This year has proven to be a milestone of progress in the field of Dentistry. In this article, I share with you three notable Dental Health technologies that have rapidly advanced in the year 2019. I'd like to begin by discussing dental robotics. For the first time this year, scientists in Beijing have performed a remote operation on a patient of thirty-six years old. The did this by utilizing a robot operated via a 5g connection. The dental procedure was performed at First Central Hospital in Tianjin. The surgery is a first of it's kind as three completely separate dental procedures were performed simultaneously. [2]
The lead researcher Tian Wei, sent the startup commands to the computer on the morning of August 27th of 2019 at about 9:30 a.m. [1] These robots are currently capable of performing the majority of tasks needed for the surgery. However, the procedure of drilling into bone to install the implants was performed by dentists in-house.
There are many advantages to using 5g for these kind of remote surgeries. For one, 5g is up to ten times faster than 4g. 5g in addition to this, is deemed a highly reliable connection to the internet. The installers of the 5g technologies known as the Tianjin State Grid Group have implemented fail-safes. These fail-safes ensure that power interruptions would not phase remote surgeries just like the one performed at Tianjin Hospital.
Just as important as dental robotics, on September 05, 2019 a research team at Zhejiang University published an article detailing their findings in assisting enamel into repairing itself. The dental researchers wrote on their findings in the science journal, Science Advances. he inner workings of the procedure involves mixing both phosphate and calcium. This phosphate-calcium combo is then combined with a chemical by the name of trimethylamine. The final product is an alcohol-based tincture with the three of these ingredients combined. The newly formed enamel is academically referred to as biomimetic crystalline amorphous mineral.
The gel was able to successfully induce the enamel into repairing itself in a mere forty-eight hours. It's still in the early stages of development so the layer restored measured just three micrometers. This is about 400 times thinner than undamaged enamel. Despite this, a researcher noted that this gel can be applied repeatedly so as to build upon itself. When examined under a microscope, the researchers photographed this pseudo-enamel forming into an identical structure to that of natural enamel.[3]
Lastly, our final emerging dental technology is that of nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter at a molecular and atomic scale. As far as it's use in Dentistry, Nanotechnology has many applications. Just a few of these include dentin hypersensitivity therapy, enhancement of root canal sealers, and orthodontic realignment done in a single appointment. Just as important to these uses, the application I'd like to highlight is that of dental implants.
One of the greatest challenges of dental implants is what is known as osseointegration. Osseointegration in its simplest definition is the fusing of metal with bone. Nanotechnology is now allowing implants to be tailored more precisely to fit an individual's needs. One of the ways that this is accomplished is via the use of CAD. The use of CAD (or Computer-Aided Design Software) allows the designers of these implants to more precisely craft them using the specialized software. This in turn, is helping to lower the chance of failure during implantation. As an outcome, this results in better osseointegration, improved healing in bones, and lessened chances of infection.
This year has seen notable progress in the area of dental implants. In fact, it is forecasted that 2016-2024 will be a time of steady growth in this sector. In a report published by the American Academy of Implant Dentists, the U.S market alone is seeing an increase of over a half-million new implant procedures each year. [4] The added costs of implementing these technologies, however, is predicted to somewhat hinder this growth in nanotechnology.
State of the are equipment as well as the knowledge and training in how to use this equipment is increasing in demand. These advancements are allowing patients to have a more comfortable experience when getting dental procedures done. Whether it be a gel that regrows teeth, dental robotics, or nanotechnology. These breakthroughs are all equally vital in the continued growth and development of dental technology.
sources: https://thecoinshark.net/remote-surgery-was-performed-using-a-robot-for-the-first-time-in-china/ [2] http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201908/29/WS5d670e17a310cf3e355686fa.html [1] https://news.usc.edu/140415/tooth-enamel-regrow-research-gel/ https://science.slashdot.org/story/19/09/05/1925252/chinese-scientists-regrow-tooth-enamel-in-48-hours-with-phosphate-gel https://www.zju.edu.cn/english/2019/0903/c19573a1616188/page.htm [3] https://onyourdesks.com/2019/09/23/nanotechnology-in-dental-implants-market-competitive-landscape-and-key-product-segments/ [4]
"R0010080"by jaehune is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0
