Plasma Needle to Replace Dentist's Drill 169
dylanduck writes "From the New Scientist Tech article: "Sticking a needle with a flaming plasma tip into your mouth may not at first strike you as much of an improvement on conventional dentistry. However, the plasma needle, which is cold and painless to the touch, could be just the panacea we have been waiting for.""
Hasta la Vista (Score:5, Insightful)
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Fear... (Score:5, Insightful)
Root-canal and other invasive surgery notwithstanding (and I'm going through a lot of that right now, thank you very much), if this technology can allow minor surgery - fillings, mainly - to be undertaken without needles, I daresay it'll be a brilliant breakthrough. If the patient feels confident they are not going to feel pain, they won't be (as) afraid.
That being said, my latest dentist is a sodding genius, who managed to perform a re-root-treatment without anaesthetic, and without pain, within an hour.
Re:Maybe a little better..... (Score:3, Insightful)
Drilling doesn't hit any nerves. As I understand it, the heat caused by drilling is what triggers pain receptors in the pulp. If you want to say that this heat is due to "vibrations" rather than "the actual drilling" (whatever that means), then fine. Either way, if this "plasma needle" doesn't heat up the tooth, it should be painless, which is the point of the article.
Re:Incomplete Summary (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Maybe a little better..... (Score:3, Insightful)