Adapting to AI in your practice

Whether you have a single practice or a DSO, getting the most out of AI means putting careful planning into it

Investing in technology is one thing. Making practical use of it is another. No matter how innovative or game-changing the equipment or software you buy for your practice is, unless you supply the whole team with the training and education needed to use it, its full benefits will remain unrealized.

When it comes to AI, those benefits include increased team efficiency and exceptional patient care. Let's explore how make them reality through:

• Making education and training about AI a priority
• Creating a culture of continuous learning about how AI can improve daily workflows

Communicate and educate about the purposes and benefits of AI

Like any new equipment or procedure, transparency about the practical use of AI is key to successful implementation. The goal is to promote a positive rather than reactive response.

Keep in mind that people may come in with differing perspectives about AI and sources of information—or misinformation—about its future both inside and outside the dental practice. To enhance the team’s buy-in and practical embrace of your new AI system, presenting clear, specific examples of the following can be helpful:

• How AI will complement workflows
• What diagnostic capabilities the system has
• How AI can deliver improvements in patient care outcomes

Tailor your AI training programs

There's no one-size-fits-all training module for AI implementation in a dental practice. Team concerns, technical skill levels, and questions about AI will differ.

With those differences in mind, it's essential to design your AI training and integration path to complement your unique dental team. Also be prepared for individual and departmental training initiatives to help ensure the practical use of AI in their specific workflows.

• Provide 101-level AI concepts as you introduce the technology.
• Expand into advanced training modules as familiarity increases.
• Design hands-on learning experiences to build confidence and to encourage ongoing innovation around the use of AI.
• Simulate real-world scenarios that allow your staff to "test-drive" AI integration.
• Adapt your training as questions, challenges, and best practices emerge around how you use AI.

View AI training as a continuous learning process. Opportunities will present themselves, so it's essential to stay aware and adaptive as your team embraces AI implementation.

Integrate AI into your daily workflows

The seamless adoption of AI requires the team to actually use it on a daily, practical basis. Each team member will begin to identify the new technology’s efficiency as they apply AI to their workflow.

• Identify and discuss the specific tasks that can benefit from AI.
• Focus on diagnostic efficiency applications such as image analysis, treatment planning, and case presentation support.

Build team trust in AI through open assessment, monitoring, and evaluation

As with other training applications, team members will likely have evolving questions and concerns about integrating AI into the practice. Again, transparency and practical communication will enable ongoing adoption of the technology. It's essential to emphasize that AI is a supportive tool rather than a replacement for hands-on expertise.

Stay consistent with monitoring and evaluating how AI is improving your dental practice operations and team efficiency.

• Track KPIs (key performance indicators) related to AI use and results in patient care and team workflows.
• Monitor and evaluate how AI affects diagnostic accuracy.
• Evaluate how AI helps team members improve patient satisfaction.
• Make necessary adjustments to the AI implementation process based on monitoring and evaluation.

Attention to these points along the way will help ensure that your dental practice and your dental team benefit from AI integration.

Rely on the educational and training support from a proven leader in dental AI technology

Pearl is a global dental AI leader assisting dentists across six continents with robust clinical pathology detection.

Get acquainted with Pearl here.

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