Microrobots navigate diverse oral environments to deliver therapies
The common procedures patients experience in a dentist’s office—from dental plaque removal to a root canal of an infected tooth—could look and feel very different in just a few years due to a team of researchers at the Center for Innovation & Precision Dentistry, a joint center of Penn Dental Medicine and Penn Engineering.
Daeyeon Lee, the Russell Pearce and Elizabeth Crimian Heuer Professor in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering; Edward Steager, a research assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics; and Hyun (Michel) Koo, a professor at Penn Dental Medicine and in Bioengineering, are transforming the field of dental care with their research into microrobots capable of navigating the complex environments of the mouth to deliver targeted treatments. From cleaning teeth to treating infections in hard-to-reach spaces like root canals, these tiny robots could pave the way for more effective, non-invasive oral care.
This interdisciplinary team’s work led to the invention of shapeshifting microrobots that can easily brush and floss teeth. In recent studies, these microrobots have gained greater locomotion to traverse a wide range of surfaces and difficult-to-access places in the mouth and an improved ability to deliver targeted therapies to specific locations.
“Now, these microrobots can get almost anywhere we need them to go and have the potential to target a variety of biofilms that lead to health issues, such as cavities and gum diseases, as well as fungal infections,” says Koo. “I envision microrobots becoming a ‘high-precision multi-tool’ for dentists to perform a wide range of clinical procedures, from routine cleanings to complex root canal treatments.”
“This work is a great example of what can happen when engineers and clinicians collaborate closely,” adds Lee.
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