Lee Jihyun, Park Hyun M, Kim Young Wook
Department of Periodontology, Ulsan University Hospital, College of Medicine, University of Ulsan, 877 Bangeojinsunhwando-ro, Dong-gu, Ulsan 44033, Republic of Korea.
PAIST (ProxiHealthcare Institute for Science and Technology), ProxiHealthcare Inc., Seoul 08507, Republic of Korea.
Bioengineering (Basel). 2024 May 9;11(5):474. doi: 10.3390/bioengineering11050474.
Effective oral care is important for maintaining a high quality of life. Therefore, plaque control can prevent the development and recurrence of periodontitis. Brushing with a toothbrush and toothpaste is a common way to remove plaque; however, excessive brushing or brushing with abrasive toothpaste can cause wear and tear on the dental crown. Hence, we aimed to quantitatively compare the plaque-removal efficiency and tooth wear of toothbrushes using the bioelectric effect (BE) with those of electric-mechanical toothbrushes. To generate the BE signal, an electronic circuit was developed and embedded in a toothbrush. Further, typodonts were coated with cultured artificial plaques and placed in a brushing simulator. A toothpaste slurry was applied, and the typodonts were eluted with tap water after brushing. The plaques of the typodonts were captured, and the images were quantified. For the tooth wear experiment, polymethyl methacrylate disk resin blocks were brushed twice a day, and the thickness of the samples was measured. Subsequently, statistical differences between the experimental toothbrushes and typical toothbrushes were analyzed. The BE toothbrush had a higher plaque-removal efficiency and could minimize tooth wear. This study suggests that the application of BE may be a new solution for oral care.
有效的口腔护理对于维持高质量生活很重要。因此，控制牙菌斑可预防牙周炎的发生和复发。使用牙刷和牙膏刷牙是去除牙菌斑的常见方法；然而，过度刷牙或使用含研磨剂的牙膏刷牙会导致牙冠磨损。因此，我们旨在定量比较利用生物电效应（BE）的牙刷与电动机械牙刷的牙菌斑清除效率和牙齿磨损情况。为了产生BE信号，开发了一个电子电路并将其嵌入牙刷中。此外，在人工牙模型上涂上培养的人工牙菌斑，并将其置于刷牙模拟器中。施加牙膏浆，刷牙后用自来水冲洗人工牙模型。采集人工牙模型上的牙菌斑并对图像进行量化。对于牙齿磨损实验，每天用聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯圆盘树脂块刷牙两次，并测量样品的厚度。随后，分析实验牙刷与典型牙刷之间的统计学差异。BE牙刷具有更高的牙菌斑清除效率，并且可以使牙齿磨损最小化。这项研究表明，生物电效应的应用可能是口腔护理的一种新解决方案。
