AI’s ability to analyze the smallest radiographic details is key to its success in specialized as well as general practice

Dental implant blog

 

When life offers an advantage, you take it. Especially when that advantage can help you do better, more efficient work. In dentistry, AI is providing more and more advantages as it evolves, in both general and specialized practice.

Successful implant dentistry depends on both placement accuracy and patient compliance with postoperative care. AI’s advantages are developing to extend to both.

Key Takeaways
  • Implant success hinges on perfect placement as well as excellent patient understanding of the procedure and follow-up care.
  • AI systems that can assist in identifying implant sites are in development, while those that can measure and label bone height already exist.
  • Using an AI system to help educate patients about oral pathology and treatment plans can help increase the chances of lasting treatment success.

 

Improving dental implant placement accuracy

Pinpointing the exact location of the mandibular canal has typically relied on x-ray and CT modeling, a tedious process due to the complexity of the human lower jaw.

New models using AI technology are emerging that can help simplify this process. One particular research-based model being developed by researchers at the Finnish Center for Artificial Intelligence (FCAI), Tampere University Hospital, Planmeca, and the Alan Turing Institute, is designed to accurately and automatically identify the exact location of the mandibular canal for dental implant operations.

Eventually, the model is intended to reduce the risk of paresthesia during implant surgery by providing support for radiologists. As one researcher put it, “The aim of this research work is not to replace radiologists, but to make their job faster and more efficient so that they will have time to focus on the most complex cases.”

Improving dental implant treatment planning

Patient quality of life improves with dental implant placement, but only if the procedure has lasting success. Factors that can endanger the success of implant surgery include:

  • Improper follow-up care by the patient
  • Infection and inflammation (peri-implantitis)
  • Bone loss

The existence of any of these factors can be identified by radiographic bone changes, and AI is among the advancements that can flag early changes that might otherwise be hard to judge. Identifying pre-procedure bone loss is particularly critical to treatment planning.

While CBCT scans are superior for measuring bone structures, 2D periapical radiographs can also be used. AI systems can augment these solutions and provide an advantage in both treatment planning and patient education.

Encouraging patient preventive care

Convincing patients that the health of their implant is not limited to what they can see with the naked eye can help them maintain good oral hygiene practices at home. By labeling radiographs with easy-to-understand information about bone height, subgingival calculus, and more, AI-based technology supports the dialogue around implant follow-up care, as well as everyday conversations about:

  • Routine preventive care
  • Periodontal health
  • Effective oral hygiene
  • Systemic health and wellness

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