Dental Care Alliance, a DSO with more than 390 affiliated practices across 22 states, implemented Overjet’s artificial intelligence for radiographs and clinical insights into more than 120 offices last year. The FDA-cleared AI technology analyzes and annotates X-rays in real time to help quantify bone levels and detect decay and calculus. Their Chief Clinical Officer, Chief Revenue Officer, and a Hygiene Coach share what they’ve learned since adding the AI solution to DCA’s diagnostic workflow.
Q: What’s surprised you the most since you added Overjet AI?
James Nick, DCA’s Chief Revenue Officer: “The biggest surprise was the acceptance of the tool from our most experienced and most tenured doctors. Some called me out of the blue to say, ‘This is great!’”
Don Gallo, DMD, Chief Clinical Officer: “It’s a different way to present the findings. I didn’t anticipate as big a lift in case acceptance as there has been. I thought it would be more of a quality assurance tool. We’ve been surprised by the results in both hygiene and dentistry.”
Q: How does AI help with patient education and treatment acceptance?
Dr. Gallo: “It’s a great tool to help educate patients and have them better understand the need for treatment. They may not know how to read radiographs, but they can see where decay is outlined and whether it’s gone through the enamel into the dentin. They may not know how to measure bone levels, but they can see the numbers on the screen and they know 3 is greater than 2. It helps to have the objective findings of the AI to support the doctors’ diagnosis.”
James Nick: “We often talk about transparency in pricing in healthcare, but now we’re also talking about transparency in information and understanding.”
Dr. Gallo: “It helps clarify their oral health and gives them a better understanding of what the doctor is telling them. Overjet also analyzes and annotates radiographs from prior visits, so the clinicians can bring up an old set of bitewings and the new ones and compare to see if there is disease progression. The patients walk away feeling like they were part of the treatment planning process, and they have a greater commitment to the treatment plan than they had in the past.”
Q: How has dental AI helped with clinical consistency and alignment?
Dr. Gallo: “Overseeing the number of doctors we have, it’s hard to manually audit for quality assurance. This provides us a way to perform a high-level audit and spot outliers. The AI doesn’t diagnose. But it allows for standardization in the identification of potential decay or bone loss, and then you can take a closer look at the chart notes for the doctor’s reasoning on whether to watch or treat.”
Katie Wilson, RDH: “Having alignment between the doctor and the hygienist is so important. Before we started using AI, there was a lot of guesstimation and subjectivity (with bone level measurements). What one person may see, another may not. The AI helps hygienists feel validated because they have evidence to show the patients and doctors.”
Dr. Gallo: “For the doctors, especially younger doctors, it reaffirms what they’re seeing and diagnosing. It helps them have greater confidence in interpreting the radiographs.”
Q: What would you recommend to other DSOs looking to implement AI?
James Nick: “We did a measured rollout and could show the benefits that our own affiliated doctors have seen from it. It wasn’t a sales presentation, but a success we had seen in our own practices.”
Katie Wilson, RDH: “Practice with a colleague. Role playing is awkward and everyone hates it, but it’s so valuable. A picture’s worth a thousand words, and the AI will save you time in presenting treatment and having the patient understand it.”
Dr. Gallo: “Overjet helps our team communicate better with patients. We’ve been very pleasantly surprised. It gives our doctors the ability to take what has been traditionally a grayscale image and put color to it. Now the doctor’s not just telling the patient what he or she sees; the patient is able to see it, too. It allows us to engage our patients in a discussion and collaborate on their treatment.”
To learn more about how Overjet helps DSOs elevate diagnostic accuracy and case presentation, visit Overjet.com.