A thermometer has been created to measure temperature fluctuations in periodontal tissues

A new invention in dentistry is a thermometer developed by a group of scientists from the Research Institute of the National Dental Association of the USA and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to measure temperature changes in gum tissue.

If the thermometer's dimensions are compared to a banknote, they are almost the same in length, and half as wide. The device is equipped with a sensor and a Bluetooth system that quickly transmits the necessary temperature information to a computer. This device is planned to be used for diagnosing gum disease.

The study authors note that temperature rises due to the inflammatory process within periodontal tissues. These readings are influenced by accelerated blood flow and metabolic immune reactions. Because it is now possible to measure temperature changes in the periodontal pocket, the diagnosis of inflammatory gum conditions will be carried out more quickly.

The specialists built a miniature temperature sensor into the compact probe used to measure the depth of gum pockets. A flexible thin platinum film was used to create it. This material is unique in that it does not exhibit sensitivity to changes in resistance. In addition, the thermometer is equipped with a battery.

The researchers working on this development measured temperature fluctuations and resistance changes. The thermometer was also tested under conditions of artificial saliva, distilled water, and phosphate-buffered saline.

The specialists immersed the thermometer 100 times in water of different temperatures — 35–65°C. Across all these cycles, the change in resistance reached no more than 1%. Thanks to this testing, the authors stated that the possible error in temperature measurements does not exceed 2%.

Therefore, the created temperature sensor can be used for accurate measurement of temperature and its changes inside the oral cavity.