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Accupal Takes the Steve Martin Out of Dentistry
Posted by Mark Wilson at 5:10 AM on August 1, 2008
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]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
markgm
Posted 5:45 AM 1/8/08
Sonic toothbrushes cause my teeth to become extra sensitive, I'd rather just have a needle!
markgm
Lewis
Posted 5:39 AM 1/8/08
I once went to an amazing dentist, one of the few apparently who has a new system to inject anesthesia. Rather than a manual needle (supposedly much of the pain from shots is from the dentist injecting the anesthesia by hand at an inconsistent rate) this is a computer-controlled "wand." The dentist inserts it at the right place, and the computer pumps in the anesthetic at a carefully-controlled, slow rate.
The needle still of course pricks, but you don't have that "electric shot" sort of feeling when the drug is injected. Anyone who has had major dental work knows what I am talking about. It worked really, really well for me.
Closest thing to a hypospray I've ever seen.
Lewis
Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy
Posted 5:35 AM 1/8/08
@OMG! Ponies!: Was he a wild and crazy guy?
Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy
Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy
Posted 5:35 AM 1/8/08
@ninjamurf: @Platypus Man: In reading the wiki page and remembering the movie, it was Bill Murry who was the patient who liked the pain, so this would be a bad thing for him as well.
Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy
OMG! Ponies!
Posted 5:31 AM 1/8/08
@MooseDesign: My old boss' name was Steve Martin. He was managing attorney of the law firm and had gray-white hair.
And no, he did not wear an arrow through his head.
Not even for April Fools' Day.
OMG! Ponies!
MooseDesign
Posted 5:26 AM 1/8/08
My dentist's name is Steve Martin here in Colorado... Good guy.
True story.
MooseDesign
ninjamurf
Posted 5:24 AM 1/8/08
@Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy: Beat me to it!
Don't worry Mark, some of us are over 18 years old. ;)
ninjamurf
OMG! Ponies!
Posted 5:22 AM 1/8/08
That device isn't going anywhere near my mouth or any other one of my orifices.
OMG! Ponies!
Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy
Posted 5:19 AM 1/8/08
@Platypus Man: in Little Shop Of Horrors, the movie, Steve Martin played a dentist who was off the deep end.
I still want my nitrous.
Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy
Platypus Man
Posted 5:17 AM 1/8/08
Well, I guess that's cool, but I'm not sure how it pertains to Steve Martin. Is this a reference that I'm missing?
Platypus Man
92BuickLeSabre
Posted 6:13 AM 1/8/08
@OMG! Ponies!: What movie...what movie. This is going to drive me crazy. I'm looking in my mind for it. Why are there so many movies in there? If I could just get to the other side. Oh, I thought I had it but it was only a vision...or illusion I guess. Come on, open up mind; you have nothing to hide. I choose to believe I will figure this out! Someday I'll find it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some loving and dreaming to do.
92BuickLeSabre
OMG! Ponies!
Posted 6:08 AM 1/8/08
@Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy: No, he was not a wild and crazy guy. He was a bit beaten down by his job.
Our nickname for him was "Insolent Waiter". Name the movie.
OMG! Ponies!
92BuickLeSabre
Posted 6:01 AM 1/8/08
@Platypus Man: Contrary to what you may hear elsewhere, and contrary to the presence of Steve Martin and Bill Murry, but not contrary to the presence of Rick Moranis in anything except for Strange Brew, you haven't missed much.
92BuickLeSabre
qbrad
Posted 6:01 AM 1/8/08
@OMG! Ponies!: Play the Banjo? Balloon animals maybe?
Candy bar candy bar candy bar!!!! Gonna get a candy bar!!!!!
qbrad
Platypus Man
Posted 5:55 AM 1/8/08
@ninjamurf: I'm more than 18 years old! Not much, mind you (20), but I haven't seen that particular film...
Platypus Man
Chromeo
Posted 5:53 AM 1/8/08
I've had about 4-5 root canals in my relatively short life span...
Until they come out the gizmo that makes that procedure less painful, I will say gooddaysir!
Chromeo
Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy
Posted 5:49 AM 1/8/08
@Lewis: Last big dental work I had was the removal of the remaining pieces of my front teeth after a pool toy accident. They stuck a needle in my arm, gave me a pen to sign something, and I woke up at home. I would recommend it to ANYONE.
Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy
jpj007
Posted 6:34 AM 1/8/08
+ Watch video
jpj007
jpj007
Posted 6:32 AM 1/8/08
When I was younger, just a bad little kid,
My Mama noticed funny things I did.
Like shooting puppies with a BB gun.
I'd poison guppies, and when I was done
I'd find a pussycat and bash in its head.
That's when my mama said,
(What did she say?)
She said my boy, I think some day
You'll find a way
To make your natural tendecies pay.
You'll be a dentist...
/from memory
jpj007
Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy
Posted 6:30 AM 1/8/08
@OMG! Ponies!: Someone beat me to it. On a side note, I named my cat "annoying customer". Anyone, anyone?
Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy
dingus
Posted 6:27 AM 1/8/08
But is it safe?
dingus
bpapa9013
Posted 6:16 AM 1/8/08
The Muppet Movie!!!
bpapa9013
Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy
Posted 6:53 AM 1/8/08
@Sora57: IN his Segway? I think that is the only thing they could add to them to make them even worse.
Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy
Sora57
Posted 6:42 AM 1/8/08
In The Jerk, Steve Martin is involved in a hilarious car chase in which his vehicle has no tires and he reaches a top speed of about 5 MPH. This could be linked with today's story about the cop who chased down a lady in his Segway.
Sora57
hoselshaft
Posted 8:07 AM 1/8/08
dingus?? or Szell !! the concentration camp dentist
hoselshaft
captaingrapes
Posted 9:34 AM 1/8/08
We use this same concept where I work. Its called a topical gel, that numbs soft tissue enough so you don't feel the needle. Much more practical and inexpensive than this.
captaingrapes
infmom
Posted 11:00 AM 1/8/08
@captaingrapes: Yeah, and makes you drool like nothing else on earth. I'd rather just have the dentist just go ahead and get it over with.
infmom
Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy
Posted 1:00 PM 1/8/08
@captaingrapes: I can't SEE the needle, let alone feel it. Don't believe me? Asked the podatrist who stuck a needle in my toe, and soon changed his policy about letting patients keep BOTH shoes on.
Git Em SteveDave is a poor substitute for LindsayJoy