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From a press release sent to Medgadget:

ACCUPAL incorporates four known and proven pain-reducing theories into one economical, user-friendly device:

1. ACCUPAL incorporates the "Pain Gate" theory to energize the dental tissue in and around the site to be punctured by the needle.

2. ACCUPAL's ultrasonic tissue stimulation disrupts the tissue injection site to allow standard topical gel to pre-condition the injection site, thus further reducing the needle's pain-producing effects.

3. ACCUPAL vibrates the needle at the injection site. The pain-reducing effects of direct needle vibration are well documented as having a positive effect on injection comfort.

4. ACCUPAL ensures that the clinician inserts the needle bevel at its narrowest point, which provides the most minimally invasive path possible and reduced tissue damage to deliver a comfortable palatal injection every time.

Product page with a video demonstration of the device: Accupal

The Lava C.O.S. wand contains a highly complex optical system comprised of multiple lenses and blue LED cells. The system captures massive amounts of visual images in just seconds. Despite housing all of this technology, the wand weighs just 14 ounces and the wand tip is only 13.2 millimeters wide, maximizing maneuverability inside the mouth.

The Lava C.O.S. is introducing an entirely new method of capturing 3D data. This 3D-in-Motion technology captures 3D data in a video sequence and models the data in real time.Thus, the Lava C.O.S. is able to capture approximately 20 3D data sets per second, or close to 2,400 data sets per arch, for an accurate and high speed scan. Other traditional point and click technologies rely on the warping of a laser or light pattern on an object to determine 3D data. Unlike video imaging, point and click uses individual "snapshots" to assemble a model.

While capturing massive amounts of data is quite an accomplishment, an even more impressive achievement is the ability of the Lava C.O.S. to model that data in real time. Unlike other systems on the market today, the Lava C.O.S. simultaneously displays the images that are being captured in the mouth onto the touch screen monitor. With this real-time visibility, a dentist can confidently and immediately assess whether enough information has been captured for a completed digital impression.

Video demonstrating how the system functions:

IDEA award details..

Product page: Lava™ Chairside Oral Scanner C.O.S.

From The Engineer:

OSspray's bioglass is a composite of component chemicals loosely held together in a 45 per cent silica network. When the powder, consisting of particles around 50 microns in size, is fired at the surface of the tooth, the compound fractures so it does not damage the surface of the tooth. There is so little silica in that network that the calcium and phosphorus in the structure can imbed into the tooth surface, remineralising and desensitising the surface of the tooth.

'Tooth dentine consists of fluid-filled tubules, like drinking straws,' said Cartmell [Simon Cartmell, chairman of OSSPRAY --ed.]. 'On the biting surface they are covered with enamel, but in the gumline the tubules are exposed. Our material, because of its particle size and distribution, embeds in the mouth of the tubules, bonding to the surface and locking them off. After repeated use, you build up a thin layer of bioglass, which is remarkably like tooth enamel.'

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OSSPRAY home page...

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From the press release:

A leading manufacturer of dental hygiene products asked the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM in Freiburg, one of whose specialties is the analysis and visualization of surface roughness, to help them develop new prophylactic pastes. The effectiveness of a prophylactic paste has so far been measured by how well the granules that it contains are able to smoothen a rough surface. The test is performed by first roughening tooth enamel or denture materials such as ceramics and titanium to a precisely defined value with an aggressive grinding material. But this does not truly reflect reality, as chewing wears out different materials at different rates. The new measuring method developed by the IWM researchers, a kind of chewing simulation, takes this factor into account. As the experts led by Dr. Raimund Jaeger, head of the Biomedical Materials and Implants department, discovered when comparing pastes and subsequently analyzing the surfaces, some pastes polish the surface but also unnecessarily ablate the tooth material, producing slight grooves on the tooth surface. The ideal paste, on the other hand, polishes so lightly that only the roughness is eliminated while the tooth enamel is hardly ground at all. “Obviously, every case is different,” says Jaeger. “Teeth with particularly heavy plaque or discoloration will need a more abrasive paste.” Normally, however, a gentler prophylactic paste will do the job. Thanks to the IWM researchers, the manufacturer has now been able to optimize the formulation.

Press release: Polished to perfection ...

A case study in the Compendium of Continuing Education in Dentistry describes the technique. First score marks are made around the roots of the upper and lower teeth. Then a particulate bone graft is harvested and applied to the scored area. The healing process that then takes place softens the bones around the roots of the teeth, giving them much more mobility allowing treatment to take place more rapidly and with less side effects.

While this technique has been around for a while, the bone graft used was typically not from the patient itself.

Press release: USC School of Dentistry researchers publish the first case study of an accelerated procedure involving the grafting of a patient's own bone material. ...

Read the abstract for the case study here...

Image by mygothlaundry.

From the press release:

OraVerse’s approval for use in adults and children is based on data from several clinical studies, including two Phase 3 studies in adults and adolescents age 12 and older and a Phase 2 pediatric study. The two Phase 3 studies were conducted in 18 centers across the United States, including leading dental schools, clinical research organizations and private clinics. There were 484 dental patients enrolled across the two studies.

In the randomized, double-blinded, controlled Phase 3 studies, following the administration of local anesthetics and completion of the dental procedure, patients were administered either OraVerse or control. OraVerse reduced the median time to recovery of normal sensation in the lower lip (as measured by standardized lip tapping procedures) by 85 minutes compared to control. OraVerse reduced the median time to recovery of normal sensation in the upper lip by 83 minutes. Within one hour after administration of OraVerse, 41% of patients reported normal lower lip sensation as compared to 7% in the control group, and 59% of patients in the OraVerse group reported normal upper lip sensation as compared to 12% in the control group. In both Phase 3 studies, the primary endpoint showed that OraVerse was statistically different compared to control (p<0.0001).

The multi-center, randomized, double-blinded, controlled Phase 2 pediatric study evaluated the safety and efficacy of OraVerse in the reversal of soft tissue anesthesia in patients undergoing dental procedures after receiving local anesthetic. This study enrolled 152 patients: 96 patients in the OraVerse group and 56 patients in the control group. Of the 152 patients enrolled, 115 were trainable in the assessment method: 72 patients in the OraVerse group and 43 patients in the control group. The study assessed OraVerse’s efficacy through the measurement of time to normal lip sensation for those trainable in the assessment. The median time to normal sensation in patients age 6-11 was reduced by 75 minutes for the OraVerse treated group, a 56% acceleration of the time to normal sensation.

In all OraVerse clinical trials, there were no serious adverse events reported and the most common adverse reaction that was greater than control was transient injection site pain. Although tachycardia and cardiac arrhythmia may occur with the parenteral use of alpha-adrenergic blocking agents, such events are uncommon after submucosal administration of OraVerse.

Product page: NV-101...

Press release (.pdf)...

Here's how the company profiles its device to dentists:

The Single Tooth Anesthesia (STA™) System from Milestone Scientific is the first computer-controlled local dental anesthetic system where just one injection at a single tooth is all that's needed to scientifically, safely and predictably ensure single-session injection precision. It's even highly effective for multi-quadrant cases.

STA is the only system of its kind with patented real-time visual and audible feedback technology, allowing you to easily obtain proper needle placement between the tooth and bone...

STA increases your confidence administering the Block - proper technique prevents needle deflection - improving your ability to inject into the Block the first time!

Single tooth anesthesia means that you get right to work - with faster onset - and your patients return to their routine without collateral numbing.

"It's the best shot I ever had" - "It's the best shot I ever gave" that's what you can expect to hear.

Voted one of the practices "Best Investments" find out why STA dentists have happily packed away their needles and syringes.

Press release: 33 Innovative Products Win Medical Design Excellence Awards...

Students can access PerioSim via the Internet. A realistic 3-D human mouth is shown in real-time, and the user can adjust the model position, viewpoint and transparency level.

The haptic device allows the student to feel the sensations in the virtual mouth, and a control panel lets the user choose different procedures to practice and instruments to use, Steinberg [Dr. Arnold Steinberg, professor of periodontics at UIC and project leader --ed.] said.

The system allows instructors to create short scenarios of periodontal procedures, which can be saved and replayed at any time. The 3-D component permits students to replay from any angle, so the user can observe different views of the placement of the instrument and gingival relationships during a procedure, Steinberg said.

The recorded file can be viewed on any personal computer, and while not in 3-D, it is an actual representation of the original scenario, which offers great training potential, Steinberg said.

The program also allows for a second playback mode, where an instructor leads the trainee through the program. By simply holding onto the haptic stylus, the trainee receives the same sensations felt by the instructor. Trainees can also be tested and evaluated on their ability to mimic the instructor's periodontal procedures, Steinberg said.

Demonstration video of the simulator:

Press release: Practice Makes Perfect with 3-D Dental Simulator

(hat tip: The Raw Feed)

Product page...

(hat tip: Gizmodo)