This project is an interdisciplinary initiative between dentistry, robotics and cyber security. Socially-assistive robots have been used in other settings e.g. dementia and autism with positive results in supporting patients in performing tasks or reducing anxiety. There were smaller studies done on children in dentistry demonstrating that it can help them to cope with anxiety and stress better. However, there is a number of areas of dental care especially with challenging patients that socially-assistive robots can be helpful. We are currently working with different groups to identify these areas, design and adapt the intervention and evaluate their effectiveness. We also take cyber security aspects into account, aiming at designing and providing a secure robotics system for dental care.
