It’s regular polymers and ceramics that are used in dental surgeries to rectify the human jaw. Now, however, researchers from the University of Bristol’s Department of Mechanical Engineering in collaboration with the Department of Oral and Dental Science have developed a Chewing Robot to study deeply the dental structures and wears of the human teeth. The biologically inspired robot will be used to test dental materials, assisting the dentists to experiment with new materials that will finally make it into the human jaw.
Based on a three-dimensional mechanism with six linear actuators reproducing motion and force sustained by teeth, the Chewing Robot replicates the human jaw to the fullest. It generates the wear formations pretty similar to the human tooth itself and therefore is a great impetus for the dentists to try out all possible elements and test them to perfection on this chewing simulator.
The Chewing Robot is on exhibition at the ongoing Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition [30 June to 4 July]. With its potential to dramatically improve the process of developing and testing new dental materials, the Chewing Robot shows us a possibility of tried and tested new dental healing materials entering our mouths in the near future.
Via: PressReleases
