Medscape August 26, 2022
Julie Stewart

Your twice-daily brushing and flossing routine could someday be automated using tiny microrobots that scrub your teeth for a customized clean, thanks to new research from the University of Pennsylvania.

Scientists used magnetic fields to assemble nanoparticles into tiny, brush-like robotic structures that precisely remove biofilms, a network of germs and other sticky substances, from the surfaces of teeth. They describe their results in a paper published in the journal ACS Nano .

The microrobots feature bristles that can extend, retract, change shape, and move horizontally, vertically, and in circles. The bristles can adapt to each person’s tooth alignment and get into hard-to-reach spaces.

“It could be perfectly aligned teeth or misaligned teeth,” says study author Hyun (Michel) Koo,...

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