Slovenian Students Successfully Simulate Dental Treatment in Space

SLOVENIA: Slovenian students have accomplished a simulation of dental treatment in space, marking a significant step towards making dental care feasible during extended space missions. The project, named SpaceDent, brought together students from the University of Ljubljana, focusing on dental medicine, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering.

Challenges of Space Exploration

As humanity gears up for new chapters in space exploration, including multi-year missions to the Moon and Mars, innovative solutions are required to address the challenges of prolonged exposure to microgravity. The SpaceDent team embarked on this mission to ascertain whether dental procedures can be safely conducted in the unique conditions of space.

The students, who had been preparing for the project since the beginning of the year, conducted experiments on tooth preparation and the creation of dental fillings. The simulation occurred during a parabolic flight above the Atlantic Ocean, providing 30 minutes of zero gravity. The experiment took place aboard an Airbus A310 Zero-G, taking off from Bordeaux, France.

To replicate the dental treatment environment, mechanical and electrical engineering students created two chambers resembling dental chairs with patient heads. The experiment involved performing drilling and filling procedures on dummy heads under microgravity conditions.

Successful Execution and Data Collection

Project leader Tine Šefic, a dental medicine student at the Ljubljana Faculty of Medicine, reported that the experiment proceeded without major complications. The team obtained 72 samples of prepared teeth and 36 samples of teeth with fillings during periods of microgravity, stable flight, and rest. These samples will undergo detailed analysis in the coming days.

“We were pleasantly surprised by the control of the instruments in weightlessness, but more detailed results will be known after a more in-depth analysis,” stated Šefic. The findings, once analyzed, are expected to be published in scientific journals and presented at conferences next year.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration and Future Implications

SpaceDent is part of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Academy Experiments programme, showcasing the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration. Joost Vanreusel, head of the ESA Academy, emphasized that the project exemplifies how various professions must collaborate for the development of the space sector. 

The success of SpaceDent opens new avenues for addressing the unique challenges of providing healthcare, specifically dental care, in the extraterrestrial environment.