The Accupal won't make your next root canal painless, but it will lessen the sting of the needle. Essentially an ultrasonic toothbrush with a hole in it, when coupled with minor amounts of topical anesthetic, you can apparently poke and prod someone's mouth all day without pain. It seems to work through a combination of loosening/stretching the tissue (so the needle goes in easier) and slightly numbing the tissue (we assume by overloading those nerves with all the vibration). Regardless, we hope our flossing regimen pays off to the point that we never discover if this thing really works. [Accupal via Medgadget]

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