Patent ID: 8328452

Claim:
A power toothbrush/oral fluid combination for removing biofilm from teeth, comprising: an oral fluid having the characteristic of changing viscosity upon an increase in frequency of operation of a power toothbrush workpiece element; and a power toothbrush having a driving assembly for a workpiece element, wherein the driving assembly and the oral fluid have two operating modes, in a first mode, the driving assembly operates at such a low frequency that the oral fluid has a low viscosity and flows readily to and around the teeth in a liquid state; and in a second mode, the driving assembly and the workpiece element operate at a sufficiently high frequency that the viscosity of the oral fluid increases substantially, producing in operation of the power toothbrush/oral fluid combination a shear rate for the fluid around the teeth as a result of the first mode of operation approximately at least as great as the threshold at which biofilm is removed from the teeth.