Máquina dispensadora de fio dental

Abstract

Oral diseases such as tooth decay, periodontal disease and tooth loss can be prevented and treated in their early stages through oral hygiene. WHO data from 2022 estimated that oral diseases affected approximately 3.5 billion people worldwide. These diseases are recurring due to increasing urbanization and changes in living conditions, access to foods and drinks rich in sugar, as well as tobacco and alcohol consumption. To prevent these diseases, in addition to brushing your teeth, flossing is essential, as it reaches parts that the bristles of the toothbrush cannot reach. This is where the dispensing machine comes in, an innovative device that stores substances and disposable items. These machines are easy to handle and can be refilled quickly and conveniently, as well as storing dental floss, for example, in a practical and hygienic way, making it more accessible to use in public places. The dental floss dispenser has an exclusive automatic cutting mechanism which has benefits such as avoiding waste, as well as preventing the floss from being exposed, protecting it from contamination. The aim of the project was to finalize the previous development of a prototype for a dental floss dispenser, in which the development ran up against mechanical problems in pulling the floss through the gears. This work developed a new mechanical structure that slides on a rail and moves from right to left. This structure contains a robotic gripper in its moving part, which unwinds the floss by combining the gripper’s traction with the movement of its sliding structure. When the floss is the desired size, it is cut and dispensed by the machine to the user. To do this, we used a button that detects when the user wants to use the machine, a robotic gripper that holds or releases the floss, a DC motor that makes the rail move and an ultrasonic sensor that detects when the structure is at the beginning or end of the rails.