MOSCOW. Feb 17 (Interfax-AVN) - Russian members of the International Space Station (ISS) will be supplied with a dental first aid kit this year and will be able to get a temporary filling if necessary, department head of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medical and Biological Problems Alexei Polyakov told Interfax-AVN.
"As to the currently available dental care, astronauts can make a temporary filling themselves if they lose a filling from their tooth. Three of our astronauts made temporary fillings themselves through the four year period of my work at the institute. The astronauts develop basic skills in the process of their training and the ISS has the necessary materials. True, they have to use U.S. fillings so far but our dental fillings are also practically ready. I think they will be supplied to the station already this year," he said.
Yet astronauts are unable to extract a tooth during the space flight: they have neither the skills nor the instruments. "A tooth extraction requires both specialized instruments and good dental training. The ISS Russian segment does not possess these instruments. The Soviet orbiting stations had a portable drilling machine for dental work," the institute worker said.
He also said doctors used to extract astronauts' teeth which could cause trouble during the space flight. Now such teeth are given good dental work before astronauts go on mission.