With help from AI, dentistry can develop new insights into the delivery of careBioinformatics, which applies advanced analytics to biological data, can reveal patterns in health records that previously went unnoticed. The knowledge gained will let dentists customize treatment and preventive strategies for individual patients. We might learn (for example) that one treatment for periodontitisis most effective for pre-diabetic women under 30, while a different treatment works best for men over 60 with a family history of heart disease. With systems to analyze data from combined records, medicine will gain new knowledge from dentistry, just as dentistry has long benefitted from medical discoveries. Many chronic health conditions--such as diabetes and heart disease--are linked to oral disease. When researchers examine thousands of parameters related to patient health, they are bound to discover new connections. For example, we might learn that, in a certain population, periodontitis is closely linked to a particular type of cancer. When a dentist diagnoses periodontitis in a patient from that population, that could trigger a referral to look for other health problems. Discoveries that improve communications among health care disciplines will help us save more lives. Finally, AI will help dentistry automate some simpler processes, performing those tasks faster and better, letting clinicians focus on their more demanding work. In 2017, the FDA approved a robotic technology that guides a surgeon while placing a dental implant. Some orthodontists today use robots to bend wires for braces, ensuring that the wires exert optimal pressure for a specific patient. We will surely see more robotic dentistry in the future with more intelligence built into those systems. Today, Columbia's Center for Precision Dental Medicine uses advanced digital systems to support instruction and research. Scientists and innovators will continue to leverage emerging technologies, making new discoveries, disrupting old models of practice, and launching a new era in oral healthcare. HT | | DECEMBER 20189UTLOOK Healthcare Tech HEALTHCARE TECHNOLOGY KNOWLEDGE NETWORK
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