Science & Technology

Nightmarish anti-Covid dental helmet revealed

By T.K. Randall
January 13, 2021 ·  9 comments

Would you wear this at the dentist ? Image Credit: Physics of Fluids / Jia et al. It goes without saying that Covid-19 has taken away many of the aspects of everyday life that we had, until recently at least, taken for granted, such as going to the cinema, eating at a restaurant and even going to the dentist - something that most of us do every six months.

For the dentists themselves however, examining the inside of a patient's mouth represents a uniquely risky situation, especially given that Covid-19 is primarily spread through respiratory droplets.

Now researchers have come up with a novel solution to this problem - a plastic helmet resembling an upside-down goldfish bowl that fits over the patient's head and forms an airtight seal.

The helmet has two holes - one to provide access to the mouth and another to fit an air-filtration nozzle. When the patient breathes out, the droplets are sucked upwards and out the top, instead of being exhaled forwards onto the dentist - thus helping to prevent infection.The device would be cleaned between uses to prevent contaminants getting stuck inside it.

"It would have a similar feel as driving with the windows down," said study author Dongjie Jia of Cornell University. "The drop in pressure is relatively small, so there shouldn't be any discomfort."

Whether anyone will actually be willing to wear this thing during a dental visit however remains to be seen, especially given the reservations many have about going to the dentist at the best of times.

As things stand, it seems unlikely that it will catch on.

Source: Inverse | Comments (9)

Tags: Coronavirus