Music to Your Teeth
Xposed, February 2005 By
RICHARD C. LEWIS
Associated Press Writer
PROVIDENCE, R.I.
Toymaker Hasbro Inc. plans to turn jawbones into headphones in an effort to tune out tooth decay.
The company announced Friday it's launching "Tooth Tunes," a toothbrush that transmits music through the jawbone to the ear when its bristles touch teeth.
"You can clearly hear the words and the music," said Brian Goldner, president of Hasbro's U.S. Toys unit. "You can hum right along if you like."
For someone standing near a person brushing, the noise would be a muted hum, Goldner said.
The battery-operated toothbrush contains a tiny microchip that stores the song. When the user presses a button and starts brushing, the sound vibrations pass through the tooth, to the jawbone and directly into the inner ear. The song plays for two minutes, the amount of time dentists recommend people spend brushing their teeth.
Hasbro executives say the music quality is akin to the sound from personal headphones.
The Pawtucket-based company will offer the product, priced under $10, beginning in September. It initially will be carried in CVS stores nationwide, before being distributed more broadly, Goldner said. CVS, also based in Rhode Island, is the nation's largest drugstore operator.
Hasbro will market the product to all age groups, but sees great potential in its interest to children, who sometimes need an extra incentive to brush their teeth.
Goldner said the company was negotiating with various recording companies and artists, such as young pop performer Hilary Duff, on music rights. Disney has granted rights to a new rendition of the 1960s song "Do You Believe in Magic?" Goldner said. The toothbrush initially will carry one song.
Cleveland dentist Matthew Messina, a consumer adviser for the American Dental Association, doesn't see any drawbacks.
"Assuming it does what they say it does, it's an interesting little gimmick to keep kids brushing a little longer," he said. "The important thing is that the kids still have to move the toothbrush along the surfaces of the teeth."
Hasbro debuted the technology in a lollipop called "Sound Bites" in 1999. The line was discontinued, but executives sought to take the technology to a bigger audience.
Currently, the toothbrushes would need to be completely replaced when the bristles on the head wear out. The company is researching replaceable brush heads, Goldner said.
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