STORY: HIGH TECH BITE

SCRIPT #555 SHOOT: 4/8/04

AIRDATE: Monday, May 3, 2004

DHC Master #19 Timecode: 24:00 Cracked or broken teeth can be painful

and even lead to health problems.

But an innovative, high tech sensing device now can detect a condition that often causes

tooth fractures.

News 8’s Dr. Linda Niessen has details in SOVT: 1:36 today’s segment of Dental Health Check.

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DR. SUSAN HOLLAR WITH PATIENT (“We’re doing a final engineering.”)

SUPER: Arlington :02-06 When teeth fit together properly, we prevent

many problems such as cracked or broken

enamel, clinching and grinding, TMJ pain,

headaches, even bone loss.

GUINEVERE GRIER (“I didn’t know I did have bite problems.”)

IN DENTAL CHAIR

For Guinevere Grier, a bite problem led to

a broken tooth.

SUPER: Guinevere Grier :19-24 (“My bite had not been calibrated correctly,

Dental Patient if at all. So then, in the process of just actually eating a turkey sandwich, the whole

tooth just broke in half.”)

T-SCAN To evaluate Guinevere’s bite,

Dr. Susan Hollar relies on a computerized device called a Tekscan or

T-scan. A sensor scans the entire mouth

and measures the amount of force on each

pair of teeth.

SUPER: Dr. Susan Hollar (“So we see how much pressure is on

Dentist :44-48 every tooth and we see a balance of the pressure on either side. If there is more

pressure on one side than another, a patient

will tend to squeeze, subconsciously, which

starts a clinching and grinding habit.”)

PAPER CALIBRATION Before computerized scans, dentists only

used low-tech articulating paper, a special

material to see how teeth contact other

teeth. But the paper cannot measure

timing and force, critical information needed

to recalibrate a patient’s bite.

DR. HOLLAR (“Reshaping of teeth so that they fit together

evenly and mesh without bumping.”)

ON CAMERA (STAND-UP CLOSE)

SUPER: Dr. Linda Niessen 1:25-1:30 So if you have cracked or

Baylor College of Dentistry broken teeth, or just wear and tear from

grinding or clinching, at your next

dental visit, ask your dentist to evaluate your bite. For Baylor College of Dentistry,

Texas A&M System, I’m Dr. Linda Niessen,

Channel 8 News.

For Viewer inquires:

Dr. Susan Hollar

2411 Westwood

Arlington, TX 76012

817-261-3392

www.susanhollar.com

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

www.tekscan.com Click on “Dental” tab.

The T-Scan Computerized Occlusal

Analysis System may reduce the risk of:

implant failure, traumatized teeth, unstable dentures,

ineffective splints, and porcelain fractures.