When it comes to dental health, some take it for granted. Then, there are also others who have all the tools needed to keep their mouth healthy and clean.
There are tools available that help keep teeth clean, but in the near future, these may not be needed. You may find yourself getting rid of dental care kit and replacing it with a breakthrough shapeshifting microrobot that serves as a toothbrush, rinse, and dental floss. All these found in only one item!
The new technology is designed to specifically offer a fresh automated way to let go of the usual mundane tasks of brushing and flossing. Not many people may find this easy. In fact, it’s a challenge for the disabled such as amputees, quadriplegics, or even the older folks of society.
The microrobots are built with building such as iron oxide nanoparticles. These can perform both catalytic and magnetic tasks that are beneficial to the teeth. It works because it makes use of a magnetic field, and with it, the researchers are able to control the device’s motion and configuration so that it can turn to bristle-like structures that clean dental plaque by sweeping it away from the wide surfaces of the teeth. Or, it can transform into elongated strings that easily slip between the spaces of the teeth much like a floss. For the two cases, a catalytic reaction happens as it drives the nanoparticles to produce the vital antimicrobials that kill harmful oral bacteria right then and there.
Experiments have been made to test this out and they performed the task on both mock and real human teeth. They saw results that prove how the robotic assemblies can adjust and change itself according to the shape of the surface in order to remove stubborn and sticky plaque that eventually develops into cavities and gum diseases.
This invention was developed thanks to a multidisciplinary team at the University of Pennsylvania. Their findings have been published as an established proof-of-concept for the robotic system. Details are found in the journal ACS Nano.
“Routine oral care is cumbersome and can pose challenges for many people, especially those who have hard time cleaning their teeth” said author Hyun (Michel) Koo. He is a professor in the Department of Orthodontics in Penn’s School of Dental Medicine. He also said, “You have to brush your teeth, then floss your teeth, then rinse your mouth; it’s a manual, multi-step process. The big innovation here is that the robotics system can do all three in a single, hands-free, automated way.”
“Nanoparticles can be shaped and controlled with magnetic fields in surprising ways,” shared Edward Steager. He is an author from Penn’s School of Engineering and Applied Science. “We form bristles that can extend, sweep, and even transfer back and forth across a space, much like flossing. The way it works is similar to how a robotic arm might reach out and clean a surface. The system can be programmed to do the nanoparticle assembly and motion control automatically,” he added.
Changing the Field of Oral Care
“The design of the toothbrush has remained relatively unchanged for millennia,” elaborated Koo. This innovative technology came purely from chance. Research groups that hailed from both Penn Dental Medicine and Penn Engineering expressed interest in iron oxide nanoparticles. Of course, these came from very different reasons. Koo’s team wanted to look further into the catalytic activity that took place in the nanoparticles. They wanted to see the effects of activating hydrogen peroxide so that the particles release free radicals that can kill bacteria that brought about as well as break down dental plaque biofilms.
Steager and his engineering colleagues, on the other hand, were studying the nanoparticles and wanted to see how they served as building blocks of magnetically controlled microrobots.
The university decided to back them up and thus, the Penn collaborators merged both applications in the work that they were doing and built a platform to electromagnetically control the microrobots so that they are able to bring in different configurations and release antimicrobials on the site so that they can treat and clean teeth efficiently.
“It doesn’t matter if you have straight teeth or misaligned teeth, it will adapt to different surfaces,” said Koo. “The system can adjust to all the nooks and crannies in the oral cavity.”
The researchers made sure to optimize the motions used by the microrobots so that these can still work on even on a more complicated topography when it comes to teeth. It was designed to also deliver effective results on interdental surfaces as well as the gumline. They did this by utilizing 3D-printed tooth models that were based on previous scans of human teeth that came from a dental clinic. Then, they tested these microrobots on real human teeth. They had to mount these first in order to imitate the actual position of the teeth in the oral cavity.
On the many surfaces they tested, the researchers also discovered that these microbots were able to eliminate biofilms so that all seen pathogens are removed. Right now, these oxide nanoparticles have gotten the FDA stamp of approval for other uses. The tests of the bristle formations on an animal model also showed that they were gentle on tissues found in the gum area.
Right now, the system is fully programmable.; They did this when the roboticists and engineers made use of variations in the magnetic field to precisely adjust its and control bristle stiffness and length. The team discovered that the tips of the bristles were able to be firm enough to remove biofilms but, at the same time, soft enough so that it doesn’t damage the user’s gums.
The team aims to advance this technology to the clinic. In order to make this possible, the Penn team is still hard at work to optimize the motions. They are also looking into the many ways to deliver the microrobots with the help of mouth-fitting devices.
The team is very optimistic with their device and believe that they can truly help the patients. “We have this technology that’s as or more effective as brushing and flossing your teeth but doesn’t require manual dexterity,” stated Koo. “We’d love to see this helping the geriatric population and people with disabilities. We believe it will disrupt current modalities and majorly advance oral health care.”
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