AI Is Automating Tomorrow’s Dental Practices
Trust us – we know you and your dental staff are super busy.
Every day, you’re focused on caring for your patients.
This may include:
- Discussing their needs
- Answering questions
- Providing top-notch dental treatments
And we know fostering a relationship with your patients is crucial for creating a positive environment and boosting your practice’s success.
Your front desk coordinators and receptionists are often the first points of contact when patients step in.
But, wait:
Who’s there when your patient is online, browsing your site, and trying to get a feel for who you are?
What if they have questions for you at a time when you’re out of the office?
Wearing too many hats at once gets overwhelming and exhausting for everyone involved.
Plus:
You may not be able to give your 100% to everything, either.
But don’t worry:
This is where artificial intelligence (AI) comes in.
With our world going digital, it’s crucial that you have virtual solutions in your toolbelt.
In this blog, you’ll learn about:
- AI in dentistry
- What chatbots are
- Different types of chatbots
- How they’ll help your practice
What is artificial intelligence in dentistry?
According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, artificial intelligence in dentistry encompasses a broad spectrum of advanced technologies.
The beauty of AI’s evolution relays information about your dental practice to the patient, assisting them in making decisions with support tools.
Dental AI provides patients with answers to some of their most common questions and directs them to the information they may be looking for.
The American Dental Association believes that using AI may help patients trust your diagnoses and treatment plans.
The most common types of AI used in the dental health field include:
- Chatbots
- Appointment confirmation software
- Review management software
What is a chatbot?
Dental chatbots can perform a number of important services.
Don’t let the “bot” in the name fool you.
They’re a type of AI software that may be programmed to simulate a natural conversation with your patient.
Think of a chatbot as your virtual AI assistant.
When you go to open your website, the chatbot will often pop up on the side of the screen, ready to help.
Many platforms have pre-made templates you can use as a guide for what you could say.
And the best part?
There are several different chatbots available!
With advancements in artificial intelligence, the market for healthcare chatbots is expected to continue growing in the next four years, making the market worth a whopping $703.2 million.… This text opens a new tab to the Global News Wire website…
Some of the most popular chatbots include:
- ChatCompose
- Smartbot360
- The Emergency Dental Virtual Assistant
Chatcompose
In the last two years alone, searches for “chatcompose” have increased by 9500%.
How is such a large percentage possible?
Chatcompose… This text opens a new tab to the Chatcompose website… allows you to build your own sales and conversation scripts.
The chatbots will ask your patients questions about their symptoms and then send the data to your practice.
Then, they’ll help your patients easily schedule appointments with you!
Smartbot360
Similarly, Smartbot360… This text opens a new tab to the Smartbot360 website… is a HIPAA-compliant chatbot software used by healthcare providers and businesses all across the United States and Canada.
Their chatbots can be set up in minutes, thanks to:
- Ready-to-use templates
- Experts who can help you create a custom chatbot
The Emergency Dental Virtual Assistant
The Emergency Dental Virtual Assistant… This text opens a new tab to the Voicebot.AI website… has been very successful in helping patients receive emergency care throughout the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis.
It’s a virtual triage tool that offers patients access to screening 24/7 and asks them questions to provide recommendations for the next steps in a dental emergency.
It’ll allow you to follow up with your patients on the phone or via the HIPAA-complaint texting application.
In addition:
The information exchanged in the chatbot and texting applications can simply be transferred into your patients’ records.
What is appointment confirmation software?
This type of software is on the rise in dental practices all over.
It’s expected to grow 13.1%… This text opens a new tab to the Guru Factors website… in the next five years.
Appointment confirmation software is a form of automated practice management that’s geared toward managing appointments and scheduling.
It can give your patients peace of mind by relaying updates about your office (e.g. if you’re out sick).
And it can even send a personalized note to new patients, such as “Thank you” or “Welcome”!
Additionally, it may be used to:
- Ping your patients with reminders about their upcoming visits
- Provide immediate confirmation about their appointments
- Aid your patient in rescheduling or canceling an appointment
- Send out a no-show notice
What is review management software?
Review management software encourages patients to leave feedback about their experience at your dental practice.
Recent studies show that 70%… This text opens a new tab to the Search Engineland website… of consumers will leave a review if asked.
Reviews are essential because they’ll help potential patients searching for a dentist gain trust in your practice.
And:
Encouraging your patients to provide feedback can allow your practice to know how to keep up the good work or improve.
What are the benefits of artificial intelligence in dentistry?
AI makes everyone’s lives easier!
Artificial intelligence:
- Offers support around the clock (even when no one is in the office!)
- Sends patients reminders about their appointments or notify them about the state of the visit
- Explains treatment costs and share details about financing options
- Provides real-time information instantly
- Informs patients of your availability
- Allows patients to cancel or reschedule appointments easily
- Requests honest, anonymous feedback from your patients about their treatment to help improve your practice
- Reduces the impact of a crisis
In addition to making your patients’ lives easier and simultaneously increasing the quality of care, advanced technology in dentistry benefits dentists like you.
For example, you’ll enjoy:
- Improved accuracy
- Restorative dental aid
- Orthodontic tracking
Improved accuracy
Data analysis and visualization methods using AI are more accurate than ever.
With a rise in telemedicine, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic, accuracy is crucial in diagnosing and treating a patient.
During a virtual consultation, your dental AI tools can offer ideal recommendations for care.
In addition:
These algorithms will be able to inspect 3-D models and imaging scans that may catch something you might have missed with your naked eye.
You’ll save time and any uncertainty you may have about a diagnosis with artificial intelligence.
Restorative dental aid
Did you know you’re already witnessing the impact of AI in dentistry through restorative dental services?
Think about it.
Just to name a few, we have:
- CEREC same-day crowns
- Shade matching dentures
- Automated quality control
Modern technology allows for modern methods in dentistry.
Modern dentistry leads to faster treatment times, more effectiveness, and more convenience for everyone involved.
For example:
Take same-day crowns.
You and your patient can say goodbye to the days of waiting up to two weeks for a dental lab to finish making your restoration!
Orthodontic tracking
Intra-oral cameras provide accurate imaging of your patient’s teeth.
With Invisalign’s SmartTrack technology, you’re able to map out treatment plans and preview new smiles with ease.
Aligners are custom-made for your patient’s teeth, eliminating gum irritation.
Yes, AI is just technology.
But with purpose and functionality, it connects you to your patients in an accessible and user-friendly platform.
Need help taking some tasks off your plate?
We know this may be a lot of new information to take in at once.
But:
If you’re not changing and evolving with what is to become our future, you may get left behind in the past.
And that’s where we come in!
At Roadside Dental Marketing, we’ll handle keeping you updated with the latest news in the dental world.
You worry about your patients and we’ll take care of the online stuff.
This includes your online presence, dental marketing on social media, and maintaining your website for the best user experience for your patients.
In fact:
You can schedule a free website audit with our very own Director of Client Services, Angela, today!
We look forward to hearing from your dent-AI practice.
(Get it? Dental = DentAI? Okay – we couldn’t resist!)
