Dentist Without a Drill?

There is a new technique being used by pediatric dentists to help ease the stress of a dental visit for children. It involves getting rid of the drill, the anesthetic, and the pain. Sound too good to be true? Well in this case it isn’t. Dr. Loan Mao, a pediatric dentist in Detroit is helping to pioneer the new technique that uses lasers to cut away enamel. Since there’s no drill, there’s no need for a shot. It makes the whole experience much easier for children. Fox Detroit tells more:

Now Dr. Mao has a new trick up her sleeve, a new system that throws out the drills, the anesthesia, and the pain.

“Waterlase system is a laser,” said Dr. Mao. “There are two types, there’s the soft tissue laser and the hard tissue laser. Rather than using the drill you can use the laser, it removes a small portion of the tooth and then you just fill it conventionally like you would with a normal filling.

“It helps them to feel more comfortable coming to the dentist. You know, the whole purpose of pediatric dentistry, I think, is to build confidence in children, so they will bring that into adulthood.”

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Dentistry Through the Years

There is no question dentistry has changed dramatically through the years. Technology has improved it by leaps and bounds. Steve Lundeberg illustrates this point in a recent blog post about his own experiences with dentistry. His colorful  post is both humorous and informative:

Our dentist in those days was a fellow named Elton Storment, and though he was actually a very nice guy, someone once removed the S from the name on his sign, leaving him to be known briefly as Dr. Torment; my sister Debby seemed to find that particularly amusing, so much so that I now wonder if was actually she who modified the sign. Deb, assuming you still read my blog every now and then, what do you have to say for yourself on the subject?

Anyway,  whereas nowadays dentists garb themselves up so much you’d think they were preparing to do brain surgery, back then the only difference, appearance-wise, between our dentist and any grown man in the waiting room was the smock the dentist always wore. There was certainly no mask or eye protection, and I don’t recall him wearing latex gloves.

Another key difference I’ve noticed between 1970s dentistry and now has to do with spitting into a sink; that is, you don’t don’t do it anymore. Instead, there’s that little vacuum cleaner attachment that you’re supposed to close your lips around so it can siphon away all of the debris-laden saliva. I really never have gotten the hang of that; always feel like a part of my mouth is going to end up torn off and hurtling through the tube.

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