Illuminated electric toothbrushes emitting high luminous intensity toothbrush

Abstract

A toothbrush has a handle, a neck attached to the handle, and a head attached to the neck. The head has a bristle holder having a plurality of bristles extending therefrom. The toothbrush further includes a light emitting element disposed in the bristle holder, wherein the light emitting element is capable of providing light having wavelengths between about 390 nm to about 770 nm and having a radiometric power of between about 5 mW/cm 2 to about 200 mW/cm 2 .

1 . A toothbrush having a handle, a neck attached to the handle, and a head attached to the neck, the toothbrush comprising: 
 a bristle holder having a plurality of bristles extending therefrom; and    a light emitting element disposed in the bristle holder, wherein the light emitting element is capable of providing light having wavelengths between about 390 nm to about 770 nm and having a radiometric power of between about 5 mW/cm 2  to about 200 mW/cm 2 .    
     
     
         2 . The toothbrush of  claim 1 , wherein the light emitting element is an LED.  
     
     
         3 . The toothbrush of  claim 1 , wherein the light emitting element is capable of providing blue light.  
     
     
         4 . The toothbrush of  claim 1 , wherein the light emitting element is capable of providing light having wavelengths between about 420 nm to about 490 nm.  
     
     
         5 . The toothbrush of  claim 1 , wherein the light emitting element is capable of providing light having wavelengths between about 430 nm to about 480 nm.  
     
     
         6 . The toothbrush of  claim 1 , wherein the head is made of a transparent material.  
     
     
         7 . The toothbrush of  claim 6 , wherein the bristle holder is made of a transparent material.  
     
     
         8 . The toothbrush of  claim 2 , further comprising a voltage driver or a current driver capable of providing a constant voltage or a constant current to the LED, respectively.  
     
     
         9 . The toothbrush of  claim 2  further comprising a DC power supply capable of providing between about 0.5 to about 5 volts to the LED.  
     
     
         10 . The toothbrush of  claim 1 , wherein the bristles surround the light emitting element.  
     
     
         11 . The toothbrush of  claim 10 , wherein a cylindrical volume devoid of bristles encircles the light emitting element, and wherein a diameter of the cylindrical volume is between about 2 mm to about 8 mm.  
     
     
         12 . The toothbrush of  claim 1 , wherein a portion of the plurality of bristles are formed from a translucent material.  
     
     
         13 . The toothbrush of  claim 1 , wherein a portion of the plurality of bristles are colored, pigmented, or dyed, such that the portion of the plurality of bristles generally match the color of the light emitted by the light emitting element.  
     
     
         14 . The toothbrush of  claim 1 , wherein a portion of the plurality of bristles are formed from an elastomeric material.  
     
     
         15 . The toothbrush of  claim 1 , wherein the radiometric power of the light emitting element is between about 10 mW/cm 2  to about 100 mW/cm 2 .  
     
     
         16 . The toothbrush of  claim 1 , wherein the radiometric power of the light emitting element is between about 20 mW/cm 2  to about 60 mW/cm 2 .  
     
     
         17 . A method of applying light to the oral cavity, the method comprising the steps of: 
 obtaining a toothbrush having a light emitting element;    switching the toothbrush on; and    applying light having wavelengths of between about 420 nm to about 490 nm having a radiometric intensity of between about 5 mW/cm 2  to about 200 mW/cm 2  to the oral cavity for about 10 seconds to about 10 minutes.    
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the light is applied to the oral cavity from about 30 seconds to about 2 minutes.  
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the light is applied to the oral cavity from about 45 seconds to about 2 minutes.  
     
     
         20 . The toothbrush of  claim 17 , wherein the radiometric power of the light emitting element is between about 10 mW/cm 2  to about 100 mW/cm 2 .  
     
     
         21 . The toothbrush of  claim 17 , wherein the radiometric power of the light emitting element is between about 20 mW/cm 2  to about 60 mW/cm 2 .