Artificial Intelligence in Dentistry

Our CEO is very excited about artificial intelligence because, as he often says, natural intelligence is getting harder and harder to find.  He is a member of Mensa, so he is probably qualified to judge.

Since dental practices started computerizing in the mid-1990s, dentistry has gotten better and better at amassing mountains of data.  Unfortunately, this volume of data can become a barrier.  Practice management software has some excellent tools that almost no one uses, because the number of reports that software can produce is overwhelming.

We see how Chat GPT can help you write an email you are struggling with or fix a resume.  But there is much more that AI can or will be able to do.

AI offers the promise of being able to tame vast amounts of data. Clinically, we have seen AI's ability to synthesize information from millions of radiographs to be able to detect caries radiographically.

There are also interesting non-clinical applications - imagine a patient calling your practice and having a receptionist that had memorized the balance on the patient's account, the date of their next appointment, whether there was diagnosed but unbooked treatment, whether family members could be booked together, and so on, and all without that annoying "let me look up your account."  No human could have this kind of recall for each of your 2,000 patients, by AI can do it easily. 

Prosperident is now using AI.  It answers our telephone efficiently and directs callers accurately.  We have partnered in an AI-aided software that automates the tedious task of reconciling collections from practice management software with bank deposits.  The graphic on this page was generated by AI.

And beyond taking over some routine functions, the sky is the limit.  Could an AI-driven robot scale teeth?  Take perio measurements?  Prepare a tooth for a crown? Not yet, but these things and more are probably on the horizon.

And let's not forget the negatives.  Several dental insurance companies are now using AI for front-end processing of insurance claims, and you may have had the experience of having a claim for scaling and root planing rejected because there was no tooth number on the claim. (Pro tip -- tooth # 0 seems to work.)

AI will change our lives in many different ways.  In time, it will probably transform dentistry also.  We should expect some speed bumps along this highway, but even now, there are interesting applications that can make your office more productive and profitable.

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