Dentronics: tooth cleaning with a tactile collaborative robot - an in vitro proof of concept.

Aim: The aim of the present study was to compare the performance of a tactile collaborative robot programmed by a dental professional (DP) with that of a DP in the removal of surrogate plaque in vitro.

Materials and methods: Six typodont teeth in articulated jaws were covered with surrogate plaque and cleaned by a DP with the help of a manual toothbrush (DP/manual) and an electric toothbrush (DP/electric). The experiment was repeated with the help of a collaborative seven-axis tactile robot programmed by a DP handling a manual toothbrush (robot/manual) and an electric toothbrush (robot/electric). All experiments were repeated five times, resulting in a total of N = 30 teeth in each group. Cleaning results were reported as the percentage of surface area with residual plaque.

Results: The cleaning results of the DP and the robot showed no significant differences. However, electric toothbrushing was significantly less effective compared with manual toothbrushing (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: The present in vitro study indicates that current robot technology may perform the removal of surrogate plaque as efficiently as a DP. In future, this may be helpful to release nursing staff from this time-demanding task that could possibly cause contagion or to support people with reduced motor skills or impaired vision in performing daily oral hygiene.