Artificial intelligence could identify specific sites with and without gingival inflammation, with high sensitivity and high specificity, matching a dentist's visual examination, according to a study published in International Dental Journal
A groundbreaking study led by researchers at the Hong Kong Universityg (HKU) School of Dentistry, in collaboration with multiple international institutions, has successfully demonstrated the accuracy of artificial intelligence to detect gum inflammation, known as gingivitis, from intraoral photographs. This technology can revolutionize the early detection and prevention of oral and systemic diseases related to gum inflammation, such as tooth loss, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
The HKU dentistry team uses artificial intelligence for early detection of gum inflammation.
The study has been published in the International Dental Journal, the official journal of the World Dental Federation (FDI). Its results show that AI algorithms can analyze intraoral photographs of patients to detect signs of inflammation such as redness, swelling and bleeding along the gum margin with more than 90% accuracy, matching a dentist's visual examination. The system can be used to monitor the effectiveness of patients' plaque control. “This innovative technology enables population-wide gum health monitoring and paves the way for more personalized dental care,” emphasize from HKU.
The study was conducted by researchers from the HKU School of Dentistry, the Department of Computer Science at Hong Kong Chu Hai College, the School of Information Engineering at Guangdong University of Technology, and the School of Dentistry at the National University of Malaysia. Specifically, an AI model was developed and tested using a dataset of more than 567 images of gums with varying degrees of inflammation and is one of the first to explore the use of AI to detect gum inflammation.
This technology may revolutionize the early detection and prevention of oral and systemic diseases related to gum inflammation.
Dr. Walter Yu-Hang Lam, the HKU principal investigator of the study, underscores the importance of the findings for early detection and treatment of gum disease. “Many patients do not attend regular dental checkups and only go to dentists for pain relief when their teeth are in the final stage of dental diseases, where tooth loss is inevitable and only expensive rehabilitation treatments are available. Our study shows that AI can be a valuable screening tool to detect and diagnose gum disease, enabling earlier intervention and better health outcomes for the population.”
For his part, Dr. Reinhard Chun-Wang Chau, co-investigator of the HKU team, points out the benefits of using intraoral photographs together with AI technology. “According to these intraoral photographs, patients can treat the area they did not clean well and seek help from the dentist at an earlier stage,” he explains. For the next stage of the project, Dr. Lam plans to use the AI system for community services, making the technology more accessible to the elderly and underserved, with the goal of improving oral health outcomes and reducing disparities.
Source: iSanidad.
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