Artificial Intelligence: A Gift to Dentistry
Jacob Sigmon
“Be a better clinician, a better caregiver, a better teacher of dentistry, and help your team implement the possibilities. ”
To be completely transparent, I took the headline of a great blog (Read Here) and modified it slightly. I’ve been in dentistry for over 20 years. I come from a business background and my focus has been to help dentists create successful small businesses through education, good decision-making, and implementation. When I see opportunity that meshes with the values and foundations of that business, I like to find out as much as I can to help it flourish.
UP YOUR GAME CE EVENT BY DR. CHAD DUPLANTIS
Recently, we had a CE event in Savannah, Georgia where Dr. Chad Duplantis presented on future technologies that are in the here and now. As I listened, the message clearly had its effects. There was one particular message that gained a lot of interest - artificial intelligence in the field of dentistry.
After Dr. Duplantis had talked about AI in dentistry, I witnessed a line being formed at that AI booth wanting to learn more about the technology. By the end of the educational event, there was an obvious buzz and momentum for AI in dentistry. I felt that Dr. Kyle Stanley in the aforementioned blog nailed it - that AI is truly a gift to dentists!
In that moment, that line of dentists at that particular booth made me recognize the opportunity for all dentists. I could feel through their expressions that this technology gives the dentists a relief from stress, a visual supportive adjunct of technology, and a new wave of confidence in treatment planning.
If you are new to AI in Dentistry, there are many blogs that you can read about (I appreciate you reading mine). There are many testimonials that you can view. There are many podcasts you can listen to. There are many videos you can watch. Just click on any of the ones previously mentioned in blue and it will take you to plenty.
The Why
Like it or not, humans have become very visual people. Studies have confirmed the power of visuals to engage your audience. It’s why I have pictures and videos on this blog. My hopes are that you read the blog, but use the pictures and videos to retain the key points of information and that it draws a response or emotion. Meaning you can relate or not relate!
Here are some findings of what studies have shown:
Visuals stick in long term memory
They transmit messages faster
Improve comprehension
Visual cues trigger emotion
Visual motivate learners
Incorrect use of visuals can deter learners
How does that transfer into treatment planning? Based upon the Spear Institute in 2019, Perceptions of Dentistry in the Information Age, greater than 90% of patients who can visualize their oral conditions are better prepared to make health-related decisions, explore treatment, and discuss payment options.
Introducing Pearl
Pearl is a company that is truly a leader and innovator in the AI market in Dentistry. They have a great product that we have vetted and have brought them in as a partner at Atlanta Dental. To understand Pearl, its best to understand their foundation. The following is from their website.
Borne by dentists. Built by visionaries.
Now that you know a little about Pearl, lets take a closer look into the product offering and how it can benefit a dental office, its team and their patients. The first product is:
SECOND OPINION
The first real-time dental AI platform that automatically detects numerous conditions in dental x-rays to give dentists a second set of eyes for superior radiologic accuracy. Here are some of the features of Second Opinion:
Broad detection capabilities
Dentists using Second Opinion gain a second set of eyes to help ensure that they've considered many common conditions that appear in their patients' radiographs.
That assurance comes from the system's ability to detect signs of various dental pathologies and other treatable conditions found in dental radiographs–including hard-to-spot issues like incipient caries or the early signs of a periapical radiolucency.Consistent, real-time results
Machines are able to perform the same task over and over, without getting bored, tired, or distracted. That means that Second Opinion will deliver the same high-quality analysis every time.
And because it analyzes and instantly delivers results whenever a new radiograph is captured, dentists can count on reliable support in real-time to give dentists the benefit of dental AI support when it matters most––while patients are still in the chair.Communicative Adjunct
Second Opinion was engineered to make it easier for dentists to read radiographs and communicate findings to patients.
Between its crystal clear high-contrast user interface designed to deliver optimal x-ray viewability and its intuitive image adjustment controls, Second Opinion lets dentists to see exactly what they want, how they want––and effortlessly share their findings in a way that patients can easily understand.
To get a deeper dive into the Second Opinion software, I’ve included a demo video below that will go over exactly how to pull up the patient, view their x-rays and the AI’s clinical software diagnostic capabilities.
I have one suggestion if you are a doctor reading this and are about to watch this video…I have been in dental for over 20 years. Diagnostic imaging is not my strong suit and I am ok with that. As you watch the video, think of the lens through your patients eyes and ears. See what they see and how it can be confusing when it’s being explained to them. This helps them visually understand they might need treatment through understanding the true differences of their carie in dentin and enamel, etc. It is an important thought of looking at it through their eyes while watching this video.
Pretty cool, right? Now, let’s look at Pearl’s second product offering:
pRACTICE INTELLIGENCE
Analytics has become increasingly more important in a dental practice now more than ever due to the growth of corporate dentistry. What I have found is that if you give the dentist the tools, that dentist either knows what to do with it or they are shy about incorporating technology. It becomes something that they bought, but never use because they don’t know how to implement it and teach it to their dental team successfully. KPI’s and ROI’s are important units of measurement within a dental practice. However, if you don’t know what KPI’s and ROI’s to look at, you can become confused about how to implement a particular technology.
Why are scuba pics in a blog about Dental AI? Read the suggestion! Can you guess which one is me?
Here’s a suggestion.
When you experience something for the first time, there’s a sense of wonder and amazement. I remember when I wanted to start scuba diving. I took a series of classes that helped me prepare for the experience. I never truly knew the intensity of that experience that i was about to have until I did it. I received my certification, did my safety check out dives in a lake, bought the gear and was on my way.
That first dive was in Belize. Our ultimate goal was the blue hole so our first ever dive leading up to the blue hole was a tough one - 125 feet down. I finally made it to the destination of all the hard work I had put in so that I could be prepared in case anything went wrong. I remember something specific about that first dive while I was under. I had that sense of wonder and amazement because it was like a whole new world of life that I had not previously explored, not ever known or experienced…now realized! It’s exactly the moment when I fell in love with diving. If you meet other divers, they have their own personal stories of wonder and amazement in every dive they have.
Why did I tell you that story?
Because, if you don’t fully “submerse” yourself into something that you truly believe can help you and use the tools that are available to you, your sense of wonder and amazement wanes. Pearl has AI software for dentistry that gives you tools and analytics that can benefit your practice in so many ways. Be a better clinician, a better caregiver, a better teacher of dentistry and help your team implement the possibilities. Experience the wonder and amazement when your patient looks at that radiograph and can see for themselves that there might be an issue that they need to address.
With Practice Intelligence, this product choice of Pearl can really help you make sense of your data. Spin practice data into profit, practitioner performance and patient health with computer vision-enabled clinical performance insights from the global leader in dental AI.
Below is a video that helps you understand the advantage of their Practice Intelligence product.
wANT TO SEE HOW THE ROI CAN AFFECT YOUR PRACTICE?
With all that said…
Only you can do what you feel is right for your dental practice. I hope that this has given you some insight on how AI technology is in the here and now. I am thankful for Dr. Chad Duplantis in introducing this technology to me as it is one of the most exciting technologies that I have seen in the 20+ years I have been in dentistry. My only hope is that insurances (if you are insurance based) don’t use this platform as their only clinical basis. This is intended solely to be an aid and adjunct for dentists so that they can diagnose and implement their professional diagnosis to their patient.
“The relationships and care that dental teams provide to their patients with their health in mind are much more important than how insurances view the payout of what they estimate it to be.”
If you would like to learn more about this software, fill out this form below.
