1:01pm UK, Monday January 10, 2011
Patients who fear getting their teeth treated because they cannot stand the sound of the dentist's drill could be offered relief by a new device.
Scientists at London universities have developed a gadget which cancels out the sound of the drill, leaving people free to enjoy their own music from their MP3 player or mobile phone.
It will still be possible to hear voices, as the tool filters out only the sounds of the high pitch drill.
The gadget contains a microphone and a chip which analyses the incoming sound wave and then produces an inverted wave to cancel out the unwanted noise.
It also uses technology called adaptive filtering to lock on to sound waves and remove them, even if the amplitude and frequency change as the drill is being used.
Invention will cancel out the sound of the dentist's drill
Experts from King's College London, Brunel University and London South Bank University are hoping to attract funding from an investor to develop the device further.
Professor Brian Millar, of King's College, came up with the idea.
He said: "Many people are put off going to the dentist because of anxiety associated with the noise of the drill.
"But this device has the potential to make fear of the drill a thing of the past.
"The beauty of this gadget is that it would be fairly cost-effective for dentists to buy, and any patient with an MP3 player would be able to benefit from it, at no extra cost.
"What we need now is an investor to develop the product further, to enable us to bring this device to as many dental surgeries as possible, and help people whose fear of visiting the dentist stops them from seeking the oral healthcare they need," he said.
Statistics suggest that in western countries 7-13% of people have such dental phobias - or dentophobia.
Dentophobia is said to be triggered by a multi-layered set of fears which means that every sufferer can experience different stimuli, different levels of fear and different symptoms.
Women are reportedly twice as likely to suffer from a dental phobia than men.
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