Device for Tooth Cleaning in Special Needs and Older Populations

描述(申请人提供)：良好的口腔卫生习惯，如定期刷牙，对保持牙齿和牙周健康至关重要。在特殊需求和手工灵活性降低的老年人群中，刷牙不够严格，无法保持口腔卫生，导致这些人群中龋齿和牙周病的发病率更高。口腔健康状况不佳不仅会对营养和功能状况产生不利影响，还会对生活质量产生严重影响，可能会增加这些人对一些系统性疾病的易感性。这为开发一种新型的免提清洁牙齿设备提供了动力，目的是改善特殊需求和老年人口的口腔和全身健康。在这项建议中，我们假设一种新型的免提超声产生装置与特殊配方的凝胶相结合，将在体外有效地去除牙齿生物膜。为了验证这一假设，我们建议：(1)开发和测试基于超声波产生的压电纤维复合条带，将其模制成可以放置在牙齿和牙床上的形式，并结合增强超声波作用的凝胶，以及(2)确定与传统刷牙相比，该设备在体外清洁打字机和覆盖有实验生物膜的人类牙齿方面的效率。科学和技术的新颖性在于开发和使用专门的超声波条，结合放置在牙齿附近的独特配方的凝胶来实现生物膜的去除。这种凝胶将提供一种将超声波压力波传播到牙齿表面的媒介，并降低产生空洞(微小气泡)所需的超声波能量，这些空洞随后在牙齿表面附近迅速膨胀和收缩，从而起到清洁牙齿的作用。这些微小气泡的快速膨胀和收缩提供了与刷子在牙齿表面上运动产生的能量相同的能量，预计在最多两分钟内就能清除生物膜。将开发一系列凝胶，这些凝胶将增强超声波的作用，并具有清洁和更新牙齿的功能。我们预计将开发出一种可以有效地清洁牙齿的设备，其效果可以与刷牙相媲美。这种设备的开发具有重要的公共卫生影响，因为它将改善特殊需求和老年人口的口腔健康，可能还会改善全身健康，还可能降低医疗成本。 与公众健康相关：定期刷牙对保持口腔健康极其重要，这反过来又会影响整体健康。许多老年人和有特殊需求的人群缺乏有效清洁牙齿的手部活动能力，导致口腔疾病，可能还会导致全身疾病。这在这些人群中造成了巨大的公共卫生差距。本申请建议开发和测试一种新型的免提洗牙装置，该装置结合使用超声波和特殊配方的凝胶。这种设备的成功开发将改善老年人和有特殊需要的人的口腔和一般健康，从而对公共卫生产生重大影响。口腔和全身健康的这种改善也将降低社会的医疗成本。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Good oral hygiene practices, such as brushing teeth regularly, are critical to maintaining dental and periodontal health. In special needs and older populations with reduced manual dexterity, brushing is not rigorous enough to maintain oral hygiene, leading to a higher incidence of caries and periodontal disease in these cohorts. Poor oral health not only affects nutritional and functional status adversely, it also has serious implications on quality of life with a potential increase in the susceptibility of these individuals to a number of systemic ailments. This provides the impetus to develop a novel, hands- free device for tooth cleaning, with the objective of improving oral and systemic health in special needs and older populations. In this proposal, we hypothesize that a novel hands-free ultrasound generating device coupled with specially formulated gels will be effective in removing dental biofilms in vitro. To test this hypothesis, we propose to: (1) Develop and test ultrasound-generating piezo-fiber based composite strips molded into a form that can be placed over the teeth and gums, in conjunction with gels that function to enhance the action of the ultrasound, and (2) Determine the efficacy of the device in cleaning of typodont and human teeth covered with an experimental biofilm in vitro as compared to conventional brushing. The scientific and technological novelty lies in developing and using specialized ultrasound strips combined with uniquely formulated gels placed adjacent to the teeth to achieve biofilm removal. The gels will serve to provide a medium for propagating ultrasonic pressure waves to tooth surfaces AND to reduce ultrasonic energies required to cause cavitations (microscopic bubbles) that then expand and contract rapidly next to tooth surfaces and serve to clean teeth. The rapid expansion and contraction of these microscopic bubbles provides the same energies as those generated by the motion of brushes against tooth surfaces and are expected to dislodge biofilm within a maximum of two minutes. A series of gels will be developed that will enhance the action of ultrasound and will function to clean and renew the tooth. We anticipate that a device will be developed which can be used to clean teeth in an effective manner and with results comparable to brushing. The development of this device has important public health implications, since it will improve oral and possibly systemic health in special needs and older populations, and may also reduce healthcare costs. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Cleaning of teeth by regular brushing is extremely important towards maintaining oral health, which in turn can impact on overall health. Many older individuals and special needs populations lack the hand mobility to effectively clean their teeth, leading to oral and possibly systemic disease. This causes significant public health disparities in these populations. This application proposes the development and testing of a novel hands-free toothcleaning device, using ultrasound in association with specially formulated gels. The successful development of such a device will have a major public health impact by improving oral and general health of older individuals and those with special needs. Such improvements in oral and general health will also decrease healthcare costs to society.