Whine of the Dental Drill-Erased
The shrill whine of the dental drill never helped any dental visit, especially for those who suffer from dental anxiety. However, researchers from London South Bank University, Brunel University and King’s College London may have found the ideal solution.
The team have been working on a device, which morphs all sounds into a digital signal with a digital signal processor, which then filters and picks out specific sound waves and erases them. A patient can then listen to their own music and hear the dentist, without the interference of the dental drill adding to the anxiety of the situation.
Professor Millar of King’s Dental Institute borrowed the idea from the car manufacturer Lotus, who have recently been in the process of reducing car and road noises, while unheeding the driver’s ability to hear emergency service sirens.
Professor Millar voiced his hope for the future and where he thinks his gadget will fit in the dentistry world, “ The beauty of this gadget is that it would be fairly cost-effective for dentists to buy, and any patient with an MP3 player would be able to benefit from it, at no extra cost.”
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