Tell Me The Tooth

High-tech dentistry... using plasma flares?

from the Economist:

(in a root canal) "... it is common for some of the bacteria to survive it and therefore for infections to re-emerge...

The surviving bacteria are often gathered in the form of what is known as a biofilm. Bacteria in such a film are embedded in a polymer matrix, which makes them harder to kill than isolated individuals. High temps can destroy biofilms, as can chemicals, but neither is safe to use inside... a human tooth. However Chunqi Jiang, a physicist at the USC, and her colleagues have come up with a possible alternative: a dental plasma torch.

...Dr Jiang reckoned that a cold plasma, particularly one rich in oxygen ions (which are notoriously destructive of organic materials), would be enough to do the job of breaking up a biofilm without harming the patient.

(my aside) 'Much'.

I'm praying this isn't the same kind: Here's a youtube video of one cutting a motorcycle outline in less than 30 seconds... out of quarter-inch steel plate.

I like my dentist, but wouldn't trust him with this!