STORY: TEETH STRESS TEST

SCRIPT #560 SHOOT: 5/6/04

AIRDATE: Monday, June 7, 2004

DHC Master #19 Timecode:33:40 A broken crown or bridge can

prompt an emergency visit to

the dentist.

But dental engineers are

working to prevent such

problems through a special

type of stress test.

Dr. Linda Niessen has details

SOVT: 1:20 in today’s Dental Health Check.

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STRESS TESTING (VOICE-OVER)

SUPER: Dallas :02-07 No standard dental research

equipment here. This is anything

but a typical dental laboratory. The

scientist is an engineer who

tests the strength of material used

to make your artificial teeth.

SUPER: Jason Griggs, Ph.D. (“We have a new type of mechanical

Dental Engineer :15-20 testing machine. And it applies a repeated

loading and unloading of force, which more

accurately mimics what really happens in a

patient’s mouth.”)

DR. GRIGGS Meet Dr. Jason Griggs. He specializes

in biomaterial testing. His P-H-D

is not in biology but in engineering.

DR. GRIGGS (“Now we can do computer modeling to

predict the reliability of an actual

prosthesis from the same material that

we’ve tested.”)

DR. GRIGGS TESTING Dr. Griggs must understand both physics

and physiology. To help him with

calculations, he uses computer

COMPUTER MODELS software developed by NASA

for testing of materials on the space shuttle.

DR. GRIGGS (“To predict the reliability of ceramic

components in rockets but it also

can be applied to dental materials.”)

ON CAMERA (STAND-UP CLOSE)

SUPER: Dr. Linda Niessen 1:10-1:15 If you have crowns, veneers,

Baylor College of Dentistry or bridges, take care of them.

Never chew on ice. Don’t use your

teeth as a substitute for tools like a

bottle opener. Leave the

stress testing to the professionals

in the laboratory. For Baylor

College of Dentistry, Texas A&M

System, I’m Dr. Linda Niessen,

Channel 8 News.

Additional Web information:

Dr. Jason Griggs is currently

testing the strength of all ceramic teeth,

a new technology that eliminates a layer

of metal underneath porcelain. All ceramic

crowns do not develop an unsightly dark

line often seen after several years in

ceramic fused to metal. Lab testing will

determine the strength and durability of the

new type of crowns.