Is it just me, or does it feel like we've been hearing about advances in dental treatment for decades, without them actually having any effect on the practice? From my personal experience as someone living in the Netherlands, where standards of health care are pretty high, I would expect these advancements to make at least _some_ impact on the field. Instead my (admittedly anecdotal) experience as a patient has been basically the same over the years.
2014 - "No more fillings as dentists reveal new tooth decay treatment" https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jun/16/fillings-den...
2011 - "An end to the dentist's drill: New painless cavity filler could be on the market in two years" http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2077816/Scared-den...
2004 - "No drilling, no filling in painless dentistry" http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1477044/No-drilling-n...
1998 - "Dental lasers – are they the safest way to fill your cavity?" http://judyforeman.com/columns/dental-lasers-are-they-safest...