Dental leaders are looking ahead at how artificial intelligence can continue to innovate patient care and practice operations.
Last year, the use of AI in the dental industry reached new heights as DSOs continued to invest in the technology and manufacturers pushed the envelope of what their technology is capable of.
Venture capital funding also hit more than $145 million for the oral health AI and machine learning sector. This represents an increase of more than $90 million from 2023. Several dental AI companies have raised additional funding this year as demand for this technology continues.
Sundeep Rawal, DMD, the senior vice president of implant support services for Aspen Dental, said dentistry’s use of AI is “just the tip of the iceberg.” Within the next five years, Dr. Rawal predicts dentistry will look nothing like it does today. Continued growth in AI could allow care delivery that surpasses that of the medical field, with same-day treatment and more data-driven decision-making, he said.
“AI will pervade everything we do,” he told Becker’s. “When it comes to clinical care, AI is going to change how we think about design work. It’s going to obviously impact manufacturing [and] diagnostics, and so what it really means is that the dental office of tomorrow will look nothing like the dental office of today.”
One of the largest adopters of AI have been middle-market DSOs, who have used the technology to get a leg up against competitors. Many DSO leaders agree that AI’s acceleration in dentistry is not slowing down anytime soon because of the endless possibilities for its use in the industry.
“Right now, there are so many advancements, both from a clinical and a business standpoint, around some of the AI that’s coming up that ties into clinical with different diagnosis technologies out there, helping us provide our dentists and providers second opinions,” Phil Cassis, the co-founder and CEO at Providence Dental Partners, told Becker’s. “Also, when it comes to marketing [and] revenue cycle management, it’s helping us operate more effectively and efficiently. It’s important for us to always be looking inside the industry, but [also] outside the industry as to what others might be doing to operate at a better level. AI is very progressive right now. It’s come a long way just in the last two or three years. I think we’re going to see it accelerate even more over the next 12 months, so I’m really excited to see what they do there.”
