We've recently seen a number of "electric mouthpiece"-type toothbrushes that are claimed to clean your teeth in 3, 10, 20 or 30 seconds, depending on the model. At a reported 50 seconds, the three-headed BruBruBrush takes a little longer, but its makers state that it does a better job.
The other quick-brush toothbrushes pretty much all take the form of a bristle-lined mouthpiece that the user bites down on. An integrated motor then causes the bristles to vibrate, supposedly cleaning all of the user's teeth at once. According to the BruBruBrush folks, though, these devices simply aren't bristly or powerful enough to do a thorough job – if they were, they'd be huge and awkward to use.
BruBruBrush's solution to the problem is a three-headed electric toothbrush, each head featuring a spinning set of bristles. Users still manually move the thing over their teeth, as they would with a traditional toothbrush, but no actual "brushing" motion is required – all they have to do is hold the device in place, with the three heads cleaning all sides of each tooth at the same time.
The bristles on each head are longer around the outside edge, reportedly allowing them to get in between teeth, while the heads themselves are spring-loaded, keeping them in contact with tooth surfaces. When cleaning the thinner front teeth, users are able to move the top head up and the two side heads in towards one another, ensuring that they maintain sufficient pressure on the teeth.
Regular toothpaste can be used, and the bristles are replaceable – a planned US$80 annual subscription service would see users getting three new sets every three months. Those bristles are also apparently quite soft, so they shouldn't be hard on users' gums.
If you're interested, the BruBruBrush is currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign. A pledge of $139 will get you one, when and if they reach production. The planned retail price is $229.
Sources: Kickstarter, BruBruBrush