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Technology has made its way to the forefront in our daily living today, helping us keep up with life events while making life easier and faster for us at the same time. It can easily be said that life has become a lot more meaningful with the introduction and development of technology.
The introduction of technology has also helped improve performances in different sectors and industries. The oral sector is no exception, and technology has been beneficial in saving lives and reducing pain through dental care procedures. It has also helped dentists and dentistry entirely today, using amazing technological advancements like artificial intelligence.
This article will highlight some top essential things to know about the use of artificial intelligence in dentistry and how it has helped make processes in the industry easier. Read on for more information.
What Is Dentistry?
Dentistry is also referred to as oral medicine. It is defined as the branch of medicine that deals with the mouth’s wellness, including prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of any disease or disorder found in the mouth or surrounding areas.
This branch of medicine is also responsible for developing new drugs and treatments and preventing certain diseases and oral conditions. According to Surrey dentist Dr. Kooner, dentistry as an act has helped prevent certain types of life-threatening conditions. It does this by coming up with ways to spot and rectify oral challenges before they get dangerous. He also added that oral disorders could affect way more than just the mouth. They can lead to severe health issues like heart attacks and cardiac arrests in extreme situations, especially if not adequately treated.
There are different specialties and branches of dentistry, but they are all aimed at the same purpose; to eliminate oral problems. Here are some significant branches of dentistry.
- Cosmetic dentistry: This branch focuses on fixing and improving the appearance of the teeth, thereby influencing a person’s smile.
- Dental public health: The dental public health aspect deals with the extensive study of how human behaviors and social policies endanger oral health.
- Anesthesiology: This is the most improved part of dentistry. It involves using advanced technology to provide general medication, pain relief, and sedation to help patients deal with oral pains.
What Is Artificial Intelligence?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a virtual simulation of human intelligence demonstrated by machines. These machines run on applications and programs that perceive what goes on and act accordingly to improve the sequence, depending on how it is programmed. The basic applications of AI include;
- Language system
- Voice recognition
- Machine vision
- Language processing
Artificial intelligence is a very sophisticated product of modern technology that has proven to be worth every bit of the hype it has attracted in previous years. It constitutes emerging and proactive technologies that affect daily living. Hence, tech-inclined companies and advanced industries are all adopting this intelligence to make their work classy and much more straightforward.
Artificial Intelligence In Dentistry
Artificial intelligence helps to improve each sector that it is introduced into, and dentistry is one of its latest projects. Since adding AI features to dentistry, we have noticed several changes and advancements in the technologies used for dental purposes. For example, certain dental implants have been introduced to spot and diagnose oral complications long before they surface. Now, you do not have to go through excruciating pains before the dentist finds out the source of your pains. Other applications of artificial intelligence in dentistry include;
- Orthodontics: Orthodontics is the department of dentistry that deals with the prevention and correction of wrongly positioned teeth. AI has proved beneficial for these tasks, with science that plans treatment for affected persons and detects when tooth removal is best. Well, since the abnormal alignment of the teeth is becoming more common, this intervention could not have been more crucial.
- Periodontology: This dentistry section focuses on treating oral injuries and inflammation by diagnosing and prescribing various treatments. Here, AI helps provide immediate diagnosis and treatment routine while also providing implants that monitor the progress made by patients as they go about their treatment cycle.
Challenges Of Artificial Intelligence In Dentistry
- Patients sometimes do not consent to the idea
- Data and information privacy
- Safety and transparency
- Algorithms are biased sometimes
- Legal issues like cyber security and intellectual property laws.
Conclusion
Dentistry has become more efficient with the introduction of several technologies, and artificial intelligence is the chief among these technologies. Although it is still far from full implementation, it has helped ease the process substantially with several outstanding results to show.
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