Your dental work may one day be done by a robot. A woman in China recently became the first person to have oral surgery performed solely by a robot. While human doctors were in the room for the procedure, the robot autonomously implanted two teeth into the patient’s mouth using preprogrammed directions, according to the South China Morning Post. The technology was invented by Wuhan University Stomatological Hospital and Beihang University’s robotics institute to deal with a shortage of dentists in the country and frequent surgical errors. The dental implants, made with 3D printing, were fitted within a margin of error of 0.2-0.3 millimeters, the surgical standard for this type of operation. The patient was measured using a CT scan and the robot was programmed with the specific movements it needed to perform the surgery, including angles and depth for the new teeth. After a test, the procedure was performed on the woman in Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi Province, who was administered only a local anesthetic. The robot was able to make adjustments to compensate for the patient’s own movements. The patient was measured and the robot was programmed with the specific movements it needed to perform the surgery, including angles and depth for the new teeth. (CCTV+ VIA YOUTUBE) According to Business Wire, over 15 million implants are placed worldwide per year. And China isn’t the only country to get into autonomous dental technology. Yomi, a robotic dental assistant made by Neocis Inc., was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in March. The robot can design dental procedures based on a patient’s CT scans. In this instance, the surgeon is still in control of the robotic arm, but the device guides the dentist according to the plan laid out and can adjust for patient movement. Source
