The 2024 Florida Dental Convention highlighted AI and digital dental innovations aimed at improving efficiency and periodontal disease.
The 2024 Florida Dental Convention in Orlando, Florida, presented new techniques involving digital dentistry and AI-integrated software from industry leaders. Dentists, students, and professionals from around the world explored how these innovations could enhance efficiency and improve patient experiences.
The American Dental Association Health Policy Institute’s 2023 report noted that over 30% of dental practices are seeking additional staff due to widespread shortages. Nearly half of adults over 30 suffer from periodontal disease, often linked to diabetes and heart disease. Studies show that 3-5% of adolescents and 10% of adults have active HPV infections.
To tackle these issues, the dental industry is turning to UV products combined with AI, which could ease workload pressures and create new job opportunities. We’ve selected some highly-rated digitized dental products gaining positive feedback from industry leaders.
Velsheath’s VELscope Vx and the Role of AI
The VELScope Vx detects these abnormalities through the use of blue-spectrum light. When this light illuminates the oral tissues, it causes natural fluorescence. While healthy tissues emit a pale green fluorescence, abnormal tissues appear darker and more frequently in fluorescence patterns. Jo-Anne explains these abnormalities using a demonstration of a patient with oral cancer and AI’s role in early detection:
“When you see [an abnormality shown in the picture of a blackened area indicating a significant loss of fluorescence on the roof of mouth], you’re going to be concerned about it. Adjunctive screen devices are to see what we can’t see with our naked eye,” Jo-Anne Jones, a veteran dental hygienist turned educator, stated during a conference at the event.
Jones has significantly advanced dentistry, focusing on oral cancer detection and prevention. She educates dental professionals on using technologies like the VELScope Vx for early HPV or oral cancer detection.
“Regarding perceptible things, you would start to see it repeatedly in a patient. It is accepted clinically as being something that is within a normal limit. If it was something ominous and malignancy, an area that was not absorbing and was not reflecting back, you can’t move that. You can’t move cancer, pre-cancerous [lesions], dysplasia— you can’t move an oral lesion [blackened area] like that.”
The AI algorithms analyze these fluorescence images instantly, providing immediate feedback and enhancing the accuracy of detecting oral diseases. Upgraded dental products, like the VELscope Vx, process artificial intelligence into the dental field to advance computer-enhanced assessments alongside laser technology. This combination can potentially support clinicians in making efficient decisions regarding patient care.
Practical Usage of ORALID in the Dental Industry
Similar to the VELScope Vx, Oral ID uses fluorescence visualization technology. It emits the same specific wavelengths of blue light. Both are used for oral mucosal examination and can aid in the detection of oral cancer, but each one may be preferred based on the severity of the patient’s oral condition.
Oral ID is lighter, quick, and practical to use, especially for dentists. Oral ID has a straightforward interface with fewer controls and settings. This makes it easier for dental professionals to learn and operate effectively without extensive training depending on their position.
“What I liked about [Oral ID] is that it’s very easy to move around. It’s very compact; you don’t have to wear protective glasses. Basically, with this one it’s proprietary wavelength; they don’t reveal what the wavelength is, so it’s recommended to wear it with the Oral ID glasses,” Jones explained.
Oral ID does not require prolonged exposure to the mouth, so the examination process works at a surface level and does not require prolonged exposure or additional preparation for the patient before their appointment.
Oral Mucosal Examination with Identafi
Identafi is the most advanced dental device used in dental practices for oral mucosal examination and cancer screening. Its features are similar to the Oral ID and the VELScope Vx in regards to utilizing fluorescence light to detect abnormalities. However, the perspectives and colors of the fluorescence lighting are different.
Find Identafi by DentalEZ on MedicalExpo.
Identafi uses both white light and violet light fluorescence imaging. This means that experts get to see two perspectives of the oral tissue:
● White-light imaging: Provides a standard, front view of the oral tissues; visible to the naked eye.
● Violet-light imaging: Has a sharper detection for differentiations of the oral tissues, potentially speeding up the findings of oral mucosal abnormalities. The visual sharpness of the violet fluorescence light is due to its higher contrast, compared to other colors.
IDENTAFI can detect subtle lesions, such as early-stage abnormalities, that may not seem apparent even when using a single blue light fluorescence.
“Our role and responsibility is if it’s a suspicious, persistent lesion; if it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. Educate our patients on risk factors. Employee opportunistic screening and inform them of the HPV vaccine.” Jones said.
