapy and photodynamics. By using a light source having a wavelength band of 650 nm to 700 nm as a second peak, which includes light having a specific wavelength as used for specific treatment, as the illuminant 14, daily brushing with a light-irradiating toothbrush 1 causes periodontal disease. It can be expected to suppress the growth of bacteria that cause the periodontal disease and to obtain a combined effect on the maintenance of health.

As described above, the light-irradiated toothbrush 1 has a configuration capable of irradiating the oral cavity with a plurality of specific wavelength lights that can be expected to have a complex effect on maintaining health, and is a light-irradiated toothbrush. Daily brushing using 1 can suppress the growth of bacteria that cause periodontal disease, and can be expected to have a combined effect on the maintenance of health.

Further, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

1 ... Light irradiation toothbrush, 11 ... Main body, 12 ... Tip parts, 13 ... Hair, 14 ... Luminous body, 15 ... Power supply, 16 ... Power switch, 17 ... Printed circuit board

Claims (3)

A tip part made of a material that allows light to pass through, which is provided in the part where the hair for brushing the tip of the main body is provided, and
It is provided with a light emitting body provided inside the tip component.
Light emission by the illuminant is characterized by having a first peak of radiant intensity in the wavelength band of 460 nm to 470 nm and a second peak of radiant intensity in the wavelength band of 650 nm to 700 nm. toothbrush. In the light-irradiated toothbrush according to claim 1.
A light-irradiated toothbrush characterized by having a radiation intensity of 70% or more in the wavelength band of 650 nm to 700 nm at the second peak of light emission by the light emitter. In the light-irradiated toothbrush according to any one of claims 1 or 2.
A light-irradiating toothbrush characterized in that the difference in relative radiant intensity between the first peak and the second peak is within 30%.

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