Dental AI? AI helps dentists detect more cavities and gum disease accurately

As artificial intelligence takes on the world and continues to stun us with its accuracy and future prospects, a Boston-based company developed an AI platform which can detect and prevent periodontitis. Periodontitis or gum disease affects more than 1 billion people around the world, as per World Health Organisation (WHO).

VideaHealth, a medical technology company in Boston has created a dental AI platform that is available to 90 per cent of dental practices in the US. The company’s AI tool accurately detected and prevented periodontitis, decay, bone loss and other gum health issues.

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The AI system developed by VideaHealth is also approved by the FDA. It analyses patients’ X-ray images using an algorithm that is trained on hundreds of millions of data points, which is 50 times more than the number of X-rays most dentists see in their lifetime, the company said.

"VideaAI lets dentists examine X-rays for cavities and radiographic bone level findings, comparing them against our AI algorithms," Boston-based Florian Hillen, VideaHealth’s founder and CEO and an AI research fellow at Harvard Business School, told Fox News Digital.

How do AI-based dental screenings help in diagnosis and treatment planning?

With traditional dental screenings, X-ray analysis is used for diagnosis and treatment planning, but 50 per cent of dental decay is missed and 30 per cent results in a wrong diagnosis.

But with VideaHealth’s system, 43 per cent more cavities can be identified and the error rate is reduced by 50 per cent, it also reduces false positives by 15 per cent, Hillen told Fox News.

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"Our analysis enables more accurate diagnoses and better preventative care."

AI can also help dentists in streamlining the workflows of patients

In addition to this, VideaAI also gives dentists the data and confidence to engage better with their patients, Hillen said.

"It also helps dentists achieve more streamlined workflows in their offices, resulting in reduced human error and mistakes," he added.

For patients, the AI tool helps to improve their dental health by detecting cavities, lesions and oral diseases before these issues evolve into much larger problems.

"With the right dental care, the risk of medical complications from diabetes, heart disease and other illnesses can be significantly decreased," Hillen said.

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AI also helps increase patients’ trust by showing them "the complete picture," Hillen said.

"Today, a lot of dental relationships are asymmetric," he said. "Patients don’t know if they need the X-rays or the treatment plan — and sometimes they want a treatment they don’t need."

Historically, patients don’t always accept their dentists’ recommendations, Hillen pointed out, "the majority of the time, they don’t," he said. As a result, the dental issues continue to worsen until there is a significant issue.

Can dental AI replace human dentists?

Experts say while dental AI has been shown to improve outcomes for patients and efficiency for practices, it is not meant to replace trained professionals.

"Dentists and hygienists will always remain a critical part of the equation in disease diagnostics, as they have the context of years of experience, patient histories and in-person examinations," the company’s chief clinical officer, Boston-based Michael A. Scialabba, DDS, told Fox News Digital.

"At the end of the day, it’s a combination of AI and using human experience, a tool for the dentists to use," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)

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