Good-bye Toothbrush...Hello Microbot
Plus, regrowing teeth instead of replacing them
Ric Edelman: It's Monday, December 16th. Pretty cool research coming out of the Center for Innovation and Precision Dentistry at the University of Pennsylvania.
You know, it used to be back in the day that dentists made all their money from, repairing cavities. You know, drill them, fill them, and bill them. Nowadays, it's cosmetic procedures as we're trying to whiten our teeth because our hygiene is so much better, and we have fluoride in our water, that we're not amassing the number of cavities that we used to amass. Dentists are now doing other things to stay in business and make our oral care even better.
Well, there's a lot of new tech that's going to even increase this further. Micro-robots that are going to clean your teeth. You're going to gargle the liquid that's filled with nanobots. They act as a toothbrush, a flosser, and a mouthwash. The nanoparticles are already approved by the FDA. They're safe to eat. They're in use already for applications from imaging to food coloring. That's because they can take on red, yellow, and brown shades, but when you combine these nanoparticles, they can form a micro-robot. They can form different shapes, like bristles. for brushing, a long thread for flossing. You just push a button to activate them to do what you want them to do.
One prototype is like a mouth guard. Another one looks like a toothbrush. There are magnets that activate these nanobots. They use hydrogen peroxide to kill bacteria and break down plaque. In tests with rats, they've been 100% effective, but there is a downside. It takes 10 minutes. So, the researchers are working on making all this faster.
And this tech, think about it. You might say, “Oh, come on, I can do my own brushing and flossing, et cetera”. How about people who have disabilities, or for people who simply frankly hate to brush. There's another innovation coming using the bacteria in your mouth to serve as an oral microbiota transplant. In other words, this could help people who have tooth decay or gum disease.
Scientists have found a person who only brushes once a day, who never flosses, and who hasn't been to the dentist in years, and yet has no cavities. The researchers were trying to figure out how could this be? This person has all the earmarks of somebody who should have a lot of holes in their teeth, but they don't. What the scientists found out. is that this person's microbiome is so healthy that his personal oral hygiene habits really didn't make any difference. In other words, he had natural immunities to cavities.
So, scientists took some of the plaque from his teeth, mixed it with a gel, and painted it onto the teeth of rats. And the tooth decay in the rats dropped significantly. So, guess what? Human trials are underway in a few months.
Also, imagine a tooth implant that gives you a red-light therapy to help you boost your overall immune system. The light doesn't need a battery, it's powered by the movements of your mouth. This can enable people who get tooth implants to reduce their risk of getting infections that destroy gums and bone tissue. All pretty cool stuff.
Scientists say they're trying to engineer stronger teeth by creating enamel with natural components just like your real teeth. In other words, you will actually regrow your teeth. All of these indications of the incredible medical advances, this group of innovations focusing on your mouth that are going to lead us to have healthier, happier, pain free lives. A lot more to come in the field of exponential technologies. Just a couple of reasons why I'm so excited about the future.
It's hard to believe that it's been 35 years on the air. I've done more than 1,500 radio broadcasts over the last three decades, more than 500 podcasts in the last three years alone. And my podcasts are winding down. My last one, as I've told you is December 27th. I'm so glad you've been with me all these years. If you want to stay connected with me, be sure to join my distribution list.
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Links from today’s show:
1/15 Webinar - Your Crypto Questions Answered: https://dacfp.com/events/your-crypto-questions-answered
12/10 Webinar Replay - The Retirement Revolution: ETF Solutions for Modern Retirement Planning: https://www.thetayf.com/pages/the-retirement-revolution-etf-solutions-for-modern-retirement-planning
12/9 Webinar Replay - What the Election Results Mean for Crypto: https://dacfp.com/events/what-the-election-results-mean-for-crypto
2/24-2/26 Wealth Management Convergence-2025: https://www.thetayf.com/pages/convergence
11/13 Webinar Replay - An Innovative Way to Generate Income in a World of Declining Rates: https://www.thetayf.com/pages/november-13-2024-an-innovative-way-to-generate-income
10/9 Webinar Replay - Crypto for RIAs: Yield, Staking, Lending and Custody. What’s beyond the ETFs? https://dacfp.com/events/crypto-for-rias-yield-staking-lending-and-custody-whats-beyond-the-etfs/
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