New Dental Technology Fun?

When most people think about a visit to the dentist, they don’t typically associate with fun times. Well, they might if they’re like Bill Murray playing the masochist in the dentist office in Little Shop of Horrors. But normally, not so much.
However, a trip to the dentist these days may reveal some new dental technology that’s actually fun. “Fun dental technology?” You ask with raised eyebrows. Yes, some dentists are certainly making a concentrated effort to change the visuals their patients have of the experience.

HOW DO YOU CONNECT NEW DENTAL TECHNOLOGY AND FUN?

Sure it seems a stretch, but did you know that in some practices, patients are lucky enough to be presented with more interactivity than just the ability to see the back side of their own teeth with a handheld intraoral camera viewer like the PatientView SD.
 
PatientView SD Puts Screen in Patients’ Hands to Show Inside Their Mouths
What if the screen in the patient’s hand was actually a dental video game?

9 DENTAL VIDEO GAMES

Believe it or not, developers are creating dental video games. Dr. Sweeney in Hesperia, CA lets kids choose games to play even while they’re in the chair. Here are some dental video games out there (in no particular order):

1. Grush is a toothbrush that combines reality with virtual reality gaming.
2. Dental Implant
3. Dental Word-O-Rama
4. Dental Jigsaw
5. Match Three Dental
6. Molar Madness
7. Dental Word Search
8. To Tell The Tooth
9. Dental Distress

TAKING NEW DENTAL TECHNOLOGY TO THE (FUN) EXTREME

Even though this is not actually new dental technology, entire video game rooms are popping up in dental practices too. I wonder if the dentists use the games in their game rooms more than their patients do. Check out the game rooms in Fox Creek Family Dental, and Smile Galaxy.

CAN INTERACTIVE DENTAL VIDEO GAMES HELP TEACH DENTISTRY STUDENTS?

Abstract:
“Written and clinical tests compared the change in clinical knowledge and practical clinical skill of first-year dental students watching a clinical video recording of the three-step etch-and-rinse resin bonding system to those using an interactive dental video game teaching the same procedure. The research design was a randomized controlled trial with eighty first-year dental students enrolled in the preclinical operative dentistry course. Students’ change in knowledge was measured through written examination using a pre-test and a post-test, as well as clinical tests in the form of a benchtop shear bond strength test. There was no statistically significant difference between teaching methods in regards to change in either knowledge or clinical skills, with one minor exception relating to the wetness of dentin following etching. Students expressed their preference for an interactive self-paced method of teaching.”–Division of Restorative and Prosthetic Dentistry, College of Dentistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210-1267, USA.
Maybe not conclusively, but dental video games mentioned above can actually improve one’s smile!
Disclaimer
Video Dental Concepts is not associated with any of the games or dentists mentioned in this article, and has no knowledge of their inner workings.