A new smart sensor attached to your teeth can track how much you eat and how much you talk as well as let your doctor know just exactly how much you may be smoking, researchers in Taiwan say.

Researchers from National Taiwan University in Taipei recruited eight volunteers who were willing to glue prototype sensors using dental cement to their back teeth. The sensors were accelerometers that could differentiate between chewing, speaking, coughing, and smoking 94 percent of the time, reported LiveScience this week.

Head researchers Hao-hua Chu and Polly Huang, along with their team, presented their work Sept. 11 at the International Symposium on Wearable Computers in Switzerland.

"Our mouth is an opening into our health — our drinking and eating behaviors shed light on our diet," Chu told LiveScience. "How frequently we cough also tells us about our health, and how frequently we talk is related to social activity that can be related to health."

"Your future dentist can offer two options for artificial teeth — the first one is a traditional artificial tooth, and the second option is a smart tooth that you can use to record your activity," Chu said. "We might also be able to put in a small energy harvester to provide enough power to run the device for a day at least, instead of taking the tooth out and recharging it."

Source: Pottsmerc