Team Developing 'Pain-Free,' Drill-Free Cavity Treatment

Painless dentistry may seem like an oxymoron, but one team of researchers say they are developing a pain-free, drill-free method of treating cavities, according to a report from HealthDay News.

Researchers from the University of Missouri-Columbia say they're working on a non-thermal plasma brush that uses a low-temperature chemical reaction to disinfect and prepare cavities for filling.

The method could replace the practice of dental drilling, the vibration and noise of which can be uncomfortable and painful to many dental patients.

Click here to read the HealthDay News story

Plasma treatment would also be a nondestructive and tissue-saving way to care for and treat cavities, said Qingsong Yu, a University of Missouri-Columbia assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, in a prepared statement.