Using artificial intelligence in dentistry

[mafiaxxx]

Us as computer guys and programmers should be making a strong push to integrate AI into dental practices.
So far I am directing AI ness at appointments and filling schedules.
I'm talking fully automation where the system actively hunts the database for patients. Calls them, speaks to them via phone or text. Then updates your local or cloud practice management database with the necessary information.
Has anyone done this yet?
If not you guys should be getting on it.
AI has also made huge advancements in its anomaly detection and image mapping features. These can be easily incorporated into dental xrays.
How about an AI system that scans a current xray database for caries. makes its own caries database then looks into if procedures were ever done on what was detected.

[cmcgehee]

My take on "AI-powered" chatbots is that they are still too brittle to do much useful work. At this point, an online form would be more effective for scheduling appointments.

I do agree that machine image recognition is ready to start diagnosing dental caries, but I don't think Open Dental is the right company to do this. Our software doesn't actually deal with radiograph images; we simply bridge to dozens of other programs that store and analyze image data.

[mafiaxxx]

disagree on the AI chatbots because I'm developing one that works.
i was just musing about future things AI can do in dentistry regarding the xrays etc.

[jordansparks]

I won't be happy until the machines are doing all the dentistry themselves. Everything between here and there is just stepping stones. My Alexa is not efficient. The only thing it does is let me access very simple data when there is no mouse or keyboard available, and change the music settings when my hands are wet. If this is the best Amazon can do, I don't see how we could do better with any voice interface. I get pretty ticked off if a computer tries to talk to me on the phone.
I'll look into the radiograph enhancements. Seems like we have higher priorities in that area, like mounting an FMX layout.

[drawab]

The more digitized our practices become, the more possibilities shall open up into exploring how Deep Learning & AI can sift thru data in Open Dental.

One amazing thing about OpenDental is the accessibility to all our data via User Queries - but you still need a super scientist on the front desk to comprehend the output and fill the gaps - as Deep Learning is mainly to understand the interplay of data to be easily comprehended by humans - but truly User Queries output, I'm told that's just scratching the surface in regards to Deep learning in Dentistry

I stumbled across a paper trying to see what has been done in Dentistry

PAPER:-
An overview of deep learning in the field of dentistry
https://synapse.koreamed.org/DOIx.php?i ... 019.49.1.1
--- But beyond CBCT / Xrays and a few other items I still don't see true practice related Deep Learning kicking much dirt in dentistry (note: open the table in the same paper / read the Full Name & Object to see the scope of each research paper)

But I think there is a lot more that can be done to dig deeper into the data that exists in our database

[DanTheMan]

There is some sort of new AI/ERP software from Finland where the computer does the agenda planning of the patients. Not in fixed time-slots but patients have an appointment that for ex. is "somewhere between 09:00 and 10:00".

I don't know how it exactly works and I don't know if it would work with Open Dental, but perhaps something to look at. It's called Hygga Flow :
https://hyggasolutions.com/en/solutions/hygga-flow/

[jordansparks]

I looked at their flow:
https://hyggasolutions.com/en/solutions ... ntal-care/
Seems like their push is to gain efficiency by doing all the cleaning and restorations at the first visit right after the exam. But their flow assumes that this patient doesn't go to the dentist every 6 months. In other words, this person is already neglecting their health. We should not push for efficiency for people like that. Spreading out the visits is better. You want their gums to be healthy and their plaque index lower before you do much work.
I'm sure there's more to their software to that, but I'm also pretty sure it's nothing special. There's lots and lots of room for improvement in all software. It all needs to be smarter. It gets smarter by adding thousands of small changes. I'm sure AI will be part of those changes in OD at some point. I haven't seen a compelling use case yet.

[DanTheMan]

Yes, I'll let you know if I hear more from them.
I know one colleague here in NL who tried it and he told me just today that he stopped as his patients and staff almost started a mutiny, so ...
We'll just have to see about that.

Daniel

[drawab]

Have you read about OVERJET.AI -- https://www.overjet.ai/

Seems to be taking AI to a interesting level - they claim to integrate with practice software - have they reached out / or have you seen implementation with Open Dental?

They raised some funding as well -- TechCrunch > https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/02/overj ... ed-ai-tech

[jordansparks]

I looked at their website. I honestly don't see the point. There are thousands of cool things that I would love to add to Open Dental. The stuff I saw there did not excite me by comparison. I don't think they have reached out to us, but it would be very easy for them to mine our database for any customer.

[albert157]

AI can also be used to create virtual simulations of dental procedures, allowing dentists to practice complex procedures before performing them on patients. This can improve outcomes by reducing the risk of errors and complications during the procedure.

Overall, AI has the potential to improve the quality of dental care by providing dentists with more accurate diagnoses, personalized treatment plans, and advanced simulation and training tools..