AI has become a novel but essential component of many professions over the years. In dentistry, AI software has begun aiding dentists in making accurate diagnoses and providing effective treatments. Dentists have welcomed this burgeoning technology, as it allows them to work faster and smarter. This is how AI has become a valuable tool for oral health professionals:
Diagnosing and Treating Patients
AI for dentistry combines computer vision, predictive analytics, and machine learning. Computer vision processes digital imagery by scanning and annotating x-rays. This process identifies tooth decay, bone loss, and other dental issues and recognizes the difference between prior dental work and a patient’s natural teeth.
Machine learning takes algorithms driven by data to establish patterns and forms predictive analytics based on the information gathered to predict future outcomes. The data is mined from patients’ medical histories and makes educated guesses based on current trends. As such, preventive treatment can occur ahead of a devastating diagnosis.
Providing Trust
Earning patients’ trust can be a long, complicated process, especially in the healthcare field. Fortunately, computers cannot make mistakes, and people tend to believe any diagnosis of a dental pathology found using AI. Not to mention, such systems find these issues earlier, quicker, and more accurately than any human possibly could.
AI can also be used to provide a valuable second opinion to prevent a solo practitioner from making a diagnostic mistake. It also can be used to educate patients on dental care and how it relates to their prognoses. In the meantime, the dentist can focus on compassion and alleviating patients’ stress and apprehension.
Contributing to Public Health
An interesting aspect that arises from mass use of AI across dental offices is the creation of large sets of data. These data sets can find patterns in the general population concerning dental health, and the profession can use this information to benefit public health. Trends may occur within different communities, and common symptoms may indicate the need for further research.
Another benefit is adding patient records to the database and finding that they have a common pathology with others already in the system. Making a diagnosis and predicting a prognosis based on an already established treatment will be commonplace and easy.
In conclusion, any dental office that implements AI technology into its practice is bound to become more accurate, quicker, and trusted by most of its clientele. In addition, it will be aiding the profession by contributing to the public good. As such, dentists will be in a better position to provide holistic oral healthcare by partially relying on AI.
SurfCT.com is a world famous dental information technology company, founded by Mr. Paul Vigario. SurfCT.com specializes in areas such as dental technologies, digital workflow, marketing, dental cloud solutions, and HIPAA compliance. SurfCT.com’s technology solutions are revolutionizing general, cosmetic, and pediatric dentistry, along with oral surgery, endodontics, orthodontics, and other specialized dental practices. At SurfCT.com Everything Is Connected™