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Microrobots can brush and floss teeth in a proof-of-concept study

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Re: Microrobots can brush and floss teeth in a proof-of-concept study

#71

Post by kurthr »

DoingIsLearning wrote: post #27
Silica6149 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good idea, it's just I never thought twice about the cleanliness of a toothbrush. I guess it's been ingrained in me to think it's normal to run a toothbrush under water to "clean" it.

I remember a myth busters episode where they demonstrated that toothbrushes left in open air will easily get fecal matter on the brush hairs due to aerosolized poop from when you flush an open lid toilet. Definitely a great conversation ice-breaker.

   After confirming that a toilet flush does emit an aerosol spray, Adam builds a rack to hold 44 toothbrushes at various distances from the toilet in the shop, as well as two controls kept in the office. Each day, Adam and Jamie exposed the brushes to toothpaste and rinsed with distilled water, with brushing with a pair kept right above the toilet bowl. Fecal coliforms were indeed found on all the test brushes, including the control ones, but none at a level high enough to be dangerous. A microbiologist from UCSF confirmed that such coliforms were impossible to completely avoid, and that there was no significant difference in the number of bacteria based on where the toothbrushes were placed in respect to the toilet bowl. This surprising result prompts the narrator to proclaim "Some myths are best left unanswered!"
Since the controls were kept in his office... it does seem like it's impossible to avoid fecal coliform bacteria.

Re: Microrobots can brush and floss teeth in a proof-of-concept study

#72

Post by yunohn »

barbazoo wrote: post #65
david_l_lin wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's because incumbents in the space have played a huge role in preventing adoption of new technologies that actually prevent disease. Dentists make money not from preventing disease, but from performing procedures when disease has already progressed to the point of no return. Cavities and gum disease are bacterial infections that are completely preventable. I feel the need to plug what we've been building at…

> Dentists make money not from preventing disease, but from performing procedures when disease has already progressed to the point of no return. I find that hard to believe as dentists wouldn't be the group of people I'd imagine developing those new ideas and products. How would that work?

Nobody wants to go to the dentist until it’s too late, because it’s so expensive nor covered by health insurance.

Even if it’s not intentional, dentists aren’t R&D specialists. They’re a service, at a premium price, whose livelihood depends on people going for treatments.

Re: Microrobots can brush and floss teeth in a proof-of-concept study

#73

Post by chasebank »

Forgeties79 wrote: post #36
f6v wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you seen how much it costs to get crowns or implants? There’s zero incentive for innovation, people keep bringing their money.

I would like to think that most dentists like their patients to have healthy, cared for teeth and that they play in important role in it. I would not like to think that most of them actually work to our detriment so that they can do more expensive, painful procedures on our mouths and teeth. That’s a pretty cynical outlook I’d need to see evidence for.

A close friend of mine is a dental hygienist. He once worked for a dentist in Ketchum, ID who had all the hygienists on a commission structure. Basically he was told to “sell” procedures that were virtually not necessary. Some of his coworkers were making $250k/yr as hygenists… Needless to say, he couldn’t stomach it and left the practice. He’s worked for many dentists and he ultimately left the field because the majority of clinics he worked for tended to be a business first and look after your best interests second.

Re: Microrobots can brush and floss teeth in a proof-of-concept study

#74

Post by dubswithus »

LeonM wrote: post #30
svantana wrote: post #3

I find it strange that there is so little innovation in the field of everyday tooth care. Particularly the inefficiency of brushing one tooth at a time. I like the idea of https://blizzbrush.com/ , has anyone tried it? It's a bit suspicious that the single-pack is "sold out", but the 5 and 10-packs are not.

There is quite some innovation, but consumers are slow to adopt IMO. Last year, my dentist warned me I have quite severe receded gums. This was due to me pushing my toothbrush too hard. So, after doing some research I bought an ultrasonic toothbrush. These have a static head (it does not oscillate/rotate) which emits ultrasonic waves to clean your teeth. Same principle of an ultrasonic parts cleaner. The head is stil…

How often do you change brush heads? They are quite expensive at $15/piece.

Re: Microrobots can brush and floss teeth in a proof-of-concept study

#75

Post by jklinger410 »

svantana wrote: post #3

I find it strange that there is so little innovation in the field of everyday tooth care. Particularly the inefficiency of brushing one tooth at a time. I like the idea of https://blizzbrush.com/ , has anyone tried it? It's a bit suspicious that the single-pack is "sold out", but the 5 and 10-packs are not.

Capitalism only creates innovations where there is potential for expanding profits. Permanently fixing teeth is infinitely less profitable than keeping them in a constant state of disrepair.

Re: Microrobots can brush and floss teeth in a proof-of-concept study

#76

Post by Guest9081239812 »

stjohnswarts wrote: post #68
prepend wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’d like to think that, but my dentist makes about $170/year from me having healthy teeth. They make $1500/crown (in addition to the $170 for cleaning). I’ve been to three dentists this year. I find it interesting that one said I had an emergency and needed a crown right away (a year ago), one said they’d watch the tooth, and one said nothing. Cynically, I don’t like agency issues where experts make lots of money off…

I had a dentist for several years and everything was normal just clean and go. A new hygenist shows up and suddently "You have severe plaque below the gum line we need to do a deep cleaning (root scaling/planing)" so they do that and it's almost $500, next time rolls around and she says it again and dentist concurs. I had been brushing and flossing diligently (probably too much) since the last time and just looking a…

Both myself and my partner had similar experiences at the dentist. They found work that needed to be done, we got second opinions, and were told something completely different.

I stopped trusting dentists since then. If I can feel or see a problem (in the mirror or in xrays), then sure, I'll get it fixed. But, if my teeth feel perfectly fine, I'm not going to rush into getting them drilled out.

Re: Microrobots can brush and floss teeth in a proof-of-concept study

#77

Post by Victerius »

bmau5 wrote: post #60

This is very interesting and has a lot of potential, especially for people who struggle to brush their teeth, but I think there's another future where brushing and flossing largely become obsolete. If we could develop a more effective mouthwash tailored to restoring each persons oral microbiome we could likely reduce the need for brushing and flossing and instead replace it with a daily mouth rinse that clears out fo…

Like a dishwasher but for teeth?

Re: Microrobots can brush and floss teeth in a proof-of-concept study

#79

Post by barbazoo »

yunohn wrote: post #72
barbazoo wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Dentists make money not from preventing disease, but from performing procedures when disease has already progressed to the point of no return. I find that hard to believe as dentists wouldn't be the group of people I'd imagine developing those new ideas and products. How would that work?

Nobody wants to go to the dentist until it’s too late, because it’s so expensive nor covered by health insurance. Even if it’s not intentional, dentists aren’t R&D specialists. They’re a service, at a premium price, whose livelihood depends on people going for treatments.

What lever do they have to prevent new products from being developed that help people take care of their teeth?

Re: Microrobots can brush and floss teeth in a proof-of-concept study

#80

Post by coryrc »

Victerius wrote: post #77
bmau5 wrote: post #60

This is very interesting and has a lot of potential, especially for people who struggle to brush their teeth, but I think there's another future where brushing and flossing largely become obsolete. If we could develop a more effective mouthwash tailored to restoring each persons oral microbiome we could likely reduce the need for brushing and flossing and instead replace it with a daily mouth rinse that clears out fo…

Like a dishwasher but for teeth?

Some people rarely brush their teeth and never get cavities. Some people brush thrice daily and floss and still get cavities and need root canals.

The working theory is we could all be in the first group with the right bacteria in our mouth.

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