A tooth sensor is an innovative technology to monitor and detect a person’s diet or smoking habits. It helps dentists to know whether a person is deviating from diet or has any smoking habits, etc. It is basically a chip less than half an inch in size and can be embedded in an artificial tooth or fitted into dentures or braces. The sensor has three different layers. It has layers of gold, and a sandwiched biosensor shows like an antenna that is utilized to detain information in real-time and transmit physiological data. The middle layer detects nutrients and chemicals reacting to various inputs with a shift in its electrical properties, i.e., change in color of central layer and outer layer absorbs chemicals in the diet. This shift causes the sensor to transmit an intensity of radiofrequency waves back to the app. This impressive tiny chip is helpful to measure just 2 mm square and can detect alcohol, sugar, salt, and even bio-chemicals. This is useful to improvise diet and overall health of a person. The sensor uses a small accelerometer to monitor the movements of the mouth. Every time a person performs oral activities such as coughing, chewing, drinking, and speaking, create a different teeth motion. The sensor recognizes and records motion profiles for every activity, building classifiers to distinguish between them.
A tooth sensor has been developed by Tufts University, MA, USA. Danish researchers at Aarhus University have developed a sensor capable of detecting specific bacteria in drinking water, such as E. coli. The sensor uses DNA-magnetic particle technology to seek out and isolate the bacteria using nano-sized magnets.
The Tooth Sensor Market is segmented on the basis of the Application, End-user, and geography. The primary application of the tooth sensors is monitoring dietary intake. As food passes the sensor, a signal is sent to a mobile device that interprets information on glucose, salt, and alcohol intake. Other significant application of tooth sensors is imaging. A suitable quality sensor produces crystal-clear images of the intraoral environment. Tooth sensors for monitoring diet are newer and will hold a significant share in the market, owing to the fact that health is directly related to diet, and these types of tooth sensors will find applications in the treatment of many diet-related ailments. On the basis of end-user users, the market is sub-segmented into the middle-aged population and special age groups. Middle-aged population contains person ages 19-60. Special age groups are pediatric and geriatric populations. According to a paper from Dental Economics, 17.5% of children aged 5–19 have problems with dental caries, and approximately 28% of all preschoolers have untreated cavities. Also, the rising geriatric population and their demand for preventive services for dental care are likely to boost the market growth in the coming years. This subsegment is expected to grow significantly in the future.
Geographically, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. The USA holds the largest share of the market owing to the increasing geriatric population prone to tooth problems and the presence of sophisticated infrastructure. By revenue, North America and Europe hold the highest share, due to high dentist consultation charges and high other test charges.
The market is driven by increasing health consciousness, the need for prevention and treatment of oral diseases, increasing demand for flexible and compact wearable sensors, advancement in technology, and others. The rising geriatric population led to the high prevalence of age-related dental disorders, which is expected to support the industry growth. WHO has undertaken initiatives pertaining to the promotion of oral disease prevention and hygiene across the globe. These initiatives are responsible for future growth in this area.
The key players are Schick Technologies, Carestream Dental, Sistemi Medicali, Owandy, Corix Medical Systems, Allpro Imaging, Villa Sirona Dental Systems, Gendex Dental Systems, Fona Dental.
