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新技术使牙医病人少遭罪

Medical robots help surgeons perform delicate operations more safely and with greater dexterity¹ than with instruments manipulated by hand. Such sophisticated tools also help doctors work more quickly. One machine reduces the time it takes to manufacture dental crowns to just a couple of hours..

相对于手动使用医疗器械，医疗机器人能够帮助外科医生更加安全和熟练地实施精细的手术。这些精密仪器能够帮助医生高效工作。一个像这样的机械设备能够使制造牙冠的时间减少到几个小时。

Computer-aided medical instruments are increasingly making life easier for doctors and their patients.

计算机辅助医疗器械让医生和患者都大大受益。

It used to be that the common but complicated procedure to get a tooth crown required several visits to the dentist’s office. While a dental technician was preparing the permanent replacement² for a damaged tooth, the patient had to wear a temporary crown.

以前，患者要去牙医诊所多次才能完成像安装牙冠这样常见但又复杂的手术。当牙医在为受损的牙齿准备替代物时，病人只能使用暂时的牙冠。

Since the mid-1980s, this procedure has gradually been taken over by robotic machines that reduce the job to just over two hours. Sitting in the dentist’s chair takes even less time.

自20世纪80年代中期起，这项手术逐渐开始使用机械。整个流程因此减少到两个多小时。病人坐在牙医椅上的时间也越来越少。

 “It’s about 12 minutes worth of chair time for the patient and the rest of the time it’s work that’s taking place outside the patient’s mouth,” said dentist Michael Silveus.

牙医迈克尔?西尔弗斯（（Michael Silveus））说：“患者只需在牙医椅上坐１２分钟左右。其他的时间，手术都不需要在病人口腔内操作。”

At his office in Northern Virginia, close to Washington, Silveus and his assistant prepare a patient’s tooth for a new crown.

在北维吉尼亚靠近华盛顿的这家牙医诊所里，西尔弗斯和他的助理在为一位患者准备一个新的牙冠。

The actual drilling takes about five minutes.

真正的钻孔时间有五分钟左右。

Instead of making the impression of the damaged tooth in a plastic material, Silveus uses a wand with a video camera to scan the tooth and the surrounding area.

不像以前用塑料做出受损牙齿的印模，西尔弗斯用一个有摄像头的棒子扫描牙齿及其周围。

At this point the computer takes over, designing the new crown and creating instructions for a robotic milling machine.

接下来电脑将完成所有的工作，包括设计新的牙冠和为机械铣床设定指令。

A porcelain³ cube, no larger than the tooth, is inserted between two precise drills, similar to the dentist’s drill, that grind away excess material, turning the cube into a perfectly⁴ matching tooth crown.

一个瓷制的牙齿般大的立方体被放入两个类似牙医钻的精密钻之间。接下来，两个钻会磨去多余的材料，造成一个完全匹配的牙冠。

To harden, the crown must be baked at high temperature for about ten minutes. During that process, it also gets tinted⁵ to match the color of the neighboring teeth, so it is ready to be cemented in the patient’s mouth.

要把牙冠变硬，还必须把它放到高温中烘烤大约十分钟。同时，牙冠也会染成和周围牙齿相匹配的颜色，这样就可以把它镶到病人口里了。

Patients are pleased with the result.

患者非常满意这样的结果。

“It feels amazing. The tooth feels like my tooth,” said one patient.

牙科患者内特?斯昂德说：“感觉很好，就像是我自己的牙。”

Silveus said even this technology may someday become obsolete⁶.

西尔弗斯医生说，即使这样的技术也许有一天也会被淘汰。

“The other thing we look forward to is genetic⁷ engineering and eventually cloning, so you can make the crown out of actually enamel⁸, just like the patient’s natural teeth are,” said Silveus.

他说：“接下来我们期待的是基因工程和最终的克隆。这样我们就能用真正的牙釉质来制作牙冠。这样感觉就像是病人自己的牙齿。”

But for now, he said, his patients are happy to be able to get a new crown in just one visit.

但目前来看，他说，患者们对于只需来诊所一趟就能做好新牙冠表示十分满意。