A better brush

A new product developed from technology invented at the University of Washington (UW) aims to change the way you brush your teeth.

It will make ultrasound - now available only at the dentist - part of the daily routine. The high-tech brush creates vibrations in bubbles of foam that work to clean pearly whites.

The story of the Ultreo toothbrush, as the product is now known, began in 2003, when the UW's Pierre Mourad met local entrepreneur Jack Gallagher for lunch.

Mourad, a research scientist in APL's Center for Industrial and Medical Ultrasound and research associate professor in the UW's Department of Neurological Surgery, was using high-frequency pulses to deliver drugs to brain tissue and to diagnose pain. Mourad sought an investor for a medical company. Gallagher, who helped launch the Sonicare toothbrush, had another idea: He wanted to build a better toothbrush.

Mourad knew that ultrasound, already used in high-pressure professional dental cleanings, could clean teeth. The technique works because ultrasound is the right frequency to vibrate bubbles. As the bubbles vibrate more than 20,000 times per second, they move the surrounding fluid, creating thin layers of water that sweep off the plaque.