Finding decay before it turns into cavities: SoCal dentists embrace AI to help improve smiles

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (KABC) -- Artificial intelligence running the world may make you cringe, but the technology can also help you smile.

Now, more and more dentists are turning to AI to improve accuracy and results.

"With what I do for work, my smile is so important," said dental patient Tayla Fernandez.

A healthy grin helps keep Fernandez, a professional model, employed.

At Bedford Dental Group in Beverly Hills, her x-rays looked pretty clean, but when Dr. Daniel Naysan ran it through an artificial intelligence program called "Second Opinion," it revealed tiny areas of decay.

"It pops right up on the screen in front of you and you are able to see a scan of your entire mouth," said Fernandez.

Naysan admits even highly-trained professionals can miss things.

"If a cavity is less than a millimeter, it's at a point where we don't have to treat it, we can just watch it," he said. "A lot of times, as a dentist, there's human error."

Naysan said the "Second Opinion" detection system received FDA approval last year for widespread use in dental offices.

"Humans are able to see maybe 30 to 40 shades of gray whereas computers could see, you know, about a thousand different shades of gray," said Pearl CEO Ophir Tanz. "In addition to surfacing about 37% more disease on average, we tend to increase case acceptance by over 30% on average as well."

Naysan said patient acceptance for treatment is way higher now with the system than it has ever been before.

In a statement, the American Dental Association said, "AI predictive models could assist in the monitoring, progression, or treatments of gum disease; the need for preventative restorations; and identifying fractured dental implants."

Physicist Stephen Hawking had warned AI could someday replace people, but Tanz believes AI working side-by-side with humans is the best of both worlds.

"That is statistically how you get the optimal results," he said.

Fernandez will be back in six months to keep an eye on her potential cavities.

"Being able to detect things before they can become a problem. I think it is the future," she said.