ADA Releases Report on AI’s Impact on Dentistry

There’s been plenty of buzz around artificial intelligence (AI) and its growing impact on dentistry. Several companies have gotten involved in recent months and it seems as if capabilities and expectations surrounding AI will only continue to grow going forward.

The American Dental Association (ADA) recently released a new white paper by the American Dental Association Standards Committee on Dental Informatics that discusses applications of artificial and augmented intelligence in dentistry. The report supports the expanding impact these types of newer technologies are expected to provide.

ADA SCDI White Paper No. 1106 for Dentistry — Overview of Artificial and Augmented Intelligence Uses in Dentistry introduces the use of AI in clinical areas such as prevention, caries and periodontal disease, implants, oral and maxillofacial surgery, endodontics, imaging, orthodontics and more.

The white paper also offers information on nonclinical uses of AI, focusing on payer topics such as claims processing, payment integrity and dental practice administrative issues.

In its Foreward, it states: “Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Augmented Intelligence (AuI) has been used throughout industry for several years already. If anything, its use and adoption is increasing. This white paper is designed to provide the best available information on AI available (as of early 2022) in dental imaging and other areas of dentistry where imaging may impact the use of AI (or vice versa). Dentistry will likely see many more advancements in imaging and elsewhere quickly. The reader may find some very pertinent and useful information on where and how AI/AuI in dental imaging is currently used and impacting our profession and where it may go in the foreseeable future. It is a first step by the ADA SCDI, with much more specific detail to follow. AI/AuI in dental imaging remains a dynamic area with considerable change taking place. This paper includes several images from various AI/AuI dental imaging vendors. Please note that no acknowledgements are provided for specific images in the document. The Working Group that developed this paper believes that the variations available in visualizations, styles or key tools provided by the vendors will change over time. Additionally, different tools and visualizations may have greater utility for one practice than another.”

To learn more and download the paper for free, visit ADA.org/dentalstandards.

The ADA is accredited by the American National Standards Institute to develop national standards for products and information technology used by dental professionals and consumers. There are currently more than 100 national standards, and more are under development.