Getting a cavity drilled is still not fun, but in 1950 it was worse because dental drills were much slower. In 1953, NIST and the American Dental Association developed the high-speed dental drill, a hydraulic precursor to today's air-driven drills.A few years later, the team created the panoramic X-ray machine, still in use today. These machines reduce radiation doses by taking a picture of the whole mouth with just one exposure. NIST's collaboration with the ADA began in 1928 and continues today.