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Using a polishing technique previously employed in the semiconductor industry, a professor has discovered that it's possible to make a tooth too slick to have bacteria stick to. For reals.
You know how a pressure washer can clean all of the crap off the side of your house and into those hard-to-reach gutters? Well, picture the same thing—only with your teeth.
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]
For some people, just the sound of a dental drill is enough to cause panic--but the good news is that this barbaric procedure may be a thing of the past. UK researchers have developed a technology that spots tooth decay before it begins using a technology based on Raman spectroscopy--a method that is currently used to identify chemicals. A new study has determined that harmful bacteria can be detected by analysing how light is scattered when a laser is fired at the tooth.
As a guy with pretty horrible teeth, I can only wish that this computerised toothbrush was invented decades ago when I was a kid. When children brush using the system, the toothbrush's LEDs get mapped via webcam onto a representation of a mouth, which then shows kids which teeth have already been brushed and which teeth need more cleaning. The kids using the system were "twice as effective at cleaning their teeth following the trial." If only they could turn flossing into a game as well, I wouldn't have to go get a root canal in about a month. [New Scientist]
