Dentists are definitely trying. The drills have gotten smaller and gentler, my dentist (and many others) offers a headset so you can listen to music/podcasts while getting your cleaning, and overall they make an effort to be less scoldy and more encouragey.
The process itself is still kind of naturally unpleasant, and the billing sucks, but the people seem to have taken traditional criticisms to heart and made some moves to make it suck less.
Too much of dentistry is still stuck on instant fix solutions. Take hard metal, scrape teeth. Something wrong on inside, just drill into it scrape it out and fill it. Dental implants were the last major invention and that was what, in the 60s? There really needs to be far more money and research in the field, because there is ample opportunity for major improvements here as it's lagging so far behind other health fields.
At some point, you bottom out on the reality that we are all just big bags of meat and bones. No amount of technology or AI will change the fact that we are material objects who sometimes have problems with that composition and structure of that material.
Fact of the matter is, dentristry has lagged so far behind other fields because there's a lack of care for it. Dental is often not even considered "healthcare", despite how important oral health is to general health. It's also the easiest to hide, who cares about actual rotting teeth just sharpen them down and replace them with plastic. Whereas things like skincare and hair get far more priority due to being visible. Of course there's also the severity, people don't care if their teeth disintigrate, but a broken leg is a broken leg and gets handled appropriately.
> a broken leg is a broken leg and gets handled appropriately.
Funny that you say that because I'm currently stuck on my couch with a broken ankle, unable to walk for the past two months. I'm very grateful for the quality of care I've gotten, but seeing the X-rays with three metal plates and 18 screws going into my bones sure as heck does look barbaric. But when chunks of bone snapped off and need to be put back in the right place and forcibly held there, maybe that's the best you can do.
Mouth pH and mouth biome make all the difference.
Also spacing between teeth.
I used to be friends with someone that ate bags of gummy bears a day.
Never flossed, brushed a couple of times a week.
Zero cavities well into his 30s, maybe longer.
Loads of studies that show the effectiveness of ART just as well as composites.
And the difference is Novocaine shots and drilling out a tooth vs no numbing need, minimal cleaning with a pick and toothbrush and then essentially placing a ball of putty in the cavity. A ball of putty which actually chemically bonds with the tooth and releases fluoride to rebuild enamel.
But it's hard to charge $350 for something anyone with two fingers can do in about 15 minutes. And then of course if it breaks or comes out the fix isn't drilling an even larger area, it's just filling a smaller hole with putty.
https://www.practiceupdate.com/content/effectiveness-of-art-...
Oh, 100%. Yeah there has for sure been progress. I do also recognize that my anxiety is not just "oh I don't like the dentist", I was lied too. That breaks that trust.
I remember before I found my current dentist, I was having a ton of pain and I tried to find someone. I called them, explained the situation, explained the anxiety and where it was coming from. They reassured me, we have someone who knows how to help with that.
I went there, the dentist came in, I again explained the anxiety and where it came from. This was meant to be a, get comfortable thing. It wasn't a cleaning, just talking. He decides the entire time that he was feeling around my mouth with his fingers, he would hold the scraping tool inches from my face. And then, right at the end to purposefully do a quick little scrape as if, its not big deal see its not that bad.
I just got through telling you I was lied too, that is not the time to do something without telling me that you said you were not going to do to try to convince me that "its not that bad". And then he was like, yeah so we have time if you want to get a cleaning. I have not wanted to get up and leave as quick as I had in that situation in my life, never went back...
That is a rant, sorry about that. But that moment is burned into my brain.
I was so thankful to find my current dentist. When I told them, the dentist called me while I was at home to talk to me in my space that I am comfortable in. Then when I got there I just sat in the chair for a while talking, not laying back, my feet were at the side.
I'm sure there are great dentists out there who are honest and empathetic but I haven't met one and don't plan on rolling the dice again anytime soon.
My dentist would always lie to me saying "just a little longer left" (even when there was about an hour remaining) which really didnt help, and after we finished about 5 teeth worth of treatments she said she "realised" I have 3 more places she wants to do as well..
It sounds hysterical I'm sure, but I dont think she realised that several times per each treatment I'm genuinely convinced I'm about to die - like making peace with god level. I got over myself and was in a really good cycle of going because I wanted to finally fix everything, and then that extra "reveal" of another 2 rounds of treatment just broke me, I couldn't do it.
And I do believe that for the most it comes from a good place. They are legitimately trying to reduce anxiety.
When the above happened an I was trying to find a dentist I talked with my therapist about this extensively. And then the dentist I found now, talking through it was a big way that helped me.
And both of them kinda said the same thing. That this was an old trick that dentists used. Particularly on kids, but clearly not limited. And it does come from a good place.
But they don’t think about the long term damage of that. Even on a subconscious level. It wasn’t until into my adult hood that I understood why I had a fight or flight moment when I got in that chair, but I still did.
And I feel you 100% on those tools and stuff. I have gotten better, but I remember early on after finding my current dentist I needed a root canal. I told her, if I am laying 100% back and that plastic film is covering my mouth fully I am going to have an anxiety attack. She listened and worked with me on how to make it work. It still made me anxious, but yeah.
This has not been the case in my experience. Dentists have always told me exactly how much I owe them, and the one time I forgot a payment, they called me and texted me to let me know and I resolved it in a matter of minutes.
Meanwhile a hospital visit sent me a bunch of bills in the mail ranging from $50 to $100, they refused to tell me the total sum even when I visited in person, and when I missed one $50 payment I was sent to collections a year later.
Anyway, it ends up being like you say, it's a largely out of pocket service that people shop around for.
As someone who 5 or 6 years ago was not going to the dentist since the very idea of it gave me anxiety after having a particularly bad and damaging dentist experience as a kid. When I would to to the dentist I would have a fight or flight moment just sitting in the chair. (TLDR, I was told they were going to do one thing as a kid, but they purposefully lied to me and did something else thinking I would be less anxious about it happening... yeah that went swimmingly)
The only way I got over that was being able to talk to the Dentist that I was working with, having them explain step by step what they are doing, they check in regularly, etc etc. I finally feel mostly comfortable going, to this specific dentist. The idea of switching has me anxious.
The idea of a robot, while great maybe it could have less human error and all that. No... just, no.
If somebody needs a dentist to hold their hand, they can go to a fancy clinic that has some sort of doula. But normal people used to get their dentistry done by the same guy who would cut their hair.
Is there really any indication that this will make any change to the cost of dental care? Is the dentists the problem or is it the other parts? There still has to be someone there to manage it.
Also this machine will not be cheap either, will require maintenance, etc. From what I have seen most robot operated medical things, are not to replace jobs but for precision that humans just can't do. Or to reduce human error.
> But normal people used to get their dentistry done by the same guy who would cut their hair.
I would strongly advise against saying "normal" when dental anxiety is very much a thing for many people. I would likely even say most people have some sort of dental anxiety.
There is a reason that a lot of people don't get their regular cleanings, and I am sure cost is part of that but not all of it.
From the article:
> The machine's first specialty: preparing a tooth for a dental crown. Perceptive claims this is generally a two-hour procedure that dentists will normally split into two visits. The robo-dentist knocks it off in closer to 15 minutes.
So this robot is actually improving the dental experience for the patient, which will hopefully reduce anxiety as well as reducing costs.
We all know this is not going to happen.
You'll just pay a premium for the novelty.
You already have an excuse.
But maybe, before we remove any amount of comfort with another human being we look at wether all of the dental practices are actually backed by science (which there is some scruitiny over).
But also going to the dentist already isn't exactly pleasant, the pokes, scrapes, drill noises, etc. Maybe we improve that first before sticking it in a robot?
People already have a ton of anxiety about going to the dentist. Removing humans will make that worse.
I realize this is early, but still. I feel like we skipped some things.