Henrietta Thompson looks at a new way to brush
and rinse using a single implement
WHAT IT is
Put the Brush & Rinse under a
running tap, and a tiny indent in its
head redirects the water upwards
to create a rinsing fountain. This
small adaptation to a normal plastic
toothbrush has won numerous
awards since the prototype was
unveiled. It's a fun and convenient
rethink of one of the most
universal daily routines.
Who he is
Scott Amron, 29, is an electrical
and mechanical engineering
graduate with his own New York
business, Amron Experimental.
Designing and making prototypes
for ad agencies, manufacturers,
production companies, start-ups,
and industrial design firms, he
also makes and licenses his own
concepts and hires out his design
services for exhibition booths,
advertisements and graphics.
How he thought of it
Like Archimedes, Amron’s “Eureka”
moment came in the bathroom.
“I was brushing my teeth in front of
a sink when I became conscious of
the brushing and rinsing routine,”
he says. “I stopped to imagine the
water flowing from the faucet
into and through my toothbrush,
exiting in a beautiful arc of water
from which I could comfortably sip
and rinse away toothpaste suds.”
Amron fashioned a prototype
then and there by drilling two holes
through his brush and connecting
these with an aluminium tube.
“Mindful of Bernoulli’s principle,
I crimped one end of the tube to
boost exit velocity. It worked!”
He went on to develop it into a
marketable product. “I wanted to
keep the design generic looking,
like an ordinary toothbrush but
with an unusual feature. I saw
it as a design tweak'.
What happens next
Since John Osher sold his
SpinBrush to Procter & Gamble
for $475m in 2001, oral care
companies have been awash
with new toothbrush concepts.
“It’s hard to get through,” says
Amron. Boosted by awards,
however, the Brush & Rinse has
had some exposure and is now
on presale at moq7.com for $1.18
apiece. Urban Outfitters and MoMA
have shown interest, and Amron
is in talks with oral care companies
looking to license the concept on
a mass scale. “I’d like to see it
designed into an Oral-B toothbrush
as a free bonus feature as it adds
no cost to manufacture,” he says.
