Dentist drill may become a thing of the past

Posted by Qossay Takroori on July 22, 2008 in Future Technology, Health & Medicine · 0 Comment

For most people the sound of dental drilling is enough to cause panic, especially for kids. Moreover, drilling is one of the top dental phobias; and puts thousands of people off visiting their dentist every year. But the good news is that a new technology was developed by King’s College in London that spots tooth decay almost as soon as it begins. It promises to reduce the need for drilling and filling.

The new technique or treatment is called Ramon spectroscopy (a method that is currently used to identify chemicals) and it might be available in dental surgeries in five years from now.

dentist drill may become a thing of the past Dentist drill may become a thing of the past Frances Downey, a PhD student working on developing the technique at King’s College London, said: ‘The earlier you spot decay the better as you can remineralise the area so there is no cavitation and therefore no need for a filling.’

The chemical changes in the tooth could be detected by analyzing how light is scattered when a laser is fired at the tooth. Since bacteria is the main cause of the decay, researchers were able to tell wethere the tooth is healthy or not because the scatter light will look different.

X-rays detect decay in teeth, but the problem is that for the most part the damage has been done, and decayed area must be drilled out. But Dr Steven Hogg, a microbiologist at Newcastle University’s dental school, confirms that it is possible to repair teeth with a special mouthwash or fluoride varnish if dental decay is caught early enough.