Artificial Intelligence and Dentistry

I recently attended a conference for orthodontists where I was able to play with some pretty cool gadgets. One of the highlights was using an Oculus Rift to create a surprisingly accurate simulation of a treatment outcome. Who knew that orthodontists could move teeth with the help of virtual reality? As I wandered further down the rabbit hole of rapidly evolving technology, I couldn’t help but think of the advent of artificial intelligence in healthcare. Yes, I’ve had many discussions with my peers in healthcare over our relative degree of replaceability. But how soon will it be until we see it in practice?

Diagnosing pneumonia with AI

Earlier this year I chatted with a few friends at various stages of their medical radiology residencies. They couldn’t stop talking about the results of a paper published by the Stanford Machine Learning Group. In short, Palo Alto researchers in late 2017 developed an algorithm that can diagnose fourteen different medical conditions from chest X-rays. Oh and here’s the gag. This artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm could diagnose pneumonia better than a medical radiologist. It was provocative, and it got me thinking.

It’s well known that medical errors happen more often than anyone would like, resulting in innumerable complications and sometimes death. We’ve all heard of surgeons removing the wrong kidney, and of all those instruments accidentally left inside patients after a surgery. Doctors are human after all. So if an AI algorithm can diagnose a condition better than a human and thereby improve patient outcomes, what’s stopping this technology from taking off? Same principle as autonomous vehicles being safer than human drivers.

Diagnosing dental caries with AI

This got me thinking. If an AI algorithm can diagnose pneumonia from a chest X-ray better than a medical radiologist, a similar algorithm could diagnose dental caries from bitewing radiographs better than a dentist. Cervical burnout, anyone? It will only be a matter of time until AI algorithms detect temporomandibular joint (TMJ) degenerative changes, root resorption, and periodontal bone loss better than a radiologist too.

The implementation of AI technology in healthcare is already happening. And the fact that AI technology will become superior to us human docs is inevitable. For now I guess I’ll mind my own business putting on braces …

What are your thoughts about artificial intelligence and dentistry? Or about AI and healthcare in general? Comment below!