New mouthguard shows early signs of tooth decay

The device is made from a nanocomposite and reacts with the volatile sulphur compounds released by the bacteria that cause bad breath to highlight where dentists might need to make closer examinations.

According to the report by Chemistry World, Biomedical engineer Jianhua Zhou and colleagues at Sun Yat-sen University in China have developed a fluorescent mouthguard that, when worn for seven hours, stops fluorescing around sites where volatile sulphur compounds are being released. Made from a zinc oxide-poly(dimethlysiloxane) (ZnO-PDMS) nanocomposite, the mouthguard was shown in tests on human subjects to accurately flag sites of dental lesions.

‘The ZnO-PDMS mouthguard displays high stability, good biocompatibility, and low biological toxicity in normal physiological environments,’ Zhou says. ‘Due to its low cost, long-term stability, and good patient compliance, our wearable mouthguard is suitable for large-scale, preliminary screening of dental lesions prior to dental clinics and routine physical examinations.’