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Science

Lasers for Pain-free Dentistry 150

Posted by michael from the rinse-and-spit dept.
Chris writes "Australian researchers say that frequency-doubling a femtosecond laser is the way to pain-free dentistry. Using two different Ti:sapphire sources it was found that the 400 nm second harmonic gave the best results. Lasers have long been touted as pain-free replacements for the dreaded dentist's drill. However, the hardness of dental tissue has demanded high-energy pulses for drilling. Previous attempts have resulted in unacceptably slow removal of tooth enamel, and have also damaged teeth. These previous efforts caused shock waves, vibrations and also heated up the tooth's softer tissue, causing significant pain to the patient. Because femtosecond pulses are so short, heat conduction effects are virtually eliminated."
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Lasers for Pain-free Dentistry

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  • Perhaps I'm missing the excitement here having just read (in a PRINT publication, "Discover") about laser dentistry.

    Since those articles tend to be written, oh, three months ago, isn't that ancient news by /. standards?

    • Re:Old News? (Score:2, Informative)

      by Hittite Creosote ( 535397 )
      The idea of lasers in dentistry is old news, but "Discover" won't have had the details of this latest improvement (which is published in the 15th August 2002 edition of the Journal of Applied Physics (subscription required to read articles), so it is brand new news. Admittedly it isn't a huge advance, as subpicosecond lasers have been used before, but what they have done is work out exactly which wavelength, pulse duration and intensity is required to obtain fast ablation with no thermal collateral damage.
  • This is quite cool, but Novocaine-induced numbness is kinda fun. :D
  • Don't know if I want anyone pointing a high-powered laser into my mouth. I just had a cavity filled 2 days ago and I didn't feel a damn thing. The conventional methods seem to be working pretty well...
    • I agree: when was the last time dentistry actually *hurt*? I just hate the idea of someone cutting into me, and lasers / knives / drills / chainsaws all provoke the same reaction: AAAGH.
      It's far simpler to cut out the sugar from your diet and keep your teeth healthy like that. I stopped eating sugar about 20 years ago and have had one trip to the dentist since then.
      Do we really need more expensive hitech solution to stupidly simple problems?
      • My dentist has a laser, he loves it.

        My tooth was cracked. To have the crown fitted properly, because of the tooth shape and the deep crack, he needed to get below the gum line. There was sort of an indentation in the shape of the tooth, so my gum was coming over where the cap needed to go. My dentist used his laser to cut back the gum and importantly - cauterize - the cut at the same time. That allowed him to continue the work, it didn't hurt for me. My dentist says he couldn't have done it as quickly or easily, that it would have been quite difficult, if he hadn't had his new laser.

        I'm a big fan of brushing and flossing also. Who would have thought that a bagel would be so bad (bagels are a leading cause of cracked teeth - don't eat stale bagels).

    • The Needle?! (Score:4, Funny)

      by Tranvisor ( 250175 ) on Friday August 09, 2002 @08:42AM (#4038762) Homepage
      Perhaps you forgot, but when you got numbed up, do you remember the huge fucking needle the dentist stuck in your mouth? And he said "Little pinch" and it felt like somebody stabbed you with a dagger in the cheek?

      Lasers == no more big fucking needles

      sounds like an improvement to me
      • Maybe I've got a really good dentist, but I didn't even feel the needle when he put in the novocaine the other day.

        OTOH, when I had my wisdom teeth removed, that bastard (a different dentist than the one I have now) didn't care -- I guess he figured I was on the nitrous and that I would really care either. He was wrong -- and I was pissed.

        So, it all depends on the dentist doing the work...
      • Needle.. What needle? You obviously weren't sucking enough nitrous. The last cavity I got I didn't notice a thing.
        Dp
        • Nitrous doesn't affect everyone. Others it affects very well.

          I've had nitrous before - did nothing to me. The previous patient getting some dental work done, however, was apparantly trying to get the entire office to sing along with her.
          • When I got my wisdom teeth out, I discovered that I react very poorly to nitrous. The best description I can manage is "bad trip".
            It put me just under consciousness, and I drifted back slowly... all the while not knowing where I was, and feeling trapped inside my paralyzed body... listening to my panic-induced pulse increase on the heart monitor.
            The assistants' inane chitchat (part of the plan to "relax"/distract me, I'm sure) was painful, too, as everything was happening in slow-motion... (Sssooo tthhee wweeaatthheerr'ss bbeenn wwaarrmmeerr..... heeeheeeeheeee...) and I would say whatever they would prompt me to, not what I wanted to, even though I knew it was false.

            All in all, next time I just go for the injection straightaway, none of that NO2 crap.
            • Ouch, you should have asked for full anethesia. Its expansive but well worth it for this type of operation. It helps if your insurance covers some or most of it like mind did (about half the operation was covered).

              As it turns out, I just had mine out (all 4, impacted) this Tuesday (yes I'm still very sore but healing up nicely and even made it into work today).

              They put a tube into my vein, which was like a small pinprick, the only pain I would feel for the next few hours. The doctor then put in 3 mini hypo's of "the good stuff" and pressed them in one after another. By the time he was pushing in he 3rd one, the room was getting a bit spinny. I laid back in the chair to relax a bit and didn't even finish my "I wonder how long this takes" thought. Next thing I know, I'm waking up on some kind of bed and being helped into a wheelchair. I saw double for a good hour or so afterwards, but it was worth not remembering a damn thing about the operation between the pinprick and waking up :P
              • When I heard I was going to have to have all 4 of my impacted wisdom teeth removed, I DEMANDED full anethesia.

                It was well worth it: It turns out they were so crowded and impacted that they had to take each tooth out by sectioning -- cutting them into several pieces and taking each piece out individually.
              • Oh, i got the anesthesia too. I am still baffled as to why they thought that gassing me beforehand would be helpful.
                It knocked me for a good solid loop, afterward - I don't remember the drive home (thanks, Dad), and I just collapsed into bed, gauze and all.
                I woke up a few hours later...

                My basic recollection of the whole recovery experience was that "it hurts until it doesn't."
      • You know, misquitos are able to inject anethesa into people without them feeling a thing.

        Why can't we replicate the misquito's techniques?
  • >These previous efforts caused shock waves, vibrations and also heated up the tooth's softer tissue, causing significant pain to the patient.

    Being a guinea pig for a tooth laser. Man, that's a hard way to make some extra money.

  • Ouch! (Score:5, Funny)

    by operagost ( 62405 ) on Friday August 09, 2002 @08:26AM (#4038670) Homepage Journal
    Previous attempts have resulted in unacceptably slow removal of tooth enamel, and have also damaged teeth. These previous efforts caused shock waves, vibrations and also heated up the tooth's softer tissue, causing significant pain to the patient.
    Remind me not to sign up as a guinea pig for any dentistry trials.
    • You think that's bad, in the actual paper it says

      The teeth were treated with 10% sodium hydroxychloride for 10 min and then stored in formalin. Teeth used for pulp cavity temperature measurements were sliced longitudinally in half with the pulp scraped out.

      What, they took them out first? Ah, that's no fun...

    • Re:Ouch! (Score:4, Funny)

      by VikingBerserker ( 546589 ) on Friday August 09, 2002 @09:10AM (#4038978)

      That's exactly why I practice dentistry on myself.

      I've found the most effective solution is to coat my teeth with sodium hydroxide. I'll let it sit or a few minutes, then put on a coat of hydrochloric acid. I'm done in no time at all.

      The best part is that I then have a nice solution of salt water to gargle with. It's a little hot, but I think that actually helps with proper gum care as well.

  • Previous attempts have resulted in unacceptably slow removal of tooth enamel, and have also damaged teeth.
    Silly me, I thought tooth enamel was what you wanted to keep, not remove.
    • Silly me, I thought tooth enamel was what you wanted to keep, not remove.

      If it's damaged or decayed, you have to remove it and replace it with an artificial compound: it can't heal or repair itself. So the dentist will remove existing enamel until what's left is solid, even if it's only partially decayed, or cracked or chipped, to provide a foundation for the filling.

  • Oo oo ee e o a? (Score:5, Funny)

    by sam_handelman ( 519767 ) <samuel DOT handelman AT gmail DOT com> on Friday August 09, 2002 @08:29AM (#4038683) Journal
    Dentist: What?
    Patient: I 'ed, doo oo ekek e to tahk!
    Dentist: I can't understand you.
    Patient: Tak jis kra ow o ny nouh.
    Dentist: Oh, okay (removes stuff from patient's mouth.)
    Patient: I said, how do you expect me to talk with this crap in my mouth?
    Dentist: I don't, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die!

    • How about a more obscure movie reference... Marathon Man, the 1976 classic.

      Dr. Szell (Lawrence Olivier): So tell me, is it... safe?
      Babington (Dustin Hoffman): Is what safe?
      Szell: I'll ask the questions here. Is it safe?
      (Puts dentist laser drill in Babingtons mouth)
      (**ZORCH**)
      Babington: Ahhh! What do you want?
      Szell: I asked you a simple question. Is it safe?
      (**ZORCH**)
      Babington: (Screaming) I don't know what you're talking about!
      (**ZORCH**)
      Babington: (Frantic) It's safe! It's safe! Dear god it's safe!
      (**ZORCH**)

      I rented that movie ten years ago, and I still get flashbacks of that scene whenever I go to the dentist.

      • I made the mistake of mentioning that to my dentist who is normally a really nice guy. He got this evil look on his face and said, "Yes, I love that movie."

        Ack!
    • That does it! If I ever become a superhero or top spy, I am *never* going to the fricken dentist!

  • Yaiiii!!! (Score:2, Funny)

    by Winterblink ( 575267 )
    These previous efforts caused shock waves, vibrations and also heated up the tooth's softer tissue, causing significant pain to the patient

    I second the opinion of the fellow who posted a similar response below. I'd hate to be the guy they strap on the chair when they wheel in a volkswagen-sized prototype with steam pulsing out of vents, crazy piston-like thingamajigs, and electrical doohickeys shooting arcs. "We don't know if this will hurt, so let us know." *cue Ghostbusters backpack startup sound*

  • Cool (Score:2)

    by yeoua ( 86835 )
    Now all they have to do is make a portable version so the dentists can make housecalls.

  • Ozone dentistry (Score:4, Informative)

    by !splut ( 512711 ) <sput AT alum DOT rpi DOT edu> on Friday August 09, 2002 @08:33AM (#4038715) Journal
    So this is how Aussies do dentistry. While it's swell and all to be able to painlessly zap a hole in my tooth, it doesn't eliminate the fact that you'd be zapping a hole in my tooth.

    The Brits, on the other hand, have gone for a no-hole approach [bbc.co.uk]. They're using a new treatment called Healozone [the-o-zone.cc], which involves fitting a rubber cap over the tooth and then smothering it with ozone, which eliminates all the bacteria in a matter of seconds. Painless, and much more cool.

    --
    • Warning! Total karma-whoring post to follow...
      The Brits, on the other hand, have gone for a no-hole approach...

      Sorry, but taking dental advice from the Brits is like taking security advice from Microsoft.

      • Sorry, but taking dental advice from the Brits is like taking security advice from Microsoft.

        Actually, I think it's because British teeth are legendarily bad that they've ended up researching so much into dentistry.

        I mean, why would you research new dental techniques if everyone has a grin like Tom Cruise? But when they've got Austin Powers incisors, then there's clearly a need for serious research.

        --Ng
        • But when they've got Austin Powers incisors, then there's clearly a need for serious research.

          Speaking of that, did you notice at the end of the first AP, his teeth were fixed? In one of the scenes where he is in the hotel room, he smiles and his teeth "glint" because he got them fixed for her. Then in the next movie, they were crooked again. Man, it must be genetic if cosmetic surgery can't even fix them. :-)

      • Sorry, but taking dental advice from the Brits is like taking security advice from Microsoft.

        Or diet advice from a Yank!

  • The problem isn't the drill... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Dalroth ( 85450 ) on Friday August 09, 2002 @08:38AM (#4038742) Homepage Journal
    The problem isn't the drill, or at least it never was for me. Sure, the drill is uncomfortable, afterall the dentist is generally pushing the thing around violently inside your tooth. That's annoying. It's the nerves that are the problem! First of all, there's the shot of novocaine (which is quite traumatic in and of itself). Then there's the drilling. Oops we hit the nerve (like the laser will never do the same thing?) and the novocaine wasn't as strong as we'd have liked. Time to do another shot of novocaine RIGHT DOWN THE CENTER OF YOUR NOW OPEN TOOTH (yes I did go through that). HOLY FUCK THAT HURT. I can't feel anything now.

    Drill or no drill, it's the nerve stupid!
    • RIGHT DOWN THE CENTER OF YOUR NOW OPEN TOOTH (yes I did go through that). HOLY FUCK THAT HURT. I can't feel anything now.


      That brought my own similar experience flooding back - you bastard. Indeed - the nerve is the problem. Somewhere along the lines of a 'simple 5 minute procedure' the fucker caught a shard of enamel straight into my nerve AYAYAYAYAYAFUUUUUUUUUUKKKKAYAYAYAYAYAYYA... and then proceeded to take about 3 HOURS to scoop the little thing out IWANTMYMOOOOOMMMIIIIEEE (well - a couple of minutes)

      But hey - maybe the laser would just vapourise your nerve! What are nerves in your TEETH for anyway???
      • What are nerves in your TEETH for anyway???

        Presumably to provide feedback on how hard you're biting down on something. If you couldn't feel anything with your teeth, you might crack one opening a beer bottle and never know. The nerves have to be sensitive because they need to work through the tooth, with is mostly bone. That's why they hurt so much when they're exposed. Unfortunately this also leads to sensitivity to hot and cold - I guess our evolutionary ancestors mostly ate food that was closer to their own body temperature.
        • A better place to put the bite pressure sensor would be in the jaw muscle. Or better yet, just construct the teeth out of a material that has a load capacity in compression higher than the maximum force the jaw muscle can apply. Then you can do away with the bite pressure sensor entirely.

          At least, that's how I'd do it...
          • A better place to put the bite pressure sensor would be in the jaw muscle. Or better yet, just construct the teeth out of a material that has a load capacity in compression higher than the maximum force the jaw muscle can apply. Then you can do away with the bite pressure sensor entirely.

            The problem with that approach is that it can only sense load on the jaw as a whole, not on individual teeth. A pressure that could be easily withstood by multiple molars may cause a single molar to fail, so there needs to be an interface that can measure with greater granularity than the joint.

            Also, the strength of a tooth is fixed when it is constructed ("compile time"), but jaws can be strengthened though use and exercise ("run time"), and there may not be a good correlation between the theoretical/genetic maximim strength of a jaw muscle, and the extent to which that muscle is developed in an individual.
    • Yep, I had the very same thing... during a root canal filling. I know exactly what you are on about. First, he tried the standard local anaesthetics and then a nerve block. When it finally became patently obvious that neither approach had worked, he opted for the injection directly into the nerve.

      And then this...
      Dentist : I'm very sorry. I can tell that this is not just imagined pain, but I can't give you any more anaesthetic. You're going to have to bear with it.

      Me: (shuddering and convulsing as he drills) : AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! HUUCCHHH!! NNNGGGOO!!!

      Never again! Fuck that! From now on, if it needs filling, it gets pulled out. No correspondence will be entered into.

    • Who's your dentist? Orin Scrivello, D.D.S.?

    • Just how long ago was this? If recently, I suggest you change dentists.

      They have a topical anesthetic now that it swabbed on to your gums prior to the novacaine shot. Takes a minute or two and then they can administer the shot to an area that's already numbed. Very nice. If your dentist isn't doing this yet, either tell them to or change dentists.
      • They have a topical anesthetic now that it swabbed on to your gums prior to the novacaine shot. Takes a minute or two and then they can administer the shot to an area that's already numbed.

        You know... I've always considered this part of the dental disinformation to which we've all been subjected. They always put the surface novacaine on, they always say it'll eliminate the "sting" of the shot, and it never does.

        I hate the frickin' dentist.
        • It isn't surface novacaine. It's new -- as in, within the past year new. And it works for me at least. I've had 3 fillings, a root canal, and a crown in the past 3 months (sigh) and never felt the needle stick.

          I never once had anything like that with my previous dentist, or any of the other dentists I've had.
    • Part of the miserable drill experience is, yeah, the drill mangling up my nerves (which after a while of drilling I'm able to deal with), but mostly I have a problem with the drilling itself; the vibration, the sounds (if it's a molar then it's right near my eardrum), and that nasty tooth dust that gets kicked up. I'm guessing the laser will eliminate most of that; however, maybe the nerve pain will bother me more now that I don't have all those other fun distractions.
    • I've had 17 Crowns and 11 root canals. I tend to regard myself as an expert on end-user dental experience. (Before you ask, it's a dental condition called maliogenesis imperfecta, not bad tooth care). All my baby teeth were crowned, too. :P

      I've experienced what you've experienced. My dentist, who's extremely good, worked on one of my top front teeth about 6 months ago. No matter how much novicaine he pumped in through the gums or into the bone (intraosteal or something) I could still feel pain. I went to the endo in a hurry - they couldnt get it numb either. I had to grin and bear it as they drilled through to the pulp chamber and anesthitized the root. Most rightous pain i've ever felt.

      And i've never felt the initial stick of the needle for more than a couple seconds.. its that nice pink crap flavored goo they swab on your mouth.. topical lidocaine, or something.
    • Much of the pain, at least for me with my extremely sensitive teeth, is the intense vibration of the drill. If the drill is touching a nerve, then you're getting a root canal. Otherwise it's not. It just feels like it.

      I went to the dentist two days ago and she used her brand new laser. It didn't hurt at all. It was slightly uncomfortable, as it felt like a microscopic woodpecker was tapping away at my tooth (that's what it sounded like too).
  • The smell of burned teeth... I think that's worse than the pain of drilling.

    Brush your teeth and you won't have this problem :)

  • Next week... (Score:4, Funny)

    by BluBrick ( 1924 ) <blubrick@gma[ ]com ['il.' in gap]> on Friday August 09, 2002 @08:40AM (#4038754) Homepage
    Honest politicians and the paperless office.
  • Dentistry...
    Lasik...
    Star Wars shooting down missiles...

    All of you geeks missed the boat. The real killer app for lasers:


    Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation Center of Georgia [cosmeticgyn.com]

    The most amazing thing about this technology is how a guy who was really good with lasers got close enough to a vagina to test it. There was a scientist with some real vision though.



    • All of you geeks missed the boat. The real killer app for lasers:

      Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation Center of Georgia [cosmeticgyn.com]

      The most amazing thing about this technology is how a guy who was really good with lasers got close enough to a vagina to test it. There was a scientist with some real vision though.

      Advertising for plastic surgery is certainly tasteless, but I think this takes the cake. Here's a quote from their web site which caused me to spew coffee all over my keyboard and screen:

      In a patient survey women were asked; Do women want to be loose and relaxed or do women want to be tight? Women answered 100% -women want to be tight.

      BTW, using lasers in this area is nothing new. Gynecologists have been using lasers for some time to treat various forms of cervical dysplasia (pre-cancerous changes).

  • Frickin' laser beam (Score:3, Funny)

    by patiwat ( 126496 ) on Friday August 09, 2002 @08:42AM (#4038768)
    Great, now I'll have a frickin' laser beam attached to my head...
  • I mean come on... lasers? I don't like this new wonderous technology from nowhere. Next thing you know we're all confined to our houses and martial law rules and a bunch of fucking lizards [imdb.com] is taping earths water.
    I for one will not stand for it, Im going to research red anti-lizard powder.

  • OK, so... (Score:3, Funny)

    by altgrr ( 593057 ) on Friday August 09, 2002 @08:47AM (#4038799)
    ...if you can make a Tesla coil out of an old TV, can you make a few slight modifications to a CD-ROM to make a dentist's (finger quotes) laser...?

    Come to think of it, Doctor Evil does look slightly like my dentist. Time to run, methinks.

  • Aw, what fun is that? Steve Martin would be very upset.
  • No pain means no more dentist gas! Please leave the pain in!

    Mike.

  • My dentist always asks me if I'd like nitrous oxide along with the "freezing". I always say yes.

    If these lasers are painless I WON'T GET MY NO2!
  • Just reading the subject made my teeth hurt.

  • Pain free... (Score:2, Funny)

    by jsonmez ( 544764 )
    Until you accidentally move your head to the left during the process.
  • I feel sorry for the people who answered the sign at their university to finally get that aching tooth worked on. Does this hurt? (muffled scream) How about this? This?
  • I hope that shady dentists that are trying to torture information out of me will quickly adapt this new technology.
  • Why go for the physical option. It looks like ozone is the magic anti-oxidant for teeth capable of repairing damage and protecting.

    Guardian UK [guardian.co.uk] No more fillings?
    It's one of life's horrors. But a controversial new treatment could soon make the dentist's drill a thing of the past. Leo Hickman reports
  • Maybe in a few years you can buy your own Mega-Deluxe-Dual-Laser-3000-Denta'Flexa on tellsell, batteries included. Could help save on those insurance bills. Oh wait I live in The Netherlands. Dental work is almost free overhere. Would be fun though.
  • Right up until they miss. "Oops, sorry about that small hole in your cheek."
  • Waaaa, I got 4 wisdom teeth pulled this summer, and 2 days later i was at a bar, drinking beer! Boo-yah!
    • I have you beat. I got 4 pulled as well, 2 wuth anesthetic that didn't take. I have a history of that novocain stuff not taking on me, and the _4_ shots of it I got did nothing, so I told the guy to go ahead anyways. NO2 was just too expensive for me to bother about. Oh, I also ordered out for chinese about 4 hours after and had good honey garlic chicken.
  • Remove this drill from my presence! All I ask for is a frick'n "Laser."
    • Heard on Luke Skywalker's answering machine:

      "Luke! [heavy breath] This is your dentist! [heavy breath] You are overdue for an appointment. [heavy breath twice] [beeeeep]..."
  • There's a local dentist advertising this. I was assuming it was some sort of laser thing, hell, it's been years since any innovation in the dentistry field.

    With a check-up appointment next Thursday, I wonder whether it's worth going for the laser thing. The injection is probably half as bad, and even worse if it doesn't work properly.

    What are the cost differences? Surely the attraction of less pain would draw more money. Hell, I'd pay a little extra for the laser thing.

    THe ozone treatment actually makes me wonder. Having fillings is a risk - they'll have to replace them with fillings won't they? Maybe it's worth waiting till this treatment also becomes available here down under.

    Has anybody here had the laser treatment? Is anybody willing to give a detailed comparison between conventional and laser treatment?

    • I can't give you a detailed comparison. I'll tell you what I've learned so far though.

      First, some background. My education is physics and mathematics. My wife is a dentist. About two years ago, I attended a lecture by a visiting professor who was doing work building things like dental lasers -- the so-called sub-picosecond-pulse lasers. It was an excellent lecture and he really knew his stuff. Naturally, I came home all abuzz, and started talking to my wife about it.

      It turns out that many dentists think the lasers may be cool and all, but they'll probably never use them for drilling out teeth. Cutting softer tissue, sure, but not drilling the actual tooth. She says that a huge part of the drilling process is feel. While you're drilling, you can feel when you're drilling softer, infected enamel and dentin versus hard, clean tooth. Taking that feel away would severely compromise her ability to be sure that she's drilled out all the decay, without drilling out too much of the tooth and possibly compromising its integrity or perforating into the pulp.

      My wife has left for her office already, so I can't get her to comment directly. I'd love to hear from any other dentists, though. What do you think? Is feel really that important when you're drilling?
  • As if going to the dentist wasnt torture enough, now they are going to sick 'fricken sharks with laser beams on their heads' on us!
  • Reading some of these anecdotes is making my teeth hurt...

    I recently found another way to deal with the pain and fear involved in dental work (yeah, I know, you're not afraid... but I am!). Found a place that does "sedation dentistry." Best Google search I ever did. They offer a couple of sedation options, including a big dose of a sleeping pill and/or an IV. They monitor your vital signs to ensure safety. If you're afraid of dental work or you still feel pain despite the novocaine, this might be worth considering. And if you've put off the dental work until you need a lot of stuff done, they can do a lot at once while you're out of it.

    Dunno about you, but I'd rather be sedated than sit there, fully alert, wondering if I'm about to feel intense pain.

  • Dentistry has historically been a profession sadists love to enter. With pain-free lasers, they won't be able to torture people any more. This could lead to a terrible shortage of dentists. There's just no way the dentist in Little Shop of Horrors could get off using one of these.
  • ... Just so long as the dental nurse remembers to change the setting on the laser from VAPOURISE BULLDOZER to PAINLESS DENTISTRY :-)
  • Wow. First laser eye surgery, and now laser teeth surgery.

    I'll bet we all get spam in a few days telling us to INCREASE YOUR PENIS SIZE USING LASERS!
  • It's a laser that whirs like a drill !! (Space Mutiny)
  • I don't know about the rest of the world, but every dentist I've seen in the last five years here in America has used a kind of "tooth sandblaster".

    Doesn't hurt at all, no need for sedation or even much anaesthetics (I don't even think I used any anaesthetics...)

    The only down side is the gritty taste in your mouth afterwards.

  • I think somebody ought to have told me before, that this laser-dentistry is still in beta.

    Previous attempts have resulted in unacceptably slow removal of tooth enamel, and have also damaged teeth. [...] heated up the tooth's softer tissue, causing significant pain to the patient.

    Yes. I can definitely say, that the current laser dentistry is way better that with a drill, but is is still a very painful experience.

    Now, if the new laser also eliminates the smell of burning teeth, it is perfect.

  • ...and my dentist uses it: a little heater attached to the drill's water source. Dentist's drills are water-driven, and most of the pain of drilling comes from cold water flowing into the unprotected tooth. Use warm water and hey! you have no pain. I've had 3 or 4 cavities repaired with no pain block, and it's never hurt.

    If he ever hit a nerve I'm sure it would hurt, but then again the laser probably would too...

    Of course, dentists can charge you extra for using novocaine, whereas the heated water is free. Not a great incentive to use the cheaper, easier, and better solution.

  • When I had my wisdom teeth removed, the first time (they did left/right set separately) it seemed like it took 5 minutes, there was no pain, and everything was groovy. I didn't think the gas did much at all. The 2nd time, the gas machine was broken. It was then when I realized why people dislike dentists. It didn't hurt, but I felt every hammer hit, felt every chissel, it seemed like it took forever, etc. Demand the gas.
  • I would be curious about one thing: the range. The drill bit is of a limited size, and it cannot easily get to your throat if is accidentally slips of the teeth you're getting fixed. But the laser is basically (at short distances) a straight line from its emitter, so one small mistake and all that raw power will be frying your inner skin. No good!
  • I have been delaying work on my 12 false teeth, now I can get the job done in no pain

  • In a dentist's office, far away (Score:3, Funny)

    by Torgo's Pizza ( 547926 ) on Friday August 09, 2002 @11:09AM (#4039862) Homepage Journal
    DR. TARKIN: Since you are reluctant to provide us with the location of the cavity, I have chosen to test this dentist's chair new laser... on your bicuspid.

    LEIA: No! My bicuspid is fine. It has no cavities. You can't possibly...

    DR. TARKIN: You would prefer another target? Some plaque perhaps? Then name the tooth!

    Dr. Tarkin waves menacingly toward Leia.

    DR. TARKIN: I grow tired of asking this. So it'll be the last time. Where is the cavity?

    LEIA: (softly) Left back molar.

    Leia lowers her head.

    LEIA: It's on my left back molar.

    DR. TARKIN: There. You see Darth Dentist, she can be reasonable. Continue with the operation. You may fire when ready.

    LEIA: What?

    DR. TARKIN: You're far too trusting. Your back molar is too remote to make an effective demonstration. But don't worry. We will deal with your cavity soon enough.

  • That's funny.....the article makes it sound like laser drills in the past have been ineffective and painful....

    My dentist has a laser drill that also uses a small water jet that removes decay just fine.....and doesn't hurt a bit. The drill will not work on removing old fillings (they are apparently too hard), but still.....for filling in new holes, it's great! No more shots =)
  • I just hope my dentist doesn't toke up the next time I have a visit; I can see it now:

    Dentist:
    "And now I shall blow a hole in your tooth with this device, which I shall call a 'laaaaaser'"

    aaiiiee!!!
  • If the gov fedralizes dental work, then they can do missle defense and dental work at the same time off the same laser. Just hope they don't get the lenses mixed up.
  • Over the 25+ years I've been goiung to dentists I've watched with interest as new treatment methods have been introduced. My interest has been based on the fact that, despite all the interesting developments shown on TV's Tomorrow's World (UK) or the US equivalent, NOTHING HAS CHANGED! I get a painful injection, some distressing drilling, and a heavy metal patch applied to my tooth.

    I moved from the UK to the US 3 years ago, and it's the same here (only it costs more).
  • "Painless Dentistry"

    (formerly "Painful Dentistry")

    - seen on an old Simpsons episode

  • the site is slashdotted -- but i have to wonder, how many femto-second is the burst exactly?

    reason being:
    light travels ~30cm / ns (nano-sec) (about 12 inches)
    so each pico second it travels something like 0.3mm
    and each femto second, well, .3um (micro-meter)

    it is not hard to point out that all the energy in cutting away your tooth is concentrated in a span of space a few microns long.
    talk about power-density!!

    i know it's pointing out the obvious. but it's pretty cool so i had to muse.

  • Christian Szell: Is it safe? [imdb.com]
    Babe: Yes, it's safe, it's very safe, so safe you wouldn't believe it.
    Christian Szell: Is it safe?
    Babe: No, it's not safe, it's very dangerous, be careful.

  • "Ah yes...the laser the whurrs like a drill!"
  • If you can get by with the laser, chances are that your filling is pretty simple anyway. You probably wouldn't feel anything with a modern high-speed drill on such a filling even if you didn't get Novocain. Or you can use one of those new sandblast-like drills.

    The big stuff--crowns, root canals, removal of old fillings, and all that, still requires a drill, often of the slow variety, to get the right shape and surface. The mechanical feedback is important to dentists to know when to stop drilling and to create subtle surface features that make the fillings actually stay in.

    And even if you could ablate half a tooth with a high powered laser, frankly, I wouldn't want to have half a tooth, or old amalgam fillings, for that matter, vaporized inside my mouth.

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