Get Your Teeth Tattooed and Get Healthy

Golden teeth have been in fashion for long, and many people wear them as fashion statements. Now, it’s time to tattoo your teeth with super thin tooth sensors. Yes, scientists at Princeton and Tufts are working on a technology to make super thin tooth sensors that will work as a kind of temporary tattoo on your teeth. These sensors send alerts to any pre-set receivers (e.g. your smartphone) when they detect any bacteria associated with cavities, plaque build-up or infection in the mouth.

Apart from that, it could also send notifications to your dentist to make you feel a little guilty about getting that appointment soon.

Different functions performed
The scientists are working on this technology and promise that apart from detecting bacteria in the cavities and the mouth there will also be many more uses relating to getting a “smart” tattoo on your teeth. They have already used it for detecting bacteria present in the saliva that may be associated with ulcers or even cancer. It can detect various types of bacteria found in the saliva that may lead to different health problems.
This tooth based sensor is made up of graphene and can detect the bacteria present in your mouth to its single cell level. For this, the team headed by Michael McAlpine at Princeton and Tuft universities have developed a method that will print graphene nanosensors on silk substrate. For transferring the device to the teeth or any other biological material, they have added an inductive coil and electrodes for powering the device.
The graphene present in the sensors then get doped with antimicrobial peptides, so it makes itself bound to bacteria. This system is used as a bug detection system. The final result would be a device that is wireless, battery-free and can pinpoint the exact type of bacteria that are present in the mouth of the person using it.
The sensor can also be used in facilities or hospitals where there are chances of a proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. For this, they will be attaching a graphene sensor into an IV bag. Then bacteria containing the medicine will be poured above it. This will let the sensors detect the bacteria present in the hospital.

Usage of these tattoos
The longevity of these sensors on human teeth is yet unknown. However, it can be presumed that in well-brushed and flossed teeth they won’t last long.
Yet, the good news is that as these sensors will not be very expensive and consumers will be able to change them daily. We creators believe that their sensors are a good attempt to check your health condition from within you.