Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Selective interference with pacemaker activity by electrical dental devices

C S Miller1, F M Leonelli, E Latham

  • 1Oral Medicine, University of Kentucky College of Dentistry, Lexington 40536-0084, USA.

Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology, and Endodontics
|February 25, 1998
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Salivary Biological Responses to Nonsurgical Periodontal Treatment in Type 2 Diabetics.

JDR clinical and translational research·2026
Same author

Monitoring environmental microbiomes: Alignment of microbiology and computational biology competencies within a culturally integrated curriculum and research framework.

Molecular ecology resources·2023
Same author

Novel Nanotube Multiquantum Dot Devices.

Nano letters·2022
Same author

Biofilm and cell adhesion strength on dental implant surfaces via the laser spallation technique.

Dental materials : official publication of the Academy of Dental Materials·2020
Same author

IMMPACT-recommended outcome measures and tools of assessment in burning mouth syndrome RCTs: an international Delphi survey protocol.

Trials·2020
Same author

Dynamic expression of JC virus in urine and its relationship to serostatus.

Multiple sclerosis and related disorders·2020

Certain dental devices like electrosurgical and ultrasonic units can interfere with cardiac pacemakers. Medically fragile patients with pacemakers should be cautious around this dental equipment.

Area of Science:

  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Cardiology
  • Dental Technology

Background:

  • Cardiac pacemakers are vital for patients with heart rhythm disorders.
  • Electromagnetic interference (EMI) poses a potential risk to pacemaker function.
  • Contemporary dental practices utilize various electrical equipment.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the potential for electromagnetic interference (EMI) between electrical dental equipment and cardiac pacemakers.
  • To identify specific dental devices that may pose a risk to pacemaker function.

Main Methods:

  • In vitro testing of 14 electrical dental devices.
  • Utilized two Medtronic cardiac pacemakers (dual-chamber and single-chamber models).
  • Monitored pacemaker output and ECG via telemetry with a Medtronic programmer.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Electrosurgical units inhibited pacing up to 10 cm.
  • Ultrasonic bath cleaners interfered with pacemakers up to 30 cm.
  • Magnetorestrictive ultrasonic scalers caused interference up to 37.5 cm.
  • Other tested devices (amalgamator, curing light, etc.) showed no interference.

Conclusions:

  • Specific electrosurgical and ultrasonic dental instruments can interfere with cardiac pacemaker function.
  • This interference may have deleterious effects on medically fragile patients with pacemakers.
  • Caution is advised when using certain dental equipment in proximity to pacemaker patients.