Oral surgery and dental implants have already greatly benefited from technology advancements in terms of precision and efficiency, but there is still a lot of room for refinement.
With the new technology and AI, surgeons can provide patients with a brand new set of teeth in just a couple of hours, something that wasn’t possible previously.
Additionally, new technologies have improved patient communication and the patient experience. Patients can better see and understand what they will be getting out of surgery before it takes place, boosting treatment acceptance.
Rinil Patel, DDS, is an oral and maxillofacial surgeon with River Edge, N.J.-based Riverside Oral Surgery. He recently connected with Becker’s to talk about some of the biggest trends in the oral surgery space and where the technology is heading.
Note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length.
Question: What are some of the biggest trends that you’re following in the dental and oral surgery space today?
Dr. Rinil Patel: There is a big shift going into photogrammetry. Essentially, photogrammetry is using a special camera that takes photos at different angles and positions to map a 3D mouth of where your implants are in relation to each other. The software then compiles that data and overlays it with the intraoral scans that we take, and you’re able to now map out the soft tissue, hard tissue and the implants. This helps to increase your accuracy immensely. You see a lot of that in the teeth-in-a-day.
Historically the surgeon would go in, take the teeth out, clean the bone and place these implants. You’d then have a denture that would take hours. That takes a lot of chair time. Now, with the newer technology, once the implants are done, we scan the patient’s mouth in about 30 minutes. You can then digitize the teeth that you want to create and then send that to a 3D printer. We can start a surgery at 8 a.m. and the patient has brand new teeth in their mouth by 2 p.m. on the later side. So from the start of surgery, all the way to printing teeth out, painting them so they match their skin tone, matching their gums in their mouth, can happen in less than six hours.
Q: How has all this new technology changed patient expectations?
RP: By having all this data that you can digitize, you can actually show patients what you think the outcome is going to come out to be with a high level of accuracy. I literally can show patients their smile today, and by the end of the surgery, based on these parameters that we know, this is what I expect the outcome to become. That helps increase patients’ acceptance of treatment, because now they can see what you’re talking about and actually understand what you’re talking about. Most people fall into the fallacy of using medical and dental jargon and patients then have a hard time really understanding. So some feel reluctant and feel like you’re selling to them.
By showing patients more upfront, they understand where their dollars are being spent versus giving them a sheet of paper that says we’re taking out teeth one through 16, we’re placing implants for eight and nine, and you’re getting a prosthetic device. Patients can be confused when they get a $20,000 bill explained in that way. Technology can really help transform your practice from that standpoint.
Q: Where do you see technology advancing in the future? What is something that you hope you’ll be able to do with new technology?
RP: AI is going to play a huge role in this, more than it already has. We already have the technology to read radiographic imaging. So you can take a panoramic x-ray, feed it into AI and it can lay out normal anatomy. Right now, when we do these like teeth-in-a-day, somebody has to physically design the teeth. I think AI will eventually take that over. It will be able to use the pre-operative photos of the patient and the scans of their teeth, and digitize and generate teeth that match those for 3D printing. That would eliminate somebody having to sit there and play on the mouse and keyboard and design those teeth, which would cut down the number of manpower hours.
At the Becker's 5th Annual Future of Dentistry Roundtable, taking place September 14-15 in Chicago, dental leaders and executives will gain insights into emerging technologies, practice growth strategies and the evolving landscape of dental care delivery, with a focus on innovation, patient experience and operational excellence. Apply for complimentary registration now.
