BioRobotics Oral Care System

Penn Dental Medicine BioRobotics Oral Care System


This project explores how Penn Dental Medicine’s Biobotics technology can be translated into a comfortable, effective in-home oral hygiene device. Designed for users who struggle with traditional brushing and flossing routines, the concept supports a guided cleaning experience for hard-to-reach areas of the mouth in under two minutes.

Collaborators: Penn Dental Medicine and Hazel Chen, Yui Guo, Mubai Luo, Jasen Lee
Project Leads: Dr. Michel Koo, Dr.Ed Steager, Linda Donoho
Role: User research, product strategy, co-design sessions, prototyping

Problem

Over 80% of adults leave more than 40% of plaque after brushing. Existing routines are time-consuming and hard to follow, especially for users with physical or cognitive limitations. Gum disease and skipped prophylaxis are common issues, especially among aging adults and people with braces.


Research & Key Insights

We combined survey responses, user interviews, clinic observations, co-design sessions, and expert feedback to understand barriers in daily oral hygiene routines.

  • Users judge oral cleanliness through feel, freshness, and confidence

  • For an in-mouth device, the experience needs to feel familiar, gentle, and easy to trust.

  • The routine should be simple enough to complete with minimal instruction or assistance.

  • 30+ survey responses

  • 20+ user interviews

  • Clinic observations at Penn Dental

  • Co-design sessions with older adults, children, and disabled users

  • Expert feedback from dental professionals

Concept Development

We explored multiple forms (pebble, puck, pudding) and settled on a U-shaped, flexible silicone mouth tray that conforms to the gumline. It integrates a pump and magnet system to agitate nano-cleaning solution.

Final Design

The final concept combines a soft U-shaped mouth tray with a compact base for daily oral care at home. The tray uses a flexible silicone gum seal to support comfortable placement along the gumline, while Biobotics technology moves a cleaning solution through a guided routine. The device includes an LED status ring, one-button interface, USB-C charging, and a return-to-base experience designed for simple daily use.

  • U-shaped mouth tray with flexible silicone gum seal

  • Biobotics technology that moves a cleaning solution through the device

  • Watertight seal designed for comfort, stability, and guided placement

  • LED status ring and one-button interface

  • USB-C charging base

  • The mouth interface was designed to adapt to different mouth shapes while supporting comfortable placement and cleaning coverage.



Watertight Seal

Using Negative Pressure and Silicone to Maintain Seal; Silicone buffer conforms and presses against the gumline. Negative pressure is created when the pump activates

Note: To respect the protected technology, this public portfolio version intentionally omits technical implementation and testing details.

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