First automated robotic dental procedure in China
"A robot in China carried out the first autonomous dental implant surgery, fitting two 3D-printed teeth into a woman’s mouth. Medical staff were on hand during the
procedure and were responsible for fitting orientation equipment to the
patient; programming the robot’s position, movements, angle and depth
necessary to insert the teeth and administering a local anesthetic. During the hour operation, the robot was
able to fit the implants within the required standard for margin of
error and make adjustments according to the patient’s movements. Designed by researchers at the Fourth
Military Medical University’s Affiliated Stomatology Hospital in Xi’an,
China and the robot institute at Beihang University in Beijing, the
robot aims to avoid human surgical errors and address the country’s
shortage of qualified dentists. Currently, about 400 million patients in
China need new teeth, according to the country’s epidemic survey, but
many can’t get the help needed because of the sho…
