(By Dr. Joseph D. Lim and Dr. Kenneth Lester Lim, BS-MMG, DDM, MSc-OI)
AMERICA finds it difficult to recruit, train and retaining valuable members of the dental team.
“Nationwide dental team staffing shortages continue to limit practices that want to see more patients, according to data from the American Dental Association (ADA) Health Policy Institute, which has been tracking poll results on the impact of COVID-19 on the U.S. dental economy.
The ADA says that one in three dentists who run their own clinics indicated they need more staff to see the same number of patients compared to before the pandemic. About the same percentage surveyed have recently or are currently recruiting a dental hygienist. Forty percent have recently recruited a dental assistant.
Among those, roughly nine out of 10 hiring dentists indicate that it has been “extremely” or “very” challenging to recruit dental hygienists and dental assistants compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some possible solutions to the staffing shortage could be by utilizing advances in technology to mitigate the challenges the crisis has presented. These technologies include online scheduling and automated payment.
“I have learned that being on the cutting edge as far as the latest advances in technology allows me to take better care of my patients,” said Dr. Manny Chopra, a dentist and a member of the ADA Council on Dental Practice.
“Even with the effects of the nationwide dental staff shortage, I firmly believe that those practitioners who are [facing that challenge] can utilize some of these newer innovations in technology to help them weather the storm.”
Dr. James Hoddick, Chair of the ADA Council on Dental Practice, agreed with Dr. Chopra that technology can help ease the staffing crisis.
“After more than 35 years of practice, I have found that being on top of the latest advances in technology has helped me greatly in the treatment of my patients,” Dr. Hoddick said.
“For other dentists, using some innovations in technology can help to alleviate the staffing shortages that are plaguing the industry and ensure that patient care is never compromised.”
One tech solution is augmented intelligence, the theory and development of computer systems that can perform tasks that would otherwise require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making and translation between languages. The term may also be applied to any software that acts intelligently.
Dentists can use augmented intelligence in their practices in many different ways, including evaluating digital information such as radiographs, photographs and patients’ electronic health records to help make diagnoses and propose treatments; monitoring phone calls to improve patient communications; and making the claim adjudication process more efficient.
The strength of augmented/artificial intelligence (AI) is identifying patterns, said Dr. Christopher J. Smiley, D.D.S., a practicing dentist and editor of The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association.
“It can assess current and past images to determine the advancement of pathologies, such as bone loss or decay,” Dr. Smiley said.
“It can also access the patient record and health histories to assess patient risk for oral disease based on past caries rate and medical conditions such as diabetes or dry mouth from medications. This is also helpful when auditing charts the night before a patient visit to identify issues of concern.”
He said new radiographs may be captured and assessed by AI, contrasted with past images, and integrated with current and past periodontal charting to identify progressing areas of concern and suggest options for care based on identified disease patterns, such as radiographic bone loss.
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Dr. Joseph D. Lim, Ed. D., is the former Associate Dean of the College of Dentistry, University of the East; former Dean, College of Dentistry, National University; Past President and Honorary Fellow of the Asian Oral Implant Academy; Honorary Fellow of the Japan College of Oral Implantologists; Honorary Life Member of the Thai Association of Dental Implantology; and Founding Chairman of the Philippine College of Oral Implantologists. For questions on dental health, e-mail jdlim2008@gmail.com or text 0917-8591515.
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Dr. Kenneth Lester Lim, BS-MMG, DDM, MSc-OI, graduated Doctor of Dental Medicine, University of the Philippines, College of Dentistry, Manila, 2011; Bachelor of Science in Marketing Management, De la Salle University, Manila, 2002; and Master of Science (MSc.) in Oral Implantology, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany, 2019. He is an Associate Professor; Fellow, International Congress of Oral Implantologists; Member, American Academy of Implant Dentistry and Fellow, Philippine College of Oral Implantologists. For questions on dental health, e-mail limdentalcenter@gmail.com./PN
