Leighton Buzzard woman wins award for toothbrush that supports sensory needs

Victoria Flynn, 44, was thrilled to win the Disability Smart Impact Awards 2026 in honour of her "life-changing" product, the Sensory Shine 'U-shaped Toothbrush'.

The busy mum-of-two turned designer was motivated to help due to a personal family journey, after her own daughter found brushing her teeth painful.

Victoria said: "The feedback has been incredible and my daughter is thrilled – she's like our ambassador.

"Initially we started out to support children with sensory needs – but we found the demand was much greater than imagined. I was contacted by stroke survivors, by carers who look after dementia patients, and by people going through cancer treatment with very sensitive gums and ulcers.

"It's been described as life-changing."

Sensory Shine was born from Victoria's determination to find a solution for her daughter, Daisy, 14, who has autism and sensory processing disorder.

When Daisy was around four years old, brushing her teeth was making school mornings very difficult – and affecting her confidence.

Vicky said: "Sensory Shine really is a home story, it's a personal experience. The amount of effort for something so simple – it was having a really big impact.

"The feeling of brushing her teeth was becoming so overwhelming that Daisy would meltdown and get so distressed that she couldn't face the day. We were pretty desperate at the time."

After receiving SENCO support and trying many tips and tricks – but to no avail – the family "started looking for solutions".

Victoria and her husband, Chris, found a three-sided toothbrush online, but the bristles would still be too harsh for their daughter.

"We worked closely with manufacturers to find and refine products that better met our needs," said Victoria. "My daughter took to it [the toothbrush] straight away. It’s designed to make brushing quicker and be sensory friendly."

Sensory Shine has now gone from strength to strength and boasts two other designs: the 'Ultra-Soft Nano Toothbrush' with 12,000 very fine, thin bristles (and an electric version), as well as the 'Desensitisation Finger Toothbrush' – a silicone glove to wear on your finger.

"We're now looking into a water flossing 'tooth pick' that could be sensory friendly," said Victoria.

Following the success of the Sensory Shine ‘U-shaped toothbrush’, Victoria applied for the Disability Smart Impact Awards, organised by the Business Disability Forum.

She and Chris recently attended the awards ceremony at HSBC, central London, and Victoria was "humbled and shocked" to hear her name called out.

She said: "It was a real honour and privilege to be in the room with so many amazing people, designing and creating products to make a difference."

Victoria, Chris, Daisy and Daisy's twin, Lily, would now love to see Sensory Shine hit major supermarket shelves.

"We need to push through and get seen and heard, and get our people supported." concluded Victoria.

Click here to find out more about Sensory Shine.