Tooth sensitivity is a common problem that many people don’t think about until they feel a sharp pain from taking a sip of cold water or ice cream. It feels like an ice knife has been stuck into your tooth. For a long time, dentists could only recommend special toothpastes, avoid hot or cold foods, and hope that the discomfort would go away. Now a team of scientists from the Indian Institute of Science and startup Theranautilus is offering a completely new approach – nanotechnology. They created microscopic robots called CalBots that can penetrate the smallest canals of a tooth and seal them from the inside. The technology has already demonstrated its effectiveness. A study published in the journal Advanced Science found that CalBots can provide long-lasting relief from sensitivity after just one application.
Beneath the enamel is dentin, a layer penetrated by microscopic tubes leading to nerves. When the enamel wears thin, these tubes open up and cold or heat directly impacts the nerve endings, causing pain. Conventional pastes create a temporary film on the surface, but it quickly wears off.
CalBots operate differently. Each robot has a diameter of about 400 nanometers – enough to fit inside the dentinal canals. They are coated with calcium silicate-based bioceramics, a material similar in composition to natural tooth tissue. Under the influence of a magnetic field, the robots are directed deep into the canals (up to 0.5 mm), where they stick together and harden, creating a durable plug similar to enamel.
Experiments on extracted human teeth have shown that after just 20 minutes of magnetic field treatment, the tubules are completely closed, leaving no gaps or leaks. After this, the technology was tested on animals. Mice with sensitive teeth that previously avoided cold water began drinking it again without pain after the CalBots treatment. The results were so convincing that researchers are already preparing clinical trials on humans. In the future, they say, a procedure with nanobots could become routine dental practice: a single application, a few minutes of exposure to a magnetic field, and sensitivity disappears for a long time.