VideaHealth’s Comprehensive Study Highlights Many Benefits of Dental AI

A growth in new patient numbers and enhanced diagnostics for existing and new patients are among the many findings shared in a recently released white paper on dental artificial intelligence (AI) published by VideaHealth.

The report includes a comprehensive analysis of over 470,000 patients with VideaAI, the company’s dental AI solution. The “Dental AI: Hype or Reality—The True Impact on Dentistry” white paper features research studied on 100 dental practices across 41 dental service organizations (DSOs) over a 9-month span. According to the VideaHealth report, the results show that by supporting dental clinicians to identify disease earlier and provide a second opinion to the patient, the average office saw a “remarkable 13% increase in annual net production for restorative and periodontal treatments.” This translates into an additional $78,268 in annual growth per practice followingVideaAIintegration, according to the company.

VideaAI, which includes FDA-cleared medical algorithms that improve the detection of common dental diseases, is signaling a new era of enhanced clinical consistency, elevated patient experiences, and a data-centric approach to dental care. One goal of the new white paper is to analyze the true impact of AI in dentistry, which can help dental leaders contemplating the role AI can play in their practice or group practices.

DentalAI has the promise to support time-strapped dentists and hygienists in their diagnoses and treatment planning, helping them to identify decay and periodontal disease earlier while offering a second opinion to the patient chairside. Most DSOs are interested in the technology as it promises to introduce clinical consistency across their locations and dentists, while also bringing efficiencies to group practices which manage several dental practices and up to thousands of clinicians.

“AI calibrates the care received in an office. It removes any personal bias of the provider and in turn provides transparent objective findings to the patient,” says Michael Scialabba, DDS, chief clinical officer of 42 North Dental.

Designed to deliver the first large benchmark study of AI in dentistry, this research investigates the clinical and financial value of AI across 100 locations picked from over 40 DSOs across the United States.

To control for seasonality and other changing factors in dental practices such as change of personnel, the largest data set to date was used to determine the value of AI, based on a 9-month timespan across 100 locations and over 471,000 patients, states VideaHealth. Additionally, the study controlled for seasonality as well as change of fee schedules with year-over-year comparisons. The locations analyzed were semi-randomly selected from 41DSOs across the U.S. to control for a geographically diverse and representative sample of dentistry and not have regional and patient-population biases.

“AI helps early detection of decay and allows us to intervene earlier in the caries progression process, giving us the opportunity to improve one’s oral health earlier and with less expensive minimally invasive care,” DrScialabba adds.

Study Methodology

The study’s complete data set was split into treatment plans,e.g., treatments planned, scheduled and completed, with and without AI. The analysis was done 3 months after the last patient was analyzed given that treatments completed is a lagging indicator, says VideaHealth. The treatment plans were analyzed for specific ADA CDT codes which should be driven by VideaAI’s modules: Restorative Treatments (D2***) codes and Periodontal Treatments (D4***) codes.

VideaHealth used the analysis to calculate several key indicators of clinical and financial performance across the patient population with and without AI. The key indicators were the “net production per patient” and “change of net new patient acquisitions” (e.g., a change of share of patients who receive a specific treatment).

To control if a potential change in these indicators across these 2 major treatment categories is a true increase in treatment acceptance or a shift of treatments, the study also analyzed the year-over-year total revenue as a control.

The restorative procedures category experienced changes post-VideaAI’s integration. Three months post-go-live, there was a $60,998 growth in annual net restorative production—a 12% uptick in restorative output, according to VideHealth.

Here are some of the other key findings:

• Patient Engagement: An increase in the restorative patient population from 21.3% to 21.6% was observed, which translates to an additional 14 net new restorative patients per practice annually.
• Production per patient: A significant boost in production per restorative patient was shown, jumping from $546 to $605, an 11% enhancement.
• Diagnosis Precision: The diagnostic rate saw a 22% increase in treatments planned and a 13% rise in completed treatments. This showcases the platform’sefficacyinoptimizingclinicalworkflow.
• Specific Treatments: Crowns experienced a 25% increase in treatments planned and 13% in treatments completed, while fillings saw a 21% growth in treatments planned and 14% in treatments completed.
  

AI’s Impact on Periodontal Treatments

The white paper also indicates that periodontal procedures displayed marked advancements following VideaAI’s implementation. Three months post-go-live, an annual net increase of $17,270 in periodontal production was registered, equating to a 19% increase in production.

Other key findings on the periodontal side include:

• Patient Engagement: The percentage of periodontal patients rose from 10.0% to 10.4%, which yielded 18 net new periodontal patients annually, underscoring VideaAI’s influence in expanding patient scope.
• Production Per Patient: The production rate per periodontal patient underwent a growth, ascending from $210 to $241, marking a 15% improvement.
• Diagnostic Precision: The results indicate a 22% uptick in treatments planned and completed post go-live, highlighting VideaAI’s pivotal role in enhancing the diagnostic process and follow-through in treatment, the company states.

Patient Care Matters Most

According to the white paper, growth in new patient inflow was a clear testament to the dental AI’s efficacy. But just as important was the enhanced diagnostic precision for both new and existing patients. While this precision grew the financial bottom line, its more profound impact was in the quality of care, ensuring patients received timely and appropriate care, states VideaHealth in the study.

In Summary

Dentists are both healthcare providers and businesses and need to balancepatientoutcomeswitheconomic viability. Because of this, it is critical to be efficient both in providing optimal care and with workflows. This study indicates with the integration of VideaAI, practices witnessed holistic growth, impacting not just practice production but also the very essence of delivering care.

For dental practices, VideaAI is more than just a tool. The technology represents a transformative shift, bridging the gap between modern technology and quality patient care. Going forward it’s clear that solutions like VideaAI will be at the forefront of this evolution, the company states.