Development of advanced protocols combining imaging and mechanical testing to assess the performance of denture cleanser vs brushing

With life expectancy increasing across the world and the wide scale domination of processed sugars in our diets, the need for proper dental hygiene to keep our teeth healthy and functional from infancy into our geriatric years has never been more important. A wide range of abrasive forces are applied to the tooth during brushing that are highly dependent on the user and the type of toothbrush, which are grouped into manual or powered, that are used. Inadequate cleaning and the common use of manual brushing results in increased abrasion and insufficient control of biofilm growth. Furthermore, brushing is not only inefficient, but the shear forces produced by a toothbrush, with and without abrasive toothpastes, can induce the formation of irregularities on the denture surface that favour the penetration of microorganisms, making cleaning more difficult and ultimately promoting the infection of supporting tissues.

To understand and quantify these aspects of dental care, a correlative microscopy approach using high-resolution XCT, electron-based microscopy, and ex situ mechanical testing in correlation with digital volume correlation will provide a powerful evaluation and quantification of the complex interactions between brushing-induced abrasion and biofilm removal.