Space dentistry is the application of oral health care to the conditions of spaceflight, addressing how the space environment affects the teeth, gums, and supporting tissues and how dental emergencies can be prevented and managed away from conventional clinical facilities. The discipline responds to constraints uniq…
Space dentistry is the application of oral health care to the conditions of spaceflight, addressing how the space environment affects the teeth, gums, and supporting tissues and how dental emergencies can be prevented and managed away from conventional clinical facilities. The discipline responds to constraints unique to crewed missions: microgravity, confined habitats, limited equipment and medication, restricted resupply, and the absence of an on-board dental specialist. Untreated problems such as caries, pulpal infection, abscess, periodontal disease, or restoration failure can produce severe pain and systemic risk that may compromise crew performance and mission objectives, so rigorous pre-flight screening aims to eliminate latent disease before launch. Research interests include the influence of microgravity and altered loading on bone and the periodontium, behavior of dental materials and adhesives under reduced pressure and temperature variation, and the design of compact, autonomous diagnostic and treatment tools. Operational planning emphasizes telemedicine support, simplified emergency protocols that non-dentist crew members can perform, and minimally invasive techniques suited to limited resources. As mission duration and distance from Earth increase, space dentistry informs medical readiness for long-duration and exploration missions, contributing to broader understanding of oral health under extreme and isolated conditions where timely professional intervention is unavailable.
5 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.
The 5 articles above have been cited 8 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.
A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Space Dentistry, linking to each citing work.