RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A dental student at Virginia Commonwealth University has been awarded $10,000 by her school to develop a prototype for her invention to help those wearing braces floss between their teeth.
Student Christina Gordon first developed her idea for the Proxy-Flosser when she was 10 years old and looking for a better way to complete the tedious task. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that she didn’t think much else about her invention until she enrolled in dental school. She said she was shocked to learn that a better product still hadn’t been invented, and she began making inquiries about whether her Proxy-Flosser was marketable.
She won $10,000 from VCU’s Innovation Gateway, which helps faculty and students commercialize their innovations.