Dental anxiety is no unique phenomenon, and experts are now attempting to support patients by reducing the noise of dental tools.
Dr Tomoi Yamada, dentist and professor at the University of Osaka, told Popular Science about why this endeavour was so important.
She said, “I repeatedly saw patients – including my own child – become anxious or uncomfortable with the sound of the dental drill. At some point, I realised that someone needed to take this problem seriously.”
Dentophobia, or fear and anxiety when visiting a dentist, affects as many as 53% of the UK population, according the Dental Phobia. The noise of the dental drill – in all of its high-pitched, unnerving glory – can be a trigger, making the experience uncomfortable and potentially making patients avoid visits altogether.
Dr Yamada presented new research at the Sixth Joint Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America and Acoustical Society of Japan in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Alongside her collaborators, the team used the supercomputer Fugaku to conduct large-scale aeroacoustics simulations, better understanding how air moving through a dental drill creates its noise.
The compressed air can move at speeds of approximately 135 metres per second, or 306 miles per hour, according to Dr Yamada. But the challenge wasn’t simply to reduce the noise of the drill, but to improve it. This involved analysing the blade geometry and exhaust port of a drill to adjust sound whilst maintaining performance.
Research conducted by the team also showed differences in experiences depending on generation. This owes to the range of sounds that individuals can hear at different ages. Children, in particular, found the sounds louder and more unpleasant, due to their ability to hear and perceive high-frequency sounds differently from adults.
This research will no doubt help to shape the future of dental solutions as professionals aim to improve the patient experience, and as we better understand the causes of dental anxiety.
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Main image credit: Pixabay, Ri_Ya
