Device for Tooth Cleaning in Special Needs and Older Populations

描述（由申请人提供）：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。在有特殊需要和手灵巧程度较低的老年人群中，刷牙不够严格以保持口腔卫生，导致这些人群中龋齿和牙周病的发病率较高。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许多系统性疾病的易感性。这为开发一种新颖的，免提的牙齿清洁设备提供了动力，其目标是改善特殊需要和老年人的口腔和全身健康。在这个提议中，我们假设一种新型的免提超声产生装置结合特殊配方的凝胶将有效地去除牙生物膜。为了验证这一假设，我们建议：(1)开发和测试产生超声波的基于压电纤维的复合材料条，将其塑造成一种可以放置在牙齿和牙龈上的形式，与增强超声波作用的凝胶一起使用；(2)与传统刷牙相比，确定该设备在体外清洁被实验生物膜覆盖的打字和人类牙齿方面的功效。科学和技术的新颖性在于开发和使用专门的超声条结合独特配方的凝胶放置在牙齿附近，以实现生物膜去除。凝胶将提供一种介质，用于将超声波压力波传播到牙齿表面，并减少产生空化（微观气泡）所需的超声波能量，然后在牙齿表面附近迅速膨胀和收缩，用于清洁牙齿。这些微小气泡的快速膨胀和收缩提供的能量与牙刷摩擦牙齿表面产生的能量相同，预计最多在两分钟内就能去除生物膜。一系列的凝胶将被开发出来，这些凝胶将增强超声波的作用，并将起到清洁和更新牙齿的作用。我们期待开发出一种可以有效清洁牙齿的设备，其效果与刷牙相当。该设备的开发具有重要的公共卫生意义，因为它将改善特殊需求人群和老年人的口腔和可能的全身健康，并可能降低医疗保健成本。

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.