Are electric drills getting more popular ? How loud are they ?

[BensonBooga]

I have tinnitus and hyperacusis so I am going to a dentist with a laser as I need 6+ fillings, but they tell me a drill will still need to be used for some of the work. Some people have said if I can't find a laser dentist who uses an electric drill too then a dentist with just an electric drill is possibly better overall for patients like me. Basically speaking I get pain in my ears when anything louder than normal talking happens, such as laughing, tool usage, vacuuming, noisy supermarkets, crowds, loud beeps, etc. I can't use ear protection during dental work due to the occlusion effect.

Can any dentists tell me how popular electric drills are and how quieter are they to traditional air powered drills ?

Thanks !!

 

[Gordon]

Not much difference really, they still whine a bit.
The electric ones are becoming more popular due to higher torque and smaller heads (so better vision for the dentist).

Is it impossible for you to wear any kind of ear protection at all?

 

[BensonBooga]

Thanks, that is a shame though. The problem is the occlusion effect, apparently it can be worse due to blocking the ear so the noise that goes through the bones has no where to come out. I am going by what others with a similar condition say, so I have no idea what covering my ears will be like. Laser has come the closest to almost silent cavity work, but it still requires the drill sadly.

 

[Gordon]

Yeah, lasers only work on decay or virgin enamel. They don't cut out old filling materials like amalgam or composite. They are a nice adjunct to conventional handpieces but that's about it.
I would think that the bone conduction would be a bit limited the high speed drills are fairly vibration free.

 

[pf778c]

@BensonBooga

It's the sound of the drill that incites anxiety and panic in me. I find over-the-ear noise cancelling headphones helpful. They don't block out the sound entirely, but do dial it down to a much more manageable level. I also find playing music through the headphones help to distract me from the sound, but as you're trying to avoid sound, not sure if that's of any use to you.

 

[letsconnect]

I’m not sure what the full story is, but the difference in decibels between electric and conventional handpieces in isolation(on paper at least) is about 55 decibels for the current Kavo models vs 70-84 decibels for traditional. Of course this doesn’t take into account additional noise from the high-volume suction or the materials it’s in contact with. But still, on the face of it, this seems to be quite a substantial reduction in noise levels?

 

[Gordon]

That seems a heck of a lot, given dB is a logarithmic scale... my experience as a patient and a dentist is that there's not that much difference in the sound.

 

[BensonBooga]

Yeah, I think that definitely IS just "on paper" as I just found out that the Hyperacusis Research company did a test and found the electric ones also peaked quite high, as seen here : https://hyperacusisresearch.org/dental-choices/

Although at the end of the day, it is still less noisy than the air powered models.