Scientists at Tufts University have developed a groundbreaking dental floss that not only cleans between your teeth but also measures your stress levels. This innovative floss works by detecting levels of cortisol in saliva, commonly known as “the stress hormone.” Cortisol plays a crucial role in managing the body’s response to stress, regulating blood pressure, and influencing various physical functions.
Chronic stress can have detrimental effects on our health, from increasing the risk of heart disease to weakening the immune system. Therefore, finding ways to control and reduce stress is vital. The team at Tufts University wanted to create a cost-effective, non-invasive, and simple tool that individuals could use at home to monitor their stress levels in real-time.
Engineering professor Sameer Sonkusale explained their motivation behind the project, stating, “We didn’t want measurement to create an additional source of stress, so we thought, can we make a sensing device that becomes part of your day-to-day routine?” The team detailed their saliva-sensing dental floss in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces and is working on bringing the product to market through a startup.
The smart dental floss pick resembles a standard floss pick, with a specially designed 3D-printed thread that contains a narrow channel for collecting saliva using capillary microfluidics. The saliva is then drawn into the handle of the pick, where it spreads across cortisol-detecting electrodes and provides a stress score within 11 to 12 minutes. With a wireless readout, this saliva floss offers a convenient way to monitor daily stress levels.
While the device was tested on student volunteers at Tufts University and yielded highly accurate results, the researchers emphasize that the smart floss is more suitable for monitoring stress levels rather than diagnosing conditions. Sonkusale noted that blood work remains the gold standard for diagnostics but added that the sensor could be valuable for tracking conditions over time and facilitating timely interventions.
In addition to detecting cortisol, the scientists believe that the device could be adapted to measure other salivary biomarkers, such as estrogen for fertility tracking, glucose for diabetes monitoring, and markers for cancer. This innovative approach transforms a simple daily dental routine into a comprehensive health check-up.
Overall, the saliva-sensing dental floss developed by Tufts University represents a significant advancement in personalized health monitoring. By integrating cutting-edge technology into a familiar oral care practice, individuals can gain valuable insights into their health and well-being in a convenient and non-invasive manner.
