
New micro-robots can break apart and remove biofilm or plaque from a tooth - techben
https://humanbioscience.org/2019/04/new-micro-robots-can-break-apart-and-remove-dental-biofilm-or-plaque-from-a-too.html
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theprotocol
I used to have to go to the dentist every 5-6 months in order to remove built-
up plaque that kept returning.

After starting supplementation with vitamin K2 every few days (a combination
of MK-4 500mcg and Mk-7 100mcg), within a few weeks the plaque came off on its
own when I brushed my teeth, and now I just don't have any plaque anymore.

This doesn't work for everyone, and for me, the MK-4 form alone did not
produce this effect. The MK-4 form is sort of like "preformed" K2, as opposed
to the MK-7 form, which is more like a precursor that persists in your blood
for much longer before being converted as needed. It probably has something to
do with dental plaque / biofilm being calcium-based, and vitamin K2 causes
calcium to be removed from inappropriate places in the body.

I much prefer this to something fully engineered like micro-robots.

edit: It seems it's not really "micro-robots" after all; nonetheless, I much
prefer nutritional intervention when effective.

~~~
roel_v
Did you research the product more at the time? Is it just a matter of googling
'vitamin k2' and buying from the first reputable source? How did you notice
that plaque came off when brushing?

~~~
theprotocol
I've been a reader of health and nutritional science for many years. Yes, I
researched vitamin K2 before taking it. No, I am not into random bro-science.
I am highly objective and have been able to achieve good results with various
nutritional interventions, for several deficiency-related conditions.

The reason I started taking it was not dental plaque, but because my diet had
few sources of vitamin K2 (due to diagnosed digestive issues) and the
scientific consensus was that it is a valuable nutrient that occurs in diets
correlated with reduced cardiac and other disease. I understand that
correlation is not causation, but it is plausible that adding something
missing in my diet could produce a benefit, and my mission was to correct
deficiencies. It is, after all, a nutrient found in common foods.

I had read the claims about its effects on plaque incidentally to my research,
but did not consider them factual because this effect had not been studied to
my knowledge.

Several hours after taking K2, my teeth would start to feel a bit smoother.
About a week and a half later, bits of plaque would start coming off my teeth
when I brushed them. To answer your question, you can't not notice it. It's a
chunk of solid white gunk that I couldn't previously remove from my teeth that
has now become detached.

After a year or so I neglected supplementation with vitamin K2. The plaque
eventually returned, albeit very slowly. Upon resuming vitamin K2, it would
again dissolve.

I understand your skepticism with regard to n=1 vs. scientific theory, but I
am a pragmatic person. I have been able to repeat this, and I can confirm it
works for me. To put theory over practice when the reality of it stared me in
the face would have been fallacious.

~~~
amluto
I can falsify your description just by reading it. Plaque is a soft goo.
You’re probably describing tartar, aka calculus.

Maybe vitamin K2 helps you remove tartar. Maybe it doesn’t. Go to the dentist
regardless — the dentist is about a lot more than removing tartar.

~~~
theprotocol
\- Indeed, it's tartar. I admit to having used the term loosely in my writing,
because tartar is hardened plaque.

\- Nowhere have I said I never went to the dentist. I just have no need to go
for cleaning every 5-6 months anymore, whereas I used to be obligated because
the tartar was so bad. Whenever I do go for a checkup, the dentist confirms
there is no tartar. When I stopped needing cleaning he asked me what I had
changed, and I mentioned vitamin K2. He wasn't aware of its dental benefits,
but has since looked it up so he knows what I've been doing.

edit: Fixed for accuracy. Fine, I accept that plaque has not yet become
tartar. You are 100% correct with regard to the semantical accuracy of my
usage of the word "plaque" instead of tartar, but you have not falsified
anything.

edit #2: Removed unnecessarily defensive parts.

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ghkbrew
I know the line is blurry, but I disagree that clumps of iron oxide
nanoparticles rise to the level of "robot"

~~~
taneq
This irritates me too, and I see it _all the time_. No, a sliver of metal or a
piece of plastic being excited by an indiscriminate outside force is not a
robot.

If there's offboard sensing and control systems which can maneuver the
particles individually then you could make a case for it. If you're just
jiggling them with a magnetic field then no.

~~~
yorwba
The reason you're seeing it all the time is probably because roboticists are
very excited about using external magnetic fields to create smaller designs
that don't require carrying a power source, without worrying whether those are
still "robots".

For example, the best paper award at the Robotics: Science and Systems
conference this year was won by a magnetic jellyfish:
[http://www.roboticsproceedings.org/rss15/p13.pdf](http://www.roboticsproceedings.org/rss15/p13.pdf)

Maybe the magnet should be counted as part of the robot, with the moving parts
being analogous to a gripper.

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rasmusfabbe
That website is 90% shady ads and 10% article. Even if this is an actual legit
article, the way it’s presented here takes away any chance of me taking this
seriously.

~~~
ddeck
Less shady link (the article source):

[https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/army-microrobots-can-
wipe-o...](https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/army-microrobots-can-wipe-out-
dental-plaque)

And the original publication:

[https://robotics.sciencemag.org/content/4/29/eaaw2388](https://robotics.sciencemag.org/content/4/29/eaaw2388)

~~~
the8472
[https://sci-hub.tw/10.1126/scirobotics.aaw2388](https://sci-
hub.tw/10.1126/scirobotics.aaw2388)

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adornedCupcake
My master thesis was on a magnetic traps for microfluidics. I'm not really up
to speed on the field anymore, but it's exciting to recognize much of what's
being used, and with such a direct application.

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falcongod082
Can they use the carbon to self-replicate yet? That's when things get
interesting.

~~~
geuis
If you have carbon based machines replicating on your teeth, isn’t that just
more plaque?

~~~
ctrl-j
I believe they are making an allusion to Grey Goo [0]

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_goo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_goo)

~~~
ben_w
We are grey goo. If you don’t mind it in musical form:
[https://youtu.be/ObvxPSQNMGc](https://youtu.be/ObvxPSQNMGc)

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mkagenius
I hope this works, could be used to wash dishes in the sink as well.

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jaequery
What next, micro-robots that breaks apart cells? Scary stuff.

~~~
taneq
Yeah, it's called "bleach" but it's really made up of autonomous nanobots
which steal electrons from cell walls.

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toothandtail
Star trek style nan bots IRL!?

