Occurrences of oral diseases have been reported in the space environment, and the deteriorations of oral defensive functions are evident in the space environment simulated experiments. NASA has identified 6 dental problems (Abscess, Avulsion/Tooth Loss, Caries, Crown Replacement, Exposed Pulp/Pulpitis and Filling Replacement) as the most important dental incidents to be dealt with in the long-term mission.
To focus on the oral health management for astronauts, dental examination and dental orthopantomogram are conducted as oral diagnosis. In addition, dental nerve block, dental prosthesis replacement and dental pain control are described in the treatment manual on the International Space Station (ISS). However, the systematic program to evaluate the risk of oral problems in spacecraft and the manual to prevent the oral problems in the space environment are still far from sufficient.
To promote the oral health of astronauts, the authors launched “Space Oral Health Promotion (SOHP) project” which tackles the research tasks and the operational countermeasures in space dentistry. In SOHP project, the dental department of Tokyo Medical and Dental University, and the health management teams of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) cooperate to develop the countermeasures against the current and the possible dental/oral problems in the future long-term space flight. The authors developed an oral self checkup program for astronauts to use in the environment without dentist.
Moreover, the authors developed the dental diagnosis protocols/kits and dental telediagnosis system for the wintering team personnel of the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition on the assumption of the stay in enclosed and isolated environment.
The countermeasures for the special environment will contribute to the medical care in remote area or disaster medicine in the future.