A French dental surgeon has predicted that within two years, a ‘smart tooth’ will be available to monitor health.
Matthieu Minty, in collaboration with researchers from Hugo Maugard and Vincent Blasco, has been investigating the potential of utilising technology to identify otherwise invisible health issues.
The trio has called the project Valsaï. It aims to “use biomarkers in saliva to detect and monitor chronic diseases.”
Matthieu said to The Connection, “The link between heart disease and oral infections is very well established and well researched.” Matthieu explained that heart disease can be caused by mouth infections travelling through the bloodstream to the heart.
The smart tooth can detect these infections through biomarkers. Matthieu explained, “We have now developed a smart chip with a bio-captor which can permanently monitor these biomarkers and send information about a person’s health to an app on their mobile phone and to their GP.
“The bio-captor can be incorporated into a crown or a mini bridge, which is then glued to the inside of a tooth, where it isn’t visible.”
Not every patient needs a crown, Matthieu explained when he envisages the technology would be fitted, “Obviously, we are not proposing to fit crowns where they are not necessary, but one in two patients end up needing a crown eventually.
“So for many patients that would be the ideal time to install a permanent smart tooth.
“However, the chip can also be simply glued to an individual healthy tooth, like a tiny bridge or mini-brace.”
The chip works by sending bio-captor information to the Valsaï platform which is then analysed. The results are then sent to pre-selected recipients which could include insurance companies, researchers, GP and the patient.
Connexion pointed out that the device could be revolutionary for diabetes patients too as “patients fitted with a smart tooth would no longer need to do daily blood tests.”
Researchers are currently working to increase the number of biomarkers the technology detects. They hope to find markers for “degenerative and auto-immune diseases, including rheumatism and Alzheimer’s.”