Why you should customize dental treatment plans using AI technology

You know every patient is an individual. But do they know you know?

Every patient is different: their teeth, their health, their attitude toward dentistry, and their approach to dental care. So if they think you are following a cookie-cutter approach to treatment planning, you could be seeing suboptimal case acceptance.

Dental technology advancements, such as using chairside AI technology to customize dental treatment plans for individual patients on the spot, could help turn that around.

AI leverages big data and machine learning

Think of all the dental data in your own practice management system. Now multiply that by all the dental practices in the world. Distilling even a fragment of that data into useful insights to inform your patient care would be an insurmountable task for a single person.

That’s where AI technology comes in. Using expertly trained machine learning algorithms, dental AI systems can tame mountains of data and provide you with simple, specific findings. With AI:

• Data analysis identifies patterns that help predict treatment outcomes.
• Treatment plans designed to achieve preferred outcomes can be tailored for each patient.
• Factors unique to each patient, such as their medical history, dental health condition, and treatment biases, can be utilized for more personalized treatment planning.

AI enhances diagnostic and related treatment planning techniques

Diagnostic accuracy and treatment planning specifics are dentistry 101. While your analysis of available imaging data, such as x-rays, CT scans, and intraoral photos, forms the foundation of your diagnosis and treatment recommendations, AI can use the same data to help confirm and even enhance your diagnostic precision.

Some current and evolving uses of AI include:

• Detection of caries, periodontal disease, and other pathologies such as oral cancer
• Early detection of malocclusions, which could allow for interruptive and/or preventive treatment

AI’s diagnostic support can also help produce more effective strategies to improve patient treatment outcomes by allowing for:

• Simulated comparisons of treatment options and their related outcomes
• Consideration of patient aesthetic and functional preferences
• Alignment with patient goals and expectations relative to treatment

AI guides predictive analysis around treatment outcomes

All patients are different, but many cases are similar. You know how to treat what you see based on your experience, but AI has the capacity to analyze data on a pixel-by-pixel level and possibly show you more, thereby guiding you toward better predictions of treatment outcomes.

When you combine AI-enhanced findings with a patient’s unique characteristics, conditions, and history, you can create treatment plans that are even better tailored to every patient. And when you can show your patients how AI supports your diagnosis, you get:

• More informed diagnostic and treatment decision-making
• More certainty for you and your patients around presented treatment
• Increased patient understanding about the potential results they can expect from treatment

Customization encourages patients to feel like more than just another patient of record. Chairside AI support increases patient engagement and can help encourage case acceptance.

Increase your awareness and understanding of how AI can provide a more personal treatment experience for your patients with a look at these related resources:

AI in dentistry: A win-win for patients and providers

Advanced tech boosts patient trust and retention, survey says

Customize your dental treatment planning process using leading 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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Curious how AI can benefit your dental practice?