CATEGORY AUSTRALASIAN DENTIST103 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Where Artificial Intelligence changes the equation Here is what makes this moment remarkable: the raw material for better periodontal detection already exists. The radiographs are already being taken; the bone levels and other relevant periodontal markers are already visible within them. What has been missing is a way to analyse every image consistently and at scale, without adding a minute of chair time. Artificial intelligence can help by quantifying radiographic bone levels and other periodontal markers consistently and applying the same assessment criteria to every image. In private practice, the change is immediate. Every radiograph already being captured becomes an opportunity for periodontal screening, with no additional chair time and no discomfort. Radiographic signs of bone loss that might otherwise be overlooked can be consistently flagged for closer clinical assessment. Every clinician works from the same objective baseline, changes can be tracked over time rather than reconstructed from clinical notes, and decisions about treatment, referral and monitoring can be supported by a quantified record. The greater prize may lie in the public system. Periodontitis falls heaviest on those least able to access care: more than four in ten adults eligible for public dental care experience periodontitis, while Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are around twice as likely to have advanced disease. Public dental services, from Local Health District clinics in New South Wales to their counterparts across the country, face this concentrated burden of disease alongside long waiting lists and a national workforce of only around 300 periodontists nationally. Intelligent screening changes what is possible at that scale. Every image captured across a district can be screened consistently. Waiting lists can be triaged according to disease severity rather than simply the order of arrival. Scarce specialist resources can be directed towards patients with the greatest treatment need. And, for the first time, a population-level picture of periodontal health can emerge from data the system already collects. The question is no longer whether intelligent screening can improve periodontal detection. It is how quickly it can reach the patients who need it most. None of this replaces periodontal probing or clinical judgement. The clinician remains responsible for the diagnosis. What intelligent screening can do is reduce the risk that a patient’s disease goes unnoticed because of time constraints, while helping to ensure that the assessment they receive is consistent, regardless of who examines them, where, or when. The broader lesson Periodontal disease is one condition, but the pattern it reveals is more general. Wherever diagnosis depends on subjective, time-intensive manual assessment, consistency becomes increasingly difficult to maintain at scale, and slow, silent diseases are more likely to be detected late. The solution is not to ask clinicians for still more. It is to build systems that make early, consistent detection the default. u For your practice: AI-assisted radiographic screening gives every patient a consistent periodontal baseline, helps identify early bone loss that warrants closer clinical assessment, and creates an objective record that supports treatment planning, referral and patient communication. Eyes of AI™ is an Australian MedTech company developing software for dental imaging. Its technology supports 2D and 3D workflows, including pathology detection, cephalometric analysis and CBCT segmentation. The company collaborates with CSIRO and the University of Sydney and works with dental manufacturers to integrate its software into existing imaging systems. Its focus is on practical tools that help clinicians review dental images more consistently and efficiently. About the authors Khoa Le is an AI engineer and the founder and CEO of Eyes of AI™, a Sydney-based health-tech company specialising in AIpowered dental diagnostics. Eyes of AI™ is deployed across 150+ countries and is integrated into global dental imaging systems. Professor Axel Spahr is Head of the Discipline of Periodontics at the Sydney Dental School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, and Director of the DClinDent-Periodontics specialist training program. He is a specialist periodontist, researcher and educator, and works closely with Eyes of AI™ on the clinical development and validation of AIsupported periodontal diagnostics. FOR SALE For more details contact us today www.practicesales.com.au | 1800 375 227 Established Eastern Suburbs Practice, Excellent Personal Income Ideal First Practice Ownership Opportunity
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