A tooth to count the calories?
In Taiwan, engineers have designed an electronic tooth to measure everything that happens ... in the mouth!
Chewed bites,swallowed mouthfuls, smoked cigarettes ... imagine a false tooth, equipped with an electronic circuit which can keep track of all what is happening in your mouth!
The Taiwanese engineers behind this invention have assumed that the mouth has a wealth of information about our health. And they are right; our mouth happens to be the area of contact between our body and the outside world. It passes food, beverages, pollutants and bacteria. Research has already shown that the bacteria responsible for periodontitis are also involved in atherosclerosis (premature aging of the arteries) elsewhere in the body.
Although strategic, this area is actually quite unexplored (only 1-2 times per year during visits to the dentist). The high-tech tooth that researchers have designed is a real spy capable of continuously measuring everything that happens there. When speaking, chewing, swallowing, drinking or coughing... every time, our teeth "move" differently (quickly when chewing, in spurts when coughing).
When calibrated for each of the eight volunteers, the prototype has reported accurately (94%) all oral activities of their day! Are you guilty of nibbling too? One day, your teeth will keep track of your calories.
Mathieu Rached
