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

penntoday.upenn.edu

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

#81

Post by vkou »

Silica6149 wrote: post #10
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.

This sponge you put in your mouth made me think for the first time about how much bacteria is potentially on a normal toothbrush. I'm betting this product is even less hygienic since it's a sponge instead of only bristles.

The point of brushing your teeth isn't sterilizing them. The point of brushing your teeth is to reduce the number of nutrients for bacteria to feed on, and to physically disrupt their environment - like running a lawnmower over an anthill.

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

#82

Post by legalcorrection »

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…

This doesn't sound possible. A big component of oral hygiene is removing the relatively large chunks of food that are hiding invisibly between your teeth. If you leave them there, they will rot and smell bad and cause other issues like infections. You need a physical object like the bristles of a tooth brush and/or floss to physically dislodge the bits of food. That's why every culture developed some way to clean their teeth.

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

#83

Post by DoingIsLearning »

ad404b8a372f2b9 wrote: post #61
liotier wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are toilets in the bathroom common in your country ? Here, in France, they are a separate room - which also helps with multiple simultaneous uses.

I've never seen a bathroom without a toilet in it in France. Is it regional? Or could it be a matter of the types of lodgings like flats v.s homes?

I've seen the splitinh in actual house in the Netherlands and Belgium so maybe some Northern France houses also split?

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

#84

Post by dr_orpheus »

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.

Generally, I would agree that most dentists want their patients to have healthy teeth. In my dentists they seem relatively thorough and consistent in what they observe with my teeth as far as health and function. And they are pretty specific with preventative measures that don't make them money (recommendations on possible problem areas to make sure to focus on for flossing brushing) and some that do (mouth guard to prevent grinding).

HOWEVER, all of the dentists that I have had push cosmetic procedures really hard. Teeth whitening, alignment (cosmetic only), caps (cosmetic only).

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

#85

Post by tiahura »

mattkrause wrote: post #64
amelius wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure if I am comfortable with the idea of sending ultrasonic waves into the brain every day ...

This isn't a totally crazy concern: focused ultrasound (fUS) can be used to modulate brain activity non-invasively (or even make therapeutic lesions). However, a toothbrush is almost certainly not going to do that. The skull's impedance is way too high for the dinky transducer in your toothbrush and even if it weren't, you need to do all sorts of clever corrections to focus the ultrasound on a particular spot.

Maybe it prevents Alzheimer’s?

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

#86

Post by cheschire »

legalcorrection wrote: post #82
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…

This doesn't sound possible. A big component of oral hygiene is removing the relatively large chunks of food that are hiding invisibly between your teeth. If you leave them there, they will rot and smell bad and cause other issues like infections. You need a physical object like the bristles of a tooth brush and/or floss to physically dislodge the bits of food. That's why every culture developed some way to clean the…

GP did say "replace" but they also said "reduce" so I'm thinking they meant replace the majority of brushing, but probably not all of it. If they had an effective way of removing lettuce from teeth chemically, I'd be afraid of side effects.

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

#88

Post by sudofail »

abdullahkhalids wrote: post #87

Can anyone recommend an electric toothbrush? I have always used a regular manual one, but lots of people including a dentist have recommended an electric one. Wanna see what the hype is about.

Philips Sonicare is the way to go. Lot of different options, but they're all great.

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

#89

Post by newscracker »

coryrc wrote: post #80
Victerius wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Could it also be about the level of salivation in general, since saliva also helps kill some bacteria and keep the mouth cleaner (relatively)?

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

#90

Post by jachee »

LeonM wrote: post #49
d1sxeyes wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Looks like 250 EUR on their website?

Looks like that pricing has not been updated for a while. I paid something like 200 euros, that was about a year ago. Most online retailers in my country now list them for less than 100 euros.

Weird. In Dutch (https://silkn.nl/toothwave-black) it’s €119.

In English (both EU and GB), French, Spanish, and German ( e.g. https://silkn.eu/toothwave-black) it’s €249.

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