TODAY’S COMMON AND SERIOUS CONDITIONS scaling instruments can also clear deposits from deeper pockets, and dislodge accumulated plaque and tartar by spraying them with coolant. Another advantage of ultrasonic scalers is that they introduce oxygen bubbles into deep gum pockets, disrupting bacteria. Faster than manual scaling, ultrasonic scaling is also better for weaker teeth; unlike manual scaling, which requires a scraping force to be effective and can cause damage to enamel, ultrasonic scaling has been shown to create less tooth damage, and so is particularly suited to older patients where tooth enamel may be weak.
“Existing treatments for biofilms are ineffective because they are incapable of simultaneously degrading the protective matrix, killing the embedded bacteria, and physically removing the biodegraded products,” said Hyun Koo, one of the researchers of the study published in Science Robotics. “These robots can do all three at once very effectively, leaving no trace of biofilm whatsoever.” With other expected innovations such as long-distance examinations by ‘teledentistry’ and dentists learning using augmented reality, the future for our teeth has never looked so shiny. •
Printed Parts In dental labs, and increasingly in dentists’ own surgeries, 3D printing technology is being used to create dental models, aligners and night guards in a matter of hours rather than days, and 3D printing is also being used in the production of permanent crowns.
Smart and shiny In the home, the app-connected ‘smart toothbrush’ which monitors and corrects our brushing habits and offers different brushing modes, is expected to make progress in the home markets, while researchers in Pennsylvania State University are looking into “catalytic antimicrobial robots”, actually groups of tiny iron-oxide nanoparticles in a solution that can be controlled by magnets to scrape away at bacterial biofilms inside teeth.
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