Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the latest technological breakthrough to affect nearly every aspect of our lives. And dentistry is no different. In this article I’ll review where it is already changing the dental experience and how it is anticipated to do so in the future.
  According to IBM, our health information knowledge doubles every 73 days, but will eventually double every 12 hours. At this rate, no human is able to keep up with the latest research and best practices, therefore we need technology to fill the gap. This is where the promise of AI shows the most potential to improve dentistry for both dentists and patients.
 My dental office is on the forefront of technology with multiple 3D printers, 3D X-ray machine, digital scanners and much more. Even so, I anticipate in a few years our ways of practicing dentistry will seem obsolete. Currently, AI is involved in designing crowns, smile designs, orthodontic planning, implant surgery planning and more. These are very limited uses compared to what is coming.
  One exciting way AI will soon be used in the future is during your routine checkups. No longer will the bulk of the exam involve a sharp instrument rubbing over your teeth and a dentist eyeballing what has changed in the past six month. Instead, we will be using digital scanners. We already use these scanners in my office, but the computing power limits what is possible. In the future, AI will be able to compare scans of teeth from appointment to appointment in order to see changes that are impossible to be noticed by a dentist visually. Charting of your mouth will no longer be computer graphics, but an actual 3D model. Combined with the 3D scan, radiographs will also be evaluated by AI with exact measurements that can show problems at the earliest stages allowing for noninvasive and nonsurgical interventions.Â
   With these diagnostic tools, AI is anticipated to be able to create personalized risk-based preventative and treatment plans based on statistical data versus the knowledge, experience, and biases of a dentist. Beyond the dental information, the medical history and medications will be able to be better incorporated into the personalized plans.
  I don’t anticipate AI will replace a dentist, but these tools and technology will greatly increase the accuracy of diagnosis, consistency of treatment, and improve outcomes. In an ideal world it will decrease costs, but knowing the cost of any equipment or technology sold to dentists, this is unlikely to be the case initially.
  These are just a few examples of the clinical uses of AI. Behind the scenes AI will infiltrate all aspects of running a dental office including scheduling, communicating, and managing insurance. The challenge for dentists will be continuing to build relationships and trust with patients beyond the technology. As great as AI promises to be, nothing will replace the human-to-human interaction. But AI will hopefully add a layer of trust with standards that are no longer subjective.
  AI is already being used by many to write blog posts, social media content, and other materials. As tempting as it was, this article was actually written by a human. Dr. Joiner wrote it for the Staying Healthy article for the Capital Democrat.