Gizmodo: dentistry

Accupal Takes the Steve Martin Out of Dentistry

Mark Wilson — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:10:00 EDT

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]

Tooth Regeneration Tech Could Make Fillings Obsolete

Adam Frucci — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 12:37:07 EDT

Scientists are hard at work on making teeth regrow the crystals that make up dentin and enamel, allowing them to phase out fillings and drillings completely. The goal is to spot tooth decay early and then get the teeth to grow healthy tooth-matter over the bad spots. No fuss, no muss. They say that the tech will be ready for primetime in just a few years. So long, toothbrush! I don't need you anymore! [Wired via Neatorama]

Tiny Bluetooth Microphone Goes in a Hole Drilled in Your Teeth

Adam Frucci — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:45:00 EDT

Update: This is a fake! We were fooled because April 1 where they are (in China) was still March 31. Check out the original post after the jump.

How dedicated are you to using a Bluetooth microphone with your phone? Are you dedicated enough to drill a small hole in your teeth to install a tiny mic? Well, if so, here's one for you. Hit the jump for a picture of it in-mouth and a word of warning about DIY dentistry.

The durable composite resin filling is designed to fit in a hole 2.2mm in diameter and 1.7 mm deep and will pick up sound and vibrations from your mouth to produce incredibly clear sound.

I don't know about you, but I think I'd rather stick with a regular Bluetooth headset, especially when this thing still requires you to wear something in your ear so you can hear what's going on. But hey, it's up to you. And as Chinavasion, the seller, reminds you, don't go drilling holes in your teeth yourself. "All dental work should be performed by a qualified dentist, Chinavasion does not take responsibility for injury resulting from the installation of this product." Yikes. [Product Page via Geek Alerts]

Tongue Nub Isn't Going to Replace Toothbrushes Anytime Soon

Adam Frucci — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 12:45:00 EDT

Toothbrushes, they just need updating. Right? Well, according to yet another delusional contestant on American Inventor, a better solution would be a little nub you stick on the tip of your tongue. You then use your tongue to get your teeth clean, hoping it doesn't come off and get lodged in your throat, giving you a really embarrassing obituary. It's sure to turn the whole dental care industry on its head! [American Inventor]

Dento-Munch is the Future of Dental Research

AddyDugdale — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 06:46:43 EDT

This is Dento-Munch, a robot developed by scientists to help with research into dental products. Kazem Alemzadeh of the Bristol Robotics Laboratory is one of the
engineers behind the team, at Britain's Bristol University, and he reckons that Dento-Munch could cut down the time needed to trial new products, as machines up until now have been poor imitators of humans.

Dento-Munch's upper and lower "jaws" consist of two platforms. The lower one is capable of moving six degrees of freedom (unlike the current lab simulators, which are only capable of 2 degrees) and can move and rotate up and down, forwards and backwards, and left and right - just like its human counterpart.

The software that controls the robot's motors and gearboxes responds to loads as muscle and tendon does, and the chewing is slowed when resistance is high (and speeded up when it is low) thanks to feedback loops in the system.

Mr Alemzadeh also thinks that the machine will work for research on ankles, as the movement in the joint that links the foot to the leg is similar to chewing.

Dental robot chews over a toothy problem [New Scientist Tech]