Well Let it come as a surprise to no one that I'm not a huge fan of technology. But I must confess to approving of some of it. Quite a lot of it to be honest...as long as I have the say-so of whether or not I avail myself of it in any particular form. But I got a total surprise yesterday at my dentists office.

Check this out.

Close your eyes and try to envision the old dental x=ray machine. A big, clunky old rig in a special chair in a special room. stick a film packet in your mouth. Put on a led apron...stand behind a led shield...expose film packet for 2 or 3 seconds. Develop the film (hoping it comes out and you don't have to take it over again. Dry the x-rays and mount them in those little cardboard thingies.

Now, Forget all that. You stay in the dental chair. From behind your head they pull out a small tube about the size of a bottle of water on a slender mechanical arm. place the film in your mouth. Expose it for 1/3 of a second. About 10 seconds later it pops up on the computer screen on the desk against the wall. Sharper pic with better contrast and you can enlarge it or zoom in on a specific area.

A real time saver for patient and dentist alike. And it gives the dentist a lot more info than the old way.

BTW, I approve.

__________________
Real men love cats!

Like me, I'm sure you remember dental technology...the lack of it, really...back in the fifties. Remember those horrible belt-drive dental drills? And that little porcelain basin off to the side with water running around in it like a commode flushing? And the dentist would stop working so you could lean over and spit out assorted debris into it? And as a little kid, the dentist seemed to loom over me, reaching for my mouth with one of those viciously curved and shining pick things.

For me, dentistry in the fifties was like starring in my own personal horror film. It would have been so appropriate if everything in the office and everything I saw had been in black and white.

And to end the visit on a note of irony, he always gave me one of those penny hard candy sucker things or a Tootsie Roll Pop...guaranteed to generate even more business for him.

My favorite newfangled dental device was introduced in 1864. The Dental Dam.

My dentist in Boston used it for every procedure, which allows for normal breathing and swallowing while they do their thing on the other side of the dam.

Dental dam - Wikipedia

Gee, thanks for the memories Watchdog. NOT!!! LOL

__________________
Dan
Ps 96 SWCA 2930 SWHF 524

Well, if you liked those memories , you ought to love this one.

When I was a little kid, I needed two teeth extracted to make room for my other teeth which were growing crooked. The dentist...Dr. Short, I'll never forget him...decided to put me to sleep to do it. My parents agreed. They knew I feared and despised Dr. Short...I'd bitten his finger on a previous visit.

Shades of the late 19th Century, to anesthetize me, he placed this thing looked like a miniature strainer over my nose and mouth and dripped ether onto it until it put me under. I remember it vividly...in my mind, it was like falling down a mine shaft...just falling and falling...a gradual and nauseating process of losing consciousness instead of today's almost instantaneous blackout.

An unpleasant experience, to be sure.

Any way to replace the sound of the drill as it begins to bite?

Sounds like your dentist was behind the times. Mine's had digital xrays for many years. I remember the old ones, but it's been at least ten years since I had one of those.

__________________
Or something like that . . .

Those plastic things they put in your mouth were painful too!

I'd suggest taking your cell phone with your favorite loud rock and roll loaded on it...get in the dentist's chair, put your earbuds in, and crank it up. AC/DC should do nicely ("Thunderstruck" and "For Those About to Rock", for example), as should just about anything by George Thorogood.

While I'm all for advances in medical technology, I can do without some technology, like smart phones and integrated computer systems in vehicles for example.

__________________
Thread Killer.

It would have to be Bad to the Bone.

__________________
View from down under

That's a variation on what my previously mentioned dentist did. He handed you a menu with a spreadsheet of music he kept in stock. You'd pick an album and he'd load that cassette into a Sony Walkman and hand it to you. I'd put the headphones on loud enough to drown the drill.

BTW, he also left the nitrous oxide flowing to you for the duration of his work. Made for an enjoyable visit.

Talk about technology. Several weeks ago I witnessed a remarkable demonstration of a robotic surgeon. While it still must be controlled by a human surgeon, it is far more precise than any human can be. And that human surgeon in control doesn't even need to be in the OR - he can operate it from a computer anywhere in the world connected to the robotic surgeon through the internet. This is not science fiction - these robotic surgeons are being used right now. The day will come, and not too far into the future, when that human surgeon can be replaced by an artificial intelligence surgery computer.

I think my dentist uses an angle grinder,......... I think the drill say "Black & Decker".

Seriously, my first recollection was probably mid 60's, but it sounds like my dentist then was stuck in the 50's. Because I remember all of that, and that thick fluoride rinse at the end. Big improvements in today's dentistry. Thankfully!

That pretty well describes most of my dentist adventures...

We are living in great times. Doctors and dentists are both light years ahead of what they used to be.

Yes technology is fantastic but I don't like having it forced on me any more than you do. I guess some of us will just have to be dragged into the 21st Century kicking and screaming.

__________________
You're shy a few manners.

No doubt there are many who are alive today because of modern technology, inventions and medicines. There are many technological advances that make our lives easier, healthier and happier.

That said, technology has its price too! Less time spent with family members, less time learning basic survival skills, less common sense is developed, the close knit family model is all but gone, and the price of technology is astronomical.

Basically what I am saying is that technology is a double edged sword and it cuts both ways. The one thing about technology that I know for sure is that it can NOT be stopped!

With the growth of technology, so to grows the minds of our children.
Our kids are being exposed to the good and the bad. Innocence is being lost.
I'm scared and nauseous.


Papa

If it weren't for technology, I wouldn't have been able to buy so many guns only to lose them in a boating accident.

__________________
Release the Kraken

One objection I have to technology is that it leads to an erosion of skill.
Medical technology works well in the hands of those who have been carefully selected, gone through rigorous training and have a professional attitude. Whenever the topic of "smart weapons" comes up I like to paraphrase Farragut:
"Give me brains in the soldier and I don't worry about the brains in the weapon."
Another problem is quality of manufacture. I see office machinery that is less ruggedly constructed than kids' toys from 50-60 years ago. One acquaintance told me a sensor in his car goes bad every 3-4 months. The dealer told him the manufacturer made a huge batch of bad sensors and no others are available, so every 3-4 months it's a half day at the dealers.

More than once my life has been saved due to technology. I'll take all that you have, please.

__________________
Music/Sports/Beer fan