Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Robot dentist performs first human procedure

newatlas.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

321–330 of 381 posts

Re: Robot dentist performs first human procedure

#321

Post by tssge »

DigiEggz wrote: post #240
tssge wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a dropshipping site for AliExpress products shipping from China. You'll save money if you buy the product straight from AliExpress without a middleman in between. However as you said, the toothbrush doesn't actually work.

Is there a general way to tell if a site is (likely) a dropshipping site?

#1 is the website ships globally with no restrictions. A lot of Chinese businesses ship to any country. A local business with their own stock generally won't handle shipping to every single country around the globe. Sure there are exceptions to this rule, but in general it works well as your first sign.

Read the terms and conditions, privacy policy and other more "obscure" information like that. Dropshipping items always ship from China and returns are received to a warehouse in China.

In their Terms of Sale, Sonic Brush mentions that it is rebranding the following product "We are selling the following brand mark : W-White.". So this would be the dropshipping product they buy from AliExpress.

Re: Robot dentist performs first human procedure

#322

Post by moffkalast »

a_t48 wrote: post #178
sva_ wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Waiting for the toothbrush that brushes all teeth at once in about 15 seconds

They also exist eg https://sonic-brush.net - but they aren't very good yet.

That thing looks like someone pulled it from the depths of the ocean.

Re: Robot dentist performs first human procedure

#323

Post by tssge »

jeffbee wrote: post #250
tssge wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a dropshipping site for AliExpress products shipping from China. You'll save money if you buy the product straight from AliExpress without a middleman in between. However as you said, the toothbrush doesn't actually work.

Why is it now a trend to point this out? Marketing foreign-made inventory in your country is a long-standing legitimate business. Most individuals do not want to personally deal with a Chinese outlet.

I think you have misunderstood what dropshipping means.

In dropshipping the business won't have any foreign made inventory and neither will they have any in their country. Instead they will hook you up with a Chinese outlet without telling you.

The Chinese outlet will handle shipping, returns, etc with the dropshipping business just taking a cut for essentially spending money on Facebook Ads. This is the part where you'll deal with a Chinese outlet regardless of your preferences, because the dropshipping company basically did this to you without your knowledge.

They don't have a local stock to replace items under warranty. They don't have a local warehouse to return your item to if you're unsatisfied. They might've never even seen the product themselves and thus cannot even provide support regarding it's use.

So that's why I think it's important to point out dropshipping. It's a completely different thing than keeping a foreign-made inventory. There isn't really any good reason to buy from a dropshipper, because you'll deal with the Chinese outlet behind it regardless.

Re: Robot dentist performs first human procedure

#324

Post by moffkalast »

hattmall wrote: post #262
lovethevoid wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are a lot of fields like this, where they have mostly been reduced to refinements but ultimately are still very barbaric procedures. All we've done is upgrade the stick (in this case, a nice shiny pick), but the procedure hasn't changed much at all. Too much of dentistry is still stuck on instant fix solutions. Take hard metal, scrape teeth. Something wrong on inside, just drill into it scrape it out and fill i…

There's huge inertia to change in Dentistry, we know that drilling and filling is basically the worst way to fix teeth. It's firmly established that ART/HVGIC is a much simpler and superior method for 95% of issues. Could be nearly 100% with proper patient education. The ART proponents have been saying this for 30 years, but it's now too hard to deny the superiority. You don't hear Dentist advocating for it though, i…

So what you're saying is, the dental industry is ripe for disruption by someone who can set up a fancy office and hire a half competent nurse? Come on, YCombinator, do your thing.

Re: Robot dentist performs first human procedure

#325

Post by moffkalast »

supportengineer wrote: post #139
lovethevoid wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are a lot of fields like this, where they have mostly been reduced to refinements but ultimately are still very barbaric procedures. All we've done is upgrade the stick (in this case, a nice shiny pick), but the procedure hasn't changed much at all. Too much of dentistry is still stuck on instant fix solutions. Take hard metal, scrape teeth. Something wrong on inside, just drill into it scrape it out and fill i…

If you avoid sugar and floss religiously, and have a decent calcium intake, that takes care of most of the potential problems.

And great genetics, the most important factor.

Re: Robot dentist performs first human procedure

#326

Post by lawlessone »

dotancohen wrote: post #309
Zambyte wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Using robots does not change any financial incentives. This is true for operations as well as diagnosis.

Diagnosis is currently extremely subjective. I believe that GP is suggesting that robotic diagnosis will be more objective and determinant. Ostensibly, because financial considerations will not be part of the input to the diagnosis routine. That said, financial considerations will probably still be a big part of the treatment routine.

You wont be able to ask for a second opinion on anything though. Presumably if they are all the same software they'll give the same opinion.

Re: Robot dentist performs first human procedure

#327

Post by xhkkffbf »

elif wrote: post #285

I'm way more interest robotic diagnosis than robotic treatment. It's so hard to trust dentists have your interest above their financial interest

What makes you think that the robot won't have a financial interest? The company that makes it will want a profit. The dentist that buys it wants to make a profit. If there's an AI under the hood, it might decide that someone needs to pay for its electricity habit.

That being said, I agree that it's a difficult part of the fee-for-service model.

Re: Robot dentist performs first human procedure

#328

Post by lawlessone »

e_i_pi_2 wrote: post #312
dotancohen wrote: post #309

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Diagnosis is currently extremely subjective. I believe that GP is suggesting that robotic diagnosis will be more objective and determinant. Ostensibly, because financial considerations will not be part of the input to the diagnosis routine. That said, financial considerations will probably still be a big part of the treatment routine.

I'd like to see it change the way dental insurance works, so that e.g. an AI diagnosis will legally be fully covered by the insurance, and anything that can't be verified through that would be considered an elective procedure. In the US dental insurance works basically opposite of health insurance - they only cover the basic checkups and you have to pay for any real medical needs. It's like if car insurance only cove…

Isn't it already a problem now where insurance companies are denying people cover because some machine learning blackbox says so?

Re: Robot dentist performs first human procedure

#329

Post by lawlessone »

doubled112 wrote: post #158
candiddevmike wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if I like the taste of burning tooth enamel? Can I flip over still?

I can taste this comment, and I really don't like it. You'll have to ask when the time comes and report back.

taste it?

I felt tooth pain thinking of it lol

Re: Robot dentist performs first human procedure

#330

Post by whimsicalism »

stubish wrote: post #237
whimsicalism wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lets not lump in nurse practitioners. I'm absolutely in favor of giving more responsibilities to NPs and paying them more than they currently are. Data on doctor salaries is very difficult to come by publicly, however H1B salaries indicate the average pay for H1B PCPs is $200k [0]. These are the lowest paid physicians. If you look at the data, many many physicians are making much more than that - with many specialiti…

Who is paying the malpractice etc. insurance for these doctors? Those salaries may effectively be a lot lower.

These are h1b hired doctors, so almost certainly for a system laying their own malpractice.
Post reply on HN