Addressing odontophobia through dental drill acoustics
A new strategy to reduce the noise of dental drills could help minimize dental anxiety.
Odontophobia could impede patients from regularly visiting their dentists and undergoing necessary cleanings, according to a news article from Popular Science. Experts cited in the article stated that because of the high-pitched sound dental drills create, they may be one of the culprits of odontophobia.
The research, presented at the Sixth Joint Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America and Acoustical Society of Japan, involved large-scale aeroacoustics simulations to analyze the dental drill’s internal and external airflow and sound pressure.
Researchers discovered that the compressed air inside the dental drill’s turbine was capable of reaching up to 135 meters per second in speed. They then tested the psychological effects of the dental drill on participants to better understand its impacts — finding that those who were younger were more likely to react negatively to the sound of the drill as a result of their greater perception of high-frequency noises.
Without compromising the drill’s performance, the researchers are looking to develop prototypes with improved sound quality. Through the optimization of the blade geometry and exhaust port, they plan to make dental drills sound quieter to patients so as not to discourage them from adhering to regular appointments. However, they stressed that eliminating the sound entirely would result in safety concerns.
Read more: Popular Science
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