New AI research will help dental care call patients at the right time
Are you having difficulty getting an appointment with the dental care due to a shortage of dentists? A new research project is now starting with the aim of using AI to call patients for examinations at the right time and prevent dental problems that require more extensive dental care.
Mid Sweden University's research center STC is leading the project "Digital Support for Dental Care" together with the University of Oulu in Finland, where the goal is to develop a simple and reliable tool for dental care assessments.
"We envision that a person will be able to take a picture in their mouth with their mobile phone camera and send it to the dental care for an initial assessment," says Jan Lundgren, professor of electronics with a focus on AI, who is leading the project.
Today, many patients seek dental care only when caries or other dental diseases have already developed. The shortage of dentists means that waiting times can be long, and early problems risk getting worse. By asking patients to regularly submit pictures of their oral health, dental care can identify and address problems at an earlier stage in the future, which can reduce the need for more dental visits.
To enable this, the researchers will develop and train AI models that can assess dental status and provide dental professionals with a reliable basis for decision whether a patient should be called in for a check-up or not.
"If this becomes an established method where patients regularly send in images, dental care can also follow changes over time and act at an early stage," says Jan Lundgren.
Region Västernorrland and private dentists are participating in the project and contribute knowledge about needs and the requirements that must be met in order for the decision-making basis to be reliable. In the same way, the University of Oulu cooperates with Finnish dental care providers. In addition, the company Portal+, which is involved in evaluating possible IT platforms, and the AI models that the researchers are developing, is participating.
"We see it as a matter of course that Folktandvården Västernorrland should be a good partner in collaborations both regionally and internationally, which in the long term can improve access to dental care in the region. This project can make it easier by allowing patients to come to dental care based on need and with the right time set aside for correct procedures," says Annri V Thimstrand, Director of Dental Care.
The joint project is funded by the EU through Interreg-Aurora. Both universities operate in sparsely populated areas, where it can be difficult to recruit dental staff and where long distances also make it important to avoid unnecessary appointments.
The project extends until February 2028, and then the goal is for there to be a prototype that companies can take over to refine and finalize - and then make available to public dental care and private clinics.
"It is crucial that we have a close dialogue with all parties so that we can fine-tune the tools and ensure that dental care receives a decision-making basis that can be integrated into their existing systems," says Jan Lundgren.
Contact person:
Jan Lundgren, Professor of Electronics with a focus on AI, 010-142 85 56, jan.lundgren@miun.se
Read more about the project www.miun.se/dssoral
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