ELECTRIC TOOTHBRUSH WITH TOOTH PLAQUE DETECTION FUNCTION

摘要

To discriminate whether a replacement brush or a replacement probe is attached to a body of an electric toothbrush without dedicated detection means.SOLUTION: An electric toothbrush comprises: a body incorporating a drive motor; a replacement brush which can be attached to the body; a fluorescence detection module which is incorporated in the body, emits excitation light for exciting a fluorescent substance included in a plaque from an input output port and receives fluorescence entered from the input output port; a replacement probe attachable to the body and waveguiding the excitation light and fluorescence generated on teeth which is irradiated with the excitation light; a discrimination member which is provided on an optical path of the excitation light, and makes light reception intensity on the fluorescence detection module different between attachment of the replacement brush and attachment of the replacement probe; and a control part discriminating whether the replacement brush or the replacement probe is attached to the body according to the light reception intensity on the fluorescence detection module, and when determining that the replacement probe is attached, detecting a plaque according to the light reception result on the fluorescence detection module.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2