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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

#121

Post by LeonM »

dubswithus wrote: post #74
LeonM wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I have used it for about a year now, and haven't need to change them yet. It comes with 2 brushes in the box, and I'm still using the first brush, it is not showing any signs of wear.

The main thing is that you do not need to brush with any friction. You just move the brush gently over your teeth, so they barely wear.

For me this is also why I like it. With traditional hand brushes, I'd wear them out in 3 months or so. In hindsight this was a clear indicator that I was pushing way to hard on them.

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

#122

Post by Retric »

throwaway4837 wrote: post #111
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…

Wouldn't the mouthwash need abrasive particles as well? Part of why Listerine doesn't replace brushing and flossing is because it has a much smaller mechanical component in the washing process. The physical rubbing of bristles and wire through and around the teeth creates the physical abrasion that is necessary to remove large films of plaque. I imagine without any sort of abrasive, the liquid would need to be danger…

Preventing plaque formation avoids the need to remove it.

Actually accomplishing that seems unlikely, but not impossible.

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

#123

Post by AaronM »

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…

FYI, at least one review of multiple studies have shown that ultrasonic tooth brushes are no better than sonic toothbrushes.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7175112/

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

#124

Post by whartung »

sudofail wrote: post #88
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.

It's been awhile, but back when I tried one I didn't care for the Sonicare. Simply it made my hand numb.

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

#125

Post by 14 »

As a health care worker this would be great for very fragile or palliative clients where brushing effectively just isn’t possible. Fragile clients will often do a poor job or if you help them they don’t always tolerate how hard and long you need to brush to be effective. Not to even mention flossing. And with palliative patients they can often be bed bound and unconscious to you can’t really get in with a toothbrush and water and brush properly. Instead they get a small piece of foam attached to a stick basically and you rub it around their mouth and get any big chunks out. Very poor effectiveness. For me good mouth care for the palliative clients would be really nice to see.

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

#126

Post by bmau5 »

comeondude wrote: post #117
bmau5 wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's it exactly. Some beneficial species play an active role in suppressing the pathogenic species (those that release acid or cause gum disease) and have other benefits including helping us break down dietary nitrate into nitric oxide, which is critical for heart/brain health. My company tests/researches the oral microbiome and we're starting to discover the signatures of what puts people in one group vs. the othe…

This is very cool. What’s your take on xytiol gums? Think they’re effective in changing our oral microdiome for the better?

The initial data on xylitol looks promising for reducing cavities! Particularly for stimulating saliva production (dry mouth is a large contributor to cavities risk) and as a sugar substitute that cavity-causing species can't digest into acid. I'm excited to see more research come out and compare it with our data.

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

#127

Post by moffkalast »

david_l_lin wrote: post #48
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.

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…

This seems a pretty likely reason, especially when you see this sort of thing even for regular medicine: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/11/goldman-asks-is-curing-patie...

Dental is so much more profit oriented that it would be actually insane to think they're devoting R&D towards something like preventative medicine.

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

#128

Post by wmeredith »

barbazoo wrote: post #79
yunohn wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

They don’t have one. There is no lever. This is conspiracy theory nonsense, but even if there was a lever they wouldn’t need to pull it.

I move in social circles with a lot of people from the dental care industry and I can tell you that no one is worried about running out of treatment opportunities.

I’ve met hundreds of dentists over the last 18 years and they all spend their days asking patients to brush and floss. It’s a simple thing, it's pretty cheap, and prevents almost all oral diseases regardless of diet or genetics. It's easier than changing your diet. It's a LOT easier than changing your mouth biome. It's practically a miracle cure when done regularly with decent technique.

And… the vast majority of people simply don’t brush and floss like they should. I'd guess that the group that does is about the same size as those who actually get enough exercise, which is about 23.2% in America[1]. People consume mind-boggling amounts of refined sugars and generally don’t take care of their teeth.

There is no sinister cabal keeping people in cavities and gum disease because, it’s simply not needed.

[1]https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/exercise.htm

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

#129

Post by moffkalast »

Forgeties79 wrote: post #66
david_l_lin wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All you need to do is visit the dentistry reddit sub and look at threads like this: https://www.reddit.com/r/Dentistry/comments/vnv25a/how_is_he... . They all operate on "production" because billing is top priority.

I don’t doubt that money is their highest priority, as that is the case for most people when it comes to their job. But the implication that they are sabotaging our teeth or giving bad advice in order to be able to bill us for bigger procedures down the line is a much bigger claim.

They don't have to sabotage people, all they have to do is nothing - in terms of researching new better ways to prevent issues - and they're already set.

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

#130

Post by moffkalast »

dubswithus wrote: post #23
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.

I remember some articles about good bacteria outcompeting bad bacteria in the mouth and preventing cavities. Seems like it probably didn't pan out.

Nah it did, the problem is you have to take a pill every day and they cost way too much for that sort of frequent usage. Like $60 per 20 pills kind of price, which is hard to justify without hard proven evidence of actual benefit.
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