Chinese robot dentist is first to fit implants in patient’s mouth without any human involvement
Chinese robot dentist is first to fit implants in
patient’s mouth without any human involvement
Successful procedure raises hopes technology could avoid
problems caused by human error and help overcome shortage of qualified dentists
PUBLISHED: Thursday, 21 September, 2017, 6:30pm UPDATED :
Friday, 22 September, 2017, 9:43pm
A robot dentist has carried out the first successful
autonomous implant surgery by fitting two new teeth into a woman’s mouth,
mainland media has reported.
Although there were human medical staff present during
the operation, they did not play an active role while it was being carried out.
The one-hour procedure took place in Xian, Shaanxi, on
Saturday, according to Science and Technology Daily.
The implants were fitted to within a margin of error of
0.2-0.3mm, reaching the required standard for this kind of operation, experts
said.
The technology was designed to overcome mainland China’s
shortage of qualified dentists and frequent surgical errors.
It was developed jointly by the Fourth Military Medical
University’s affiliated Stomatological Hospital, based in Xian, and the robot
institute at Beihang University in Beijing over the past four years.
According to Dr Zhao Yimin, the mainland’s leading oral
rehabilitation specialist who works at the hospital, the robot combines
dentists’ expertise and the benefits of technology.
It conducts the surgery by itself so it can avoid faults
caused by human error.
The artificial teeth it implanted were created by 3D
printing, he added.
An epidemiological survey has found there were about 400
million patients needing new teeth in China, but the number of qualified
dentists was lagging behind demand.
Around one million implants are carried out across the
country each year and the poor quality of the surgery that patients face can
often cause further problems.
The report on the surgery pointed out that dental
surgeons are working within a small space inside the mouth, including some
areas that are hard to see, which often makes surgery difficult to carry out.
The use of robots could help get around that problem.
Before Saturday’s operation, dental staff fitted position
orientation equipment to the patient.
They then programmed the robot to move into the correct
position to carry out the operation, and determined the movements, angle and
depth needed to fit the new teeth inside a cavity in the patient’s mouth.
They then tested these movements and collected data to
make the necessary adjustments before giving the woman a local anaesthetic and
carrying out the operation.
During the operation, the robot was able to make adjustments
in line with the patient’s own movements.
Chinese spending on innovation, technology growing twice
as fast as in the US, fuelled by cloud services
In recent years robots have increasingly been used to
assist dentists with procedures such as root canal surgery and orthodontic
operations as well as in training students.
In March this year the US Food and Drug Administration
approved the use of a robot system named Yomi designed to assist human surgeons
when fitting implants.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post
print edition as: Open wide, the robot dental surgeons are coming
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