• TranscendentalEmpire@lemmy.today
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      2 hours ago

      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.

  • ToiletFlushShowerScream@piefed.world
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    5 hours ago

    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.

  • excral@feddit.org
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    10 hours ago

    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

    • WoodScientist@lemmy.world
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      4 hours ago

      That seems like the type of thing that would still need to be administered very carefully by an expert dentist. Look at the entire field of orthodontics or the product category of braces to see what happens when teeth grow in in the wrong number, position, or orientation. In theory, anyone can perform surgery on themselves with a scalpel they sterilize on their stove top. Very few attempt that for damn good reasons.

    • MinnesotaGoddam@lemmy.world
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      4 hours ago

      i have dental connections. what i understand is there are two different things to watch. there’s a treatment that might be able to get your own body to grow another (final) set of teeth. theoretically humans can grow 3 sets, we stop at the second. that’s in the works, sounds pretty painful. the other treatment is something that can regrow dentin or enamel or i can’t remember it’s been a while, but the one they’d be excited about is enamel so it’s probably that? IIRC they both were coming out of South Korea, one in phase 1 trials and one still in animal trials.

      this is me trying to remember off a conversation with my deceased dad’s friend a couple months ago, so take it with a heaping heap of heaps of salt. my memory ain’t all that great anymore.

  • Murse@slrpnk.net
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    11 hours ago

    Orthopedic surgeon:

    *repeatedly pulls string attempting to start up a chainsaw*

    • mig@lemmy.world
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      1 hour ago

      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.

  • Akasazh@lemmy.world
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    11 hours ago

    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.

    • Hazel@piefed.blahaj.zone
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      12 hours ago

      Yup, and when I needed a new brace the dentist made a 3D scan of my teeth to have a custom one made.

      • limelight79@lemmy.world
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        10 hours ago

        I had the same for my last guard (to keep me from grinding teeth at night). The previous guard relied on a mold, which I swear loosened a filling that fell out a week or two later.

        The tech is pretty amazing. They still need a drill though.

    • Zwiebel@feddit.org
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      9 hours ago

      Plastic filling with ceramic particles in my case. I honestly don’t know which tooth it’s in anymore

      • 5too@lemmy.world
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        9 hours ago

        Some are. My kid just got some in a few months ago, look just like what I had in the 90s

        • fonix232@fedia.io
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          11 hours ago

          UV resin, basically, just super high resolution that makes it incredibly expensive (even the cheaper models used for quick check measurements by dentists cost $20k+ - that is, latest tech, brand new from manufacturer, before someone drops a link for a used unit from 2018 for 10 grand). But the sheer volume makes up for it, a single printer like that can be generating pure profit within a year.

          • MrQuallzin@pie.eyeofthestorm.place
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            8 hours ago

            Eh, I’m not sure about that. I have an Invisalign retainer and have been 3d printing for a few years now, and from the looks of it they just did a regular FDM printing of the teeth then vacuume-formed plastic over that. Having printed the same files myself (dentist was happy to give the scan to me), and seeing as the retainer has very visible layer lines on the inside (too thick for resin printing), that seems more likely.

          • viral.vegabond@piefed.social
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            10 hours ago

            Incredible, and thanks for the reply.

            I was thinking it had to be a resin printer. What I thought was curious was the potential for bacteria in the layer lines, I guess with this type of printer, whatever proprietary material they’re using (lol), and the proper sanitation methods, it’s probably not an issue.

  • bussubbus@lemmy.zip
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    11 hours ago

    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 👉

    • rumba@lemmy.zip
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      7 hours ago

      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.

    • JasonDJ@lemmy.zip
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      9 hours ago

      Unlike in the movies, doctors usually aren’t trained in sonography. Sure they could figure out how to scan a prostate, but they aren’t gonna go out and buy a fancy 3d ultrasound just for men over 45, and they aren’t going to become, or hire, sonogram techs.

      And I’d rather take a finger in the butt than have to have another fucking appointment. No pun intended, but it’s one finger. Unless my doctor is Andre The Giant or E.T., I think I could handle it.

    • JasonDJ@lemmy.zip
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      9 hours ago

      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?

  • djdarren@piefed.social
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    12 hours ago

    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.

    • notabot@piefed.social
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      11 hours ago

      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!

      • StillAlive@piefed.world
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        8 hours ago

        Have you checked your wisdom teeth? If they’re not in order then they might need to be removed.

        Mine took more than an hour to remove. It had hooked ends so that made it difficult.

    • Blackmist@feddit.uk
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      9 hours ago

      I had a fucked wisdom tooth out, and as he grabbed it with the pliers I heard it crunch and collapse on itself and the dentist went “oh…”

      Which isn’t a noise you want to hear from a dentist, but again he did the job.

    • 5too@lemmy.world
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      9 hours ago

      Not as extreme, but one of my kids had to have a cavity filled. He struggles with some sensory issues, so I was staying close by to help keep him calm.

      Knowing what happens and seeing your kid’s tooth enamel getting drilled away are two… very different experiences. Like with you though, they were quick, clean, and precise!

    • JasonDJ@lemmy.zip
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      9 hours ago

      My wife has had some bad luck with dentists.

      First was the wisdom teeth. Still to this day unsure of if it was a result of the extraction, but immediately after she developed an abscess on her tonsils.

      The abscess needed to be drained in the ER, it was so painful. And the draining was painful, too. Not like they got Novocaine there. And then she got her tonsils removed as a result.

      Then last time she had an extraction, the tooth shattered below the gum line. Dentist had her for like three hours getting all the chunks out. Her jaw was sore for like a week, not only from the extraction but also from holding that damn position for so long.

    • UnpledgedCatnapTipper@piefed.blahaj.zone
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      7 hours ago

      I had a laser in my mouth about 6 months ago. They vaporized (a lot of) a frenulum rather than just cut it.

      The worst bit was how they had to lift my upper lip and it was up against my nose so I couldn’t breathe normally.