１．Challenges born from the Kumamoto earthquake

Representative Akinori Oyama from Kumamoto Prefecture participated in disaster volunteer activities for the Kumamoto earthquake that occurred in April 2016. As part of my activities, I was able to notice the difficulty of brushing other people's teeth for the first time while brushing their teeth. In particular, the elderly had weakened their ability to open their own mouths, so when they tried to open their mouths, they had a painful experience of biting their fingers. With this disaster volunteer activity, the “pain” of care staff, which was commonplace in the care world, was resolved, and a paradigm in oral care was created by applying the techniques I had learned so far.

２．Mission visualizes the implicit oral cavity

¡Toothbrushing is difficult because the inside of the oral cavity is not visible and it is an area of tacit knowledge. As health tech progresses, dental health is left behind. If plaque removal, which is the original purpose of brushing teeth, is neglected, it may develop not only to decay and periodontal disease, but also to diabetes and mental illness. Plaque is a biofilm that adheres to the tooth surface and contains more than 100 billion bacteria per gram. This plaque tends to accumulate in places that are difficult to see with the naked eye, such as the back teeth and the back side of the teeth, and hardens into tartar. If it becomes tartar, it cannot be removed with normal toothpaste.

A toothbrush equipped with a visual function developed by representative Akinori Oyama is a system that incorporates an image sensor and an optical filter. When a light of excitation wavelength is applied to the tooth, some of the bacteria contained in the plaque fluoresce red and are identified. Makes possible. Users who brush their teeth can support reliable plaque removal while observing intraoral imaging data in real time through a mobile terminal application linked to this system.

３．The goal is to quantify the degree of oral health

The aim is not limited to the narrow concept of tooth brushing, which is a daily self-care, but aims at the value of whole body health by performing oral care, quantifying not only the teeth and gums but also the tongue, etc. Aim to create a new system for managing daily health.The current oral cavity is diagnosed from the color and shape of the gums based on the experience of dentists. The tacit knowledge, which is the tacit knowledge, is changed to formal knowledge using technologies such as image processing and machine learning, and the system development that predicts the future by deep learning and data analytics is advanced.

４．TO enjoy 100 years of life

Japan will be the first to experience a super-aging society that has never been experienced by other countries.

Oral care, which has a high causal relationship with serious illness, is indispensable for us to enjoy our 100 years of life. According to the Japan Dental Association of Japan, 74.2% of those requiring care cannot receive treatment even though they need dental treatment. The spread of the system that protects the oral cavity of not only myself but also third parties is considered to be fate, and it will bring about a paradigm in oral care and realize a society where you can spend your 100 years of life healthy.