According to NASA, a dental abscess, which can lead to sepsis and eventual death,
is the medical condition most likely to result in a spacecraft evacuation.
Astronauts need to brush their teeth to prevent this. Currently, there are two ways
of getting rid of toothpaste and oral fluids after brushing. One is to swallow it,
which can result in harmful fluoride toxicity in the long run. Another is to spit
it into a towel which requires costly towel supplies and creates unnecessary trash.
We need a way to make brushing teeth safer and more pleasant to encourage proper
oral hygiene during long duration space travel..
Introducing Ctrl-Z's AstroBrush!
The Astrobrush is an irrigating toothbrush that suctions toothpaste and oral fluids from the
astronaut’s mouth. This is done by connecting it to a centrifuge that leads to a vacuum pump.
The centrifuge prevents solid and liquid contents from being suctioned into the vacuum pump
in microgravity. The centrifuge is heated to vaporize the water which is vented into the
spacecraft cabin for reclamation in the spacecraft’s water condensation system ("CCAA").
The solid waste in the centrifuge is then disposed of. This will help prevent tooth decay
and problems related to long-term ingestion of fluoride by encouraging convenient and frequent
tooth brushing by space travelers, while minimizing waste. Brushing is particularly critical
in space since drinking water from the CCAA contains no fluoride.
