Effective Orthodontic Tooth Movement via an Occlusion-Activated Electromechanical Synergistic Dental Aligner.

Malocclusion is a prevalent dental health problem plaguing over 56% worldwide. Mechanical orthodontic aligners render directional teeth movement extensively used for malocclusion treatment in the clinic, while mechanical regulation inefficiency prolongs the treatment course and induces adverse complications. As a noninvasive physiotherapy, an appropriate electric field plays a vital role in tissue metabolism engineering. Here, we propose an occlusion-activated electromechanical synergistic dental aligner that converts occlusal energy into a piezo-excited alternating electric field for accelerating orthodontic tooth movement. Within an 18-day intervention, significantly facilitated orthodontic results were obtained from young and aged Sprague-Dawley rats, increasing by 34% and 164% in orthodontic efficiency, respectively. The different efficiencies were attributed to age-distributed periodontal tissue status. Mechanistically, the electromechanical synergistic intervention modulated the microenvironment, enhanced osteoblast and osteoclast activity, promoted alveolar bone metabolism, and ultimately accelerated tooth movement. This work holds excellent potential for personalized and effective treatment for malocclusions, which would vastly reduce the suffering of the long orthodontic course.

A Ferroelectric Ceramic/Polymer Composite-Based Capacitive Electrode Array for In Vivo Recordings.

A new implantable capacitive electrode array for electrocorticography signal recording is developed with ferroelectric ceramic/polymer composite. This ultrathin and electrically safe capacitive electrode array is capable of attaching to the biological tissue conformably. The barium titanate/polyimide (BaTiO3 /PI) nanocomposite with high dielectric constant is successfully synthesized and employed as the ultrathin dielectric layer of the capacitive BaTiO3 /PI electrode array. The performance of the capacitive BaTiO3 /PI electrode array is evaluated by electrical characterization and 3D finite-element modeling. In vivo, neural experiments on the visual cortex of rats show the reliability of the capacitive BaTiO3 /PI electrode array. This work shows the potentials of capacitive BaTiO3 /PI electrode array in the field of brain/computer interfaces.