Plaque removal effectiveness of 3D printed dental hygiene chews with various infill structures through artificial dog teeth

Su Hyun Lee,Hyun Woo Kim,Hyun Jin Park

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09096

Abstract

Pet food has recently been in the spotlight as an auxiliary approach to manage oral health, since it helps dogs or cats to take relatively simple care of their mouths at home. Especially, dental hygiene chew is crucial to remove teeth accumulation or plaque by chemical or mechanical methods. This study applied 3D printing to dental chews, which should be tailored to dogs’ individual tooth structure and preferences. The optimum methods for making dental hygiene chews based on corn starch with glycerin for extrusion-based 3D printing were developed. The viscoelasticity of dental chews increased with increasing glycerin content. According to the infill level (40%, 60%, or 80%) and glycerin content, texture and plaque removal efficacy were investigated using a texture analyzer and dog dentures. A 60% infill level with 10% and 20% glycerin content had the best plaque removal efficacy in both canines and premolars. A lattice structure design with square holes was more effective for canines, whereas a crumbly texture was more effective for premolars.

Highlights

Periodontal disease is one of the most common oral disorders in animal dental hygiene, especially in small dog breeds (Niemiec, 2012)
We developed a starch-based dough as a dental chew ink model with different glycerin contents for printing
Corn starch with 10% and 20% glycerin was suitable for three-dimensional printing

Summary

Introduction

Periodontal disease is one of the most common oral disorders in animal dental hygiene, especially in small dog breeds (Niemiec, 2012). It has been reported that approximately 80% of dogs older than two years experience oral pain, infection, or inflammation resulting from periodontal disease (Harvey et al, 1994). The oral daily care of dogs can be managed using tartar removal through scailing by going to the veterinary clinics or at home each 6–12 months (Bellows et al, 2019). Regular toothbrushing or other methods, guardians can effectively manage their dog's oral care. Dental chew effectiveness in reducing plaque or tartar build-up on dog teeth has already been investigated by many researchers (Bjone et al, 2005; Clarke et al, 2011)

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