Sunny smiles…

…from a solar-powered toothbrush, of course.

The invention, from University of Saskatchewan professor Kunio Komiyama and his colleague Dr. Gerry Uswak, uses electrons to replace toothpaste. Apparently, according to a piece on canada.com, it utterly destroys the two types of bacteria responsible for most peridontal disease.

Komiyama’s first model, which was described 15 years ago in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology, contained a titanium dioxide rod in the neck of the brush, just below the nylon bristles. It works when light shines on the wet rod, releasing electrons. Those electrons react with acid in the mouth, which helps break down plaque. No toothpaste is required.

Now Komiyama’s back with a newer model, the Soladey-J3X, which he says packs twice the chemical punch compared to the original.

It’s also turned up on BoingBoing Gadgets and Gizmodo, naturally.