The new system consists of iron oxide nanoparticles that can be combined in various ways and manipulated using a magnetic field. Thus, the particles can be arranged into bristles to remove plaque from the tooth surface or into finer floss-like filaments for cleaning between teeth.
However, these micro robots do not clean teeth only mechanically. Iron oxide is known to “activate” hydrogen peroxide and trigger a reaction that produces free radicals that kill bacteria and the sticky biofilm they form on teeth.
The team first tested the system on a flat sheet of artificial tooth-like material to implement the movements of the microrobots. They then switched to running the system on more realistic 3D-printed tooth models. Finally, the microrobots were tested on real human teeth. Tests have shown that these microrobots can effectively remove plaque and biofilm, reducing levels of pathogenic bacteria to undetectable levels.
Source: Ferra
