Dentistry has made quite a few leaps. When I was young fillings were metal. Now they are a putty that dries within seconds with uv light shine upon it.
Yup, and when I needed a new brace the dentist made a 3D scan of my teeth to have a custom one made.
I complained to my mother that the new dentist hurt me. She said I was being over-dramatic. Months later, she went to him and told me that he hurt her. No acknowledgment that I'd complained of the same. Teenager, obv.
Orthopedic surgeon:
*repeatedly pulls string attempting to start up a chainsaw*
My kid's orthopedist had a saw that was a pizza cutter sized cutting wheel, and it stopped when it touched your skin. He demonstrated on his own hand before he started removing cast.
it stopped when it touched skin, or it didn't cut the skin?
the cast saws that I am familiar with have an oscillating motion that is small enough that skin just moves with the teeth instead of being cut by them. a saw that had sensors to know when it touched skin seems unlikely.
a saw that had sensors to know when it touched skin seems unlikely
I've never seen it in a healthcare setting, but that kind of safety mechanism is already a thing in larger saws - some pretty impressive demos on the web. Iirc it effectively destroys the machine if it goes off, but most of us would rather buy a new table saw than lose a few fingers. ...and that was the tech years ago, may well have improved since I went down that rabbit hole.
Saw stop still owns the patent afaik and has even stopped other similar techs from taking hold because the patent is so stupid generic... Iirc Bosch is one such alt that got shit canned. Last I knew saw stop was pushing for legislation to require the tech... Because they own the market.
(I am years out of date on this and going on memory... Pretty sure the legislation died)
That sounds correct, I think he might have explained it that way but I was too cooked by watching him use a cast saw on his bare hand to retain.
While pulling teeth is still quite barbaric, replacing teeth uses quite a lot of modern technology. For example 3D scans and 3D printing are common tools in creating dentures these days
My dentist does a 3d scan in the chair and has a mill onsite that generates crowns in 45 minutes.
Never trust a medical profession that hasn't changed their standard techniques since the Dark Ages. And it also explains why they didn't join medical doctors in the AMA and created their own ADA with hookers, cocaine and blackjack.
Look, I hate them too, but they aren't Bender. Don't hold them to a standard that's impossible.
Omg, did it just take my >20y to associate Bender with drinking on a bender? I'm so stupid.
The dentist I use now is also a maxillofacial surgeon.
She discovered that my previous dentist was completely ignoring issues that would have left me toothless, lose part of my jaw, and even kill me with meningitis.
And the guy had made a TAC that clearly showed it all. Dude was laser-focused on getting just implants and more implants to rack those bucks, let tooth repair be damned.
I was lucky that the infection was kept perfectly isolated for years in a granuloma, because my freakishly high pain threshold kept me from noticing it at all.
I'm not going to a 'dentist' who just studied 'dentistry' ever again.
They can get a 3d image of a featus by ultra sound but for some reason prostate exam is still a finger up the butt π
It's because it's right there and requires no special equipment to get the job done. I never really got why people freak out about a finger back there, you constantly pass fecal matter several times that thick through there. If they could fully check that a baby was ok safely with their finger they'd do it.
Delicate and precise organs deserve delicate and precise treatment. Durable organs get the drill.
If you're implying teeth are so durable. Why do they need yearly attention?
My spleen has never once needed a cleaning, and it certainly does not need its own luxury insurance (that covers almost nothing).
Your spleen wouldn't be very durable if it was being constantly being pressed against hard foods at around 30 psi multiple times a day for your entire life.
Not just mechanical stress, but sugars and carbohydrates in those foods feed the bacteria in the mouth, whose byproducts damage the enamel. Few people are blessed with teeth that withstand it, or mouth flora that is non-damaging, but there is no natural selection for that... Because we have dentistry, thankfully.
We are getting there. There are human trials for a medicine that regrows teeth and another that restores teeth.
Yeah, have been reading about that for the last 20 years. Dentists are still just drilling and refilling holes or pulling teeth. Just like they did 200 years ago.
That's why I mentioned that they finally reached human trials. That's the last big step before they can be released. New technology needs time to go from the lab to practical use.
Well the x-rays have gotten much better. Donβt really need the lead vest anymore.
I had a tooth extracted a couple of months ago, and even though it wasn't my first rodeo (brush your teeth properly, kids), I was still amazed at how barbaric the process is. The dentist was only just short of standing on my chest so he could properly yank at it, all the while shards of exploded tooth were flying around the room.
Fair play though, he did it quickly and cleanly.
shards of exploded tooth were flying around the room
quickly and cleanly
I...I think you and I have different definitions of "cleanly". Also, please excuse me while I go and clean my teeth again!
Ever had a tooth pulled? The description does sound pretty quick and clean.
Look up how hip replacements are done. They use a saw, drill and hammer. Like how they hammer in the metal into the femur. You hear the metal on metal sound. Ting ting ting ting. Literally a body repair shop.
I have some friends in orthopedics who refer to themselves as carpenters
Shit man I'm glad I'm not a surgeon.
Could you imagine having to take 3 or 4 trips to Home Depot while your patient is just lieing on the bed, passed out and split open?
And my mechanic is less pushy than any dentist I've ever visited. They always seem to pull up some image and point to it and say see that out of focus area? Your particular insurance covers that, so your teeth will fall out next week if we don't address it right now, and youll never get laid again, you'll fail out of school and get fired from your job and be homeless. Oh - wait. You're insurance doesn't cover that? Then they wipe the grease stain from the screen and say you'll be just fine.
Wait till you hear about orthopedic surgery
Yeah..... Watching spinal surgery can be gnarly. There's a procedure to debris the spinal column before you install hardware called spinal flossing. You basically get a shop towel and wrap it around the spine and shimmy the towel like you're cleaning a bowling ball.
I saw a video of a knee implant extraction, and it was just one doctor hammering the living fuck out of the implant until he got tired and gave the hammer to the next doctor.
My dad had a recall on a hip implant so they cracked his femur open longways to get it out. Still has better mobility than pre-surgery.
Edit https://youtu.be/mJc5SBFuSHQ?is=6Y4vWxH9njZVfjH5
It wasn't an implant that got stuck just a thingy
Yeah, orthopedics is pretty much shop class but with more expensive tools and hardware. Bones are a lot tougher than what most people tend to think, so sometimes you just have to wack on the hardware with a big mallet to get them to release.
Dentists sometimes really feel like they are mouth mechanics
This reminds me of a lyric by good old John Prine..."We are living in the future. I'll tell you how I know. I read it in the paper, 15 years ago".
Extra fast spinning high tech drills though iirc
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