You’ve undoubtedly heard about how artificial intelligence is beginning to impact virtually every industry. And, more recently, how tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT have the potential to revolutionize content creation, especially for creative professionals and in academia. There’s been a growing national conversation about what role artificial intelligence should play in our lives and businesses, with the risks and rewards being hotly debated.

Dentistry is no exception. Many dental companies claim to heavily use AI technologies in their businesses to improve their products, services and experiences. And, while this is true for some, for most the implementation has been surface level and the benefits to the practitioner seem mild.

At Glidewell, artificial intelligence is more than a buzzword. For nearly two decades, we’ve been digitizing laboratory cases and collecting restorative information to build unmatched data sets. We then pair machine learning and AI decision-making tools with those data models to make incredible advancements possible.

One of the most notable uses is for restoration design, where we use AI to autogenerate a prosthesis proposal specific to the impression. These digital designs are informed by millions of approved cases, meaning that the Glidewell customers of today benefit directly from the successes of countless other clinicians. In essence, without human hands ever being involved, our laboratory can generate a completely custom, well-fitting restoration.

We also use AI to verify cases after manufacturing. For example, before a BruxZir^® crown leaves the lab, a series of photos are captured via robotcontrolled cameras, and those images are evaluated by AI to verify that the manufacturing systems accurately fabricated the design. This additional AI-powered quality assurance phase further reduces the risk of a case not meeting your needs.

The applications for AI in dentistry are virtually endless. At Glidewell, our promise to you is that we’ll apply these technologies judiciously, with the dentist and patient at the forefront. For us here in the lab, AI isn’t something to fear — but rather a powerful new tool that will help us to be more precise, predictable and impactful as we continue to serve dentists.