Drone Dentist: Uncle Uses Drone To Pull Nephew’s Tooth [Video]
Most Americans have heard of drones being used for a variety of purposes. Real estate agents use them to photograph listed properties, while television stations are now using the technology for news-gathering purposes. Even Amazon is in on the action, testing its own drone fleet for home delivery.
In a departure from deliveries and photography, one man used a drone to practice dentistry. Yahoo! News has deemed him the drone dentist and for good reason.
In the online news outlet’s story on his actions, they say drone dentist Paul Borrud decided to get creative when his nephew Bruno requested assistance pulling out a tooth (video below).
“Instead of using the old doorknob-and-string method, they decided to use Borrud’s drone.”
“Twenty-four hours later, they were ready to complete their drone tooth pull. They tied some dental floss to Bruno’s tooth, and then it was time for liftoff. Borrud said in the video description that he double-checked with Bruno one last time before the drone took off.”
Drone dentistry may seem odd to some, but Borrud’s use of the remote-controlled flying machine is not the first. IGN in September highlighted one father who also became a drone dentist to remove his son’s tooth.
IGN explained how drones are now being used for dentistry, photography, and more but the latest trend is, in fact, the drone dentistry movement. It also highlights one less-savory uses for drones.
“It’s a modern update on baby-tooth removal, and its one of roughly a million novel tooth-removal solution videos posted on YouTube right now.”
“As drones become more and more affordable, new novel uses are being found for the maneuverable, hovering machines. Removing teeth via drone seems to be a new high-tech trend, as this wasn’t the first case of extraction via quad. The possibility for dad-jokes is also quite rich, as the drones never lie about removing teeth but instead pull the tooth, the whole tooth and nothing but the tooth.”
“On the complete opposite side of the feel-good spectrum from tooth extraction, drones have been used to smuggle contraband into prisons.”
With Christmas just more than two weeks away, reports indicate the technology is a hot item for the holiday season. The Fayetteville Observer recently said drones can be purchased for as little as $20 all the up to “thousands of dollars.”
But with the purchase of so many drones for uses from photography to drone dentistry, it bears explaining that just because you may receive a drone for Christmas or may purchase one as a gift for yourself, you cannot use them everywhere. The Observer notes that nearby Fort Bragg, N.C., and other military installations where thousands of service members and their families live are off limits. Other areas off limits to drones are “within 5 miles of an active airfield.” An active airfield, of course, can mean everything from a major hub airport to the smallest runway in rural areas.
The Observer quoted FAA spokesman Rich Swayze as saying, “People who don’t have a pilot background are operating these things in the airspace.”
Before you, a family member, or friend use drones for drone dentistry or anything else, Drone Life has a list of seven “deadly sins of flying a drone.” Among the items: throttle abuse (flying too high/far before knowing the limits), using the wrong battery, flying around private property (a.k.a. you neighbor’s yard/house), flying in windy weather, using smartphones or tablets to operate a drone instead of a controller, taking unnecessary risks, and as mentioned above – ignoring airfields.
Are you planning to purchase a drone this year? If so, leave a comment and tell us what you think. Do you plan to have fun pulling teeth with your drone? And will you take any of the advice from DroneLife.com before hitting the air?
[Featured image by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images]
