Selected from the archive for the Medical collection — a quick, visual way into the topic before you go deeper.
Fox News Says forget electric toothbrushes. Using 3D printing, engineers have developed a new kind of toothbrush tailor-made to fit a person's mouth. All a person must do to brush is bite down. At first glance, the "Blizzident" looks a bit like a hairy pair of dentures. The brush's makers say it cleans teeth completely within six seconds, though independent studies have not yet verified its efficacy. To tailor the brush to a person's mouth, dentists take a digital scan of the teeth (or take an impression that is later scanned). The makers of Blizzident use that scan to determine the optimal placement of 600 bristles by simulating biting and chewing movements. The bristles resemble normal toothbrush bristles but are much finer and tapered to reach under the gumline better. The makers use 3D printingcreate the brush itself. They use the dental scan to create a computer aided design (CAD) model of the brush, which is converted into a 3D object using stereolithography, a method in which liquid plastic is cured into a shape with an ultraviolet laser. The bristles are then painstakingly attached to this object