Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Enabled Fixed Prosthesis and Its Applications in Clinical Dentistry

Abstract

RFID-enabled dental prostheses can facilitate the use of relatively noninvasive procedures, and such a fixed prosthesis may provide significant additional benefits. This article describes the insertion of High frequency (13.56 MHz) RFID devices in dental fixed prostheses. A high frequency (13.56 MHz) system using sheet-type RFID-tags is inserted in the bilateral lower first molar buccal area to allow for direct identification through the cheeks without saliva contaminations. Simulations and experiments indicate that both the area occupied by the antenna and the 
number of coil turns influence the density of the electromagnetic field. Experimental results show that, as the tag’s area increases, the tag’s detecting distance is increased to more than 1 cm throughout the agarose, consisting of about 98% water to mimic the physiology of a human cheek. We also successfully download data from the tag including the prostheses design date, installing dentist identifier, and the materials used. Such a mechanism can protect patient privacy, while providing benefits for medical therapy as well as facilitating forensic identification. Further studies to minimize the antenna dimensions and improve its directional propagation are still needed for future applications.