I just got a crown on a molar. They used a hand-held 3D scanner to scan my old tooth, then printed my crown in about an hour. I thought that was pretty cool.

compared to what they were using, a drill is the future

Reminds me of this classic:

I'm fairly sure they're getting close to human trials for regrowing teeth from stem cells. I first read about it maybe 15ish years ago and saw something recently about it again.

But yes, to get the old tooth out you're still going to be yanking it the fuck out with pliers essentially.

You don't want someone holding a laser in your mouth. If it can cut a tooth, it can blast a hole in your jaw ... and bone stinks when it burns by the way. I'd hate that smell in my mouth.

If this is a worry, never ever look up what they use for a knee replacement.

I had my leg bones drilled through when I was a kid so they would stop growing at a certain phase, and this was in the 21st century.

Bone intervention doesn’t develop quite at the same rate as soft tissue technology. Hardware vs wetware and all.