A.I. in Dentistry – The Beginning 

The accuracy of diagnosis and clinical decision making allow us to achieve the best outcomes for our patients. The advancements in technology, particularly artificial intelligence, are starting to make about transformative changes in various fields of medicine and dentistry.

There are many aspects to A.I. as noted below. These include “driving” robotics in surgical treatment. A.I. has the ability to function without it being micro-managed by the user. It can come up with solutions that weren’t specifically programmed.

Xray (radiographic imaging) is essential for diagnosis, treatment planning , therapy and follow-up treatment. The integration of radiographs and AI in dentistry holds significant promise in revolutionising the way we approach diagnosis, treatment, and patient care. A.I. can enhance diagnostic accuracy and clinical decision-making in interpreting x-rays. In other words, reducing possible errors.

A.I. can also be helpful in providing a check list of treatment options for various clinical situations to aid in diagnosis, planning and help with educating the patient. The issue is loading in the data so the A.I. can learn. For example, providing many views of teeth, x-rays, gums, and many clinical conditions. This process will get faster over time; however, nothing is foolproof. The dentist needs to make a clinical judgement as the A.I. has to rely on the data given which may not be complete. At this point in time a computer cannot touch, feel, hear or even smell clinical conditions, yet.

At the moment, the use of A.I. in clinical practice is considered a medical device. As such the practitioner is responsible for its function.

Problem!!!

The dentist can test his curing light to make cure it can set filling via a special light meter.

As a dentist, at the moment, I don’t know how to test an A.I. to check that it is working properly. Yet, I am responsible for what it does…… ummm