Pain-free dentistry

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Ground-breaking photonic light-based technology promises to take the pain out of dental procedures in a development that will transform the dentist-patient relationship. By Cameron Cooper

The goal of pain-free and needle-free dentistry is a step closer on the back of successful clinical trials of innovative photonic light-based technology that numbs oral pain receptors.

Nuralyte, developed by Canberra-based medical technology company Dentroid, is a patented LED light-based handheld device that has the potential to revolutionise dental care and remove phobias and fears about dental visits.

Dr Omar Zuaiter, co-founder and CEO of Dentroid, says dentistry suffers from an unfortunate stigma because many patients have phobias about dental treatments, including a dread of needles.

“As an industry we are associated with pain, rather than pain relief. One issue that comes up with many patients is the fear of the needle and the fear of a dentist,” says Dr Zuaiter, a dentist who immigrated to Australia about 11 years ago from Jordan. 

Dr Zuaiter and his Dentroid colleagues—co-founder and chief technology officer Alaa Habeb, and chief dental officer Professor Laurie Walsh—hope to turn such negativity on its head through Nuralyte. 

To date, five clinical trials have been run at Griffith University in Queensland using different versions of the Nuralyte device. The device has also been successfully tested on cultured cells, with an initial pilot trial prompting some slight improvements to the prototype.

Dr Walsh, one of the world’s leading authorities on laser dentistry, says the trials have included measuring pain levels when needles are inserted into tissue and doing comparisons between Nuralyte and a topical anaesthetic gel. The results have also revealed that Nuralyte performs better than existing lasers, while crucially the device does not cause any heating of the structure of teeth during a procedure. “So, the device is safe thermally,” Dr Walsh says.

With the clinical trials likely to conclude in 2025, a series of papers will soon be published on the results. Dentroid expects the technology to be available to dentists within 18 to 24 months. “These are all registered clinical trials in Australia, so they’ve got very robust design and suitable controls,” Dr Walsh says.

Nuralyte has deliberately been developed as a small device, similar to a curing light, to ensure ease of use for dentists. It has a series of photonic emitters that produce specific wavelengths that can go through the tooth structure and bone, blocking the nerve conduction in the same way a needle and local anaesthetic would do.

One burst of light from the Nuralyte device can provide about 20 minutes of pain relief, making it ideal for procedures such as a scale and clean, and fillings. 

In coming up with the idea for Nuralyte, Dr Walsh has drawn on his career in special needs dentistry, including dealing with people with anxiety and phobias and using his training as a photo biologist and laser scientist. He says a key difference with Nuralyte from other laser devices is that, rather than using a single wavelength laser, his device relies on what he calls “multiplex polychromatic activation” to deliver a blend of different light wavelengths to make the process much faster and more effective. 

“In our clinical trials, Nuralyte has been tested against the common lasers that are used and it’s superior, faster, deeper and longer-lasting analgesia,” Dr Walsh says.

In developing the concept, he wanted a cheap anaesthetic device that he could “point and shoot almost like a dental curing light”. 

Habeb says one of the strengths of the technology is that it allows a “precise and localised treatment. So, it’s different from other anaesthetic technology on the market in that it can kill pain, but without affecting other sensations such as pressure and touch.”

He believes it has the potential to largely replace needles in some dental procedures, such as restorations. For more complex procedures, Nuralyte could be used to initially numb an area so that patients will not feel the needle prick of local anaesthesia as it is administered. 

In the case of an extraction, for instance, Nuralyte could be used to provide instant numbness before the needle is inserted. Additionally, Nuralyte used at the end of the procedure could mean patients are likely to experience post-treatment numbness for just about 30 to 45 minutes, rather than up to two or three hours with current anaesthetics.

To that end, Habeb believes Nuralyte can help address the “enduring issue of needle phobia in dentistry”, which contributes to dental avoidance and poor oral health.

Significantly, Habeb says Nuralyte has been developed with a view to making it affordable for all dental practices, in contrast to some other laser devices that can cost up to $150,000 per device.  

Beyond affordability, Nuralyte is engineered for seamless adoption in dental practices and stands out for its sustainability. The device’s light-based approach reduces medical waste by eliminating the need for disposable materials such as needles, making it eco-friendly. Its design prioritises patient safety and accessibility, ensuring that more practices can provide pain-free dental care.

As Nuralyte gets closer to commercial release, Dr Zuaiter is also excited at the prospect of the device being used as part of a “mobile kit” of technology that could be used to improve access to dental treatments in remote communities.

With interest already from several big players in the international dental market, he adds that Dentroid is also progressing other technologies such as a laser-based solution to replace dental drills. 

Likewise, Dr Walsh expects the light-based technology’s benefits to extend beyond analgesia, potentially being used, for example, by physiotherapists to relax patients’ muscles, or accelerate recovery from injuries. 

“The applications for the device aren’t limited to just blocking pain in dentistry,” he says.