Introduction
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has permeated every area of life, and medicine has not stood aside. AI is being implemented through surgery technology, patient requests, imaging, and different ways of diagnosing (Ossowska et al. 1). Due to the AI, medicine is moving forward in many ways, and dental hygiene practices are no exception. AI will be a career aide because it will make diagnosing and managing patients easier.
Types of AI
Dental hygiene consists of treating the oral cavity and ridding the patient of current and potential diseases. Oral diagnostic and clinical determination modalities offer one type of AI – interpreting medical images (Nguyen et al. 3). The practice uses X-rays, so that that image interpretation will be helpful in dentistry. In addition, AI allows one to collect and analyze data, so another type is – electronic data storage, with which one can quickly contain material. Smart devices can take dental impressions and visualize problem areas with dental intelligent cards.
Impact of AI on Everyday Responsibilities
Using AI can ease the burden of calculating and verifying patient diagnosis data. Intelligent machines can more quickly calculate estimated doses of prophylactic drugs for treatment, selecting them based on available data. In addition, AI will eliminate the need to work with this data and allow more attention to the patient’s conversation and recommendations (Nguyen et al. 4). With a telemedicine system or online guided applications, the dynamics can be monitored without the need for frequent visits. It will ease the workload during the day and allow attention to be given to complex patients.
Long Term Career Perspective
AI is a tool that can only work with human assistance, and AI training is also the responsibility of professionals. In the long term, AI will develop the potential of a particular work unit and improve outcomes. Career opportunities will increase as AI evolves, as dentists already know what neural circuitry is used in practice. AI will maintain an advantage in the diagnostic component regarding dental hygiene by building more complex connections and finding touch points. The dental hygienist will effectively manage technology and career development. In the long run, they will have a wealth of AI experience, making them valuable employees for the employer.
Benefits and Challenges
The effectiveness of AI is relatively high, as evidenced by the breadth of its use. However, we should elaborate on its benefits, specifically in dental hygiene. First, it saves time – an essential indicator in treating gum inflammation and preventing cavities (Ossowska et al. 2). Diagnosis will take less time, and the patient will receive treatment as soon as possible. Second, the accuracy of diagnostic lesion analysis should be noted. It is critical for resurfacing fillings, remineralization, and the detection of periodontal disease. Third, artificial neural networks allow detection of bite abnormalities that lead to infection in inflamed areas (Ossowska et al. 6). Knowledge of these abnormalities will expedite referral to a surgeon and correction of the bite.
Despite the benefits outlined, there are also barriers and problems. Note the impossibility of controlling AI decisions: this means that responsibility for errors cannot be shifted to the machine (Müller et al. 6). Also, dentists fear that they will not be able to make ethically correct decisions. The risks of false positives are also worth noting, leading to severe consequences (Müller et al. 7). Nevertheless, these barriers can be controlled with AI observation and training.
Conclusion
Using AI comes to the forefront of dental practice and expands the possibilities for hygienists. They consist of facilitated diagnosis, reduced workload, and management of each patient remotely. In addition, the high accuracy of AI analysis allows for increased diagnostic efficiency. Existing limitations can have a significant impact on dental practice. Nevertheless, with experience building and AI management, it is possible to reach high career heights in the long run.
Works Cited
Müller, Anne et al. “Barriers and Enablers for Artificial Intelligence in Dental Diagnostics: A Qualitative Study.” Journal Of Clinical Medicine, vol. 10, no. 6, 2021. doi:10.3390/jcm10081612
Nguyen, T. Thomas et al. “Use of Artificial Intelligence in Dentistry: Current Clinical Trends and Research Advances.”Journal of Canadian Dental Association, vol. 87, no. 17, 2021.
Ossowska, Agata et al. “Artificial Intelligence in Dentistry-Narrative Review.” International Journal Of Environmental Research And Public Health, vol. 19, no. 6, 2022. doi:10.3390/ijerph19063449