Dentech Digest Issue #19: Fix the Comms Crisis, Nix Temp Crowns, and Sleep Better.
Your Weekly Roundup of Dental AI + Tech Moves.
Hello Fam!!
I recently sat through a demo with Savvy Agents and they’ve zeroed in on a problem that costs dental practices money every single day: missed calls.
Enter, Ira, Savvy Agents’ AI receptionist. It picks up every call and books appointments straight into the practice’s existing software. But it doesn’t stop there. Ira also tracks every conversation, including cancellations, reschedules, and common questions. This gives practices clearer insight into their patient communication than they’ve ever had before.
The team walked me through a case study that made the impact tangible: a dental group running two offices with a single receptionist. Two months after bringing Ira on board, the numbers told the story: 1,700+ calls answered, 184 appointments booked (12 new patients), and roughly $230,000 in production that would’ve otherwise been lost.
It’s rare to see a solution that doesn’t just patch a problem, but eliminates it entirely. Savvy Agents has built exactly that!
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News Bites
👑 Nearing the End of Temporary Crowns
Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas just solved dentistry’s most stubborn manufacturing problem that’s kept same-day zirconia crowns out of reach.
Printing zirconia wasn’t ever the issue, the problem was debinding — the step that burns off the resin holding zirconia particles together. It usually takes 20 to 100 hours and if you rush it, trapped gas cracks the crown. That’s why 3D-printed zirconia crowns never made it chariside, until now.
Backed by a $550,000 NSF commercialization grant and partnerships with Pan-AM Dental Lab and 3DCeram Sinto, The UT Dallas team discovered a way to finish debinding in under 30 minutes using porous graphite felt and vacuum-assisted heat transfer to let gas escape safely.
Imagine printing, sintering, and seating a permanent zirconia crown in one appointment. No temporaries, lab fees, or second visits. The impact is profound: patient saves time and dentists boost productivity.
☎️ Newton Raises $3.8M to Fix Communication Crisis
Dental practices miss about 35% of incoming calls. That’s not just inconvenient, it’s expensive. Seven missed calls a day adds up fast when you consider new patient inquiries, last-minute openings, and treatment follow-ups that never happen.
Y Combinator saw the problem and invested $3.8M in Newton to solve it. Their AI platform consolidates what used to require multiple vendors into one system. Their voice agent, Sophia, handles calls and texts 24/7, books directly into your PMS, manages real-time waitlists, and launches targeted reactivation campaigns automatically. As a result, practices can now fill cancellations faster, reduce no-shows, and capture opportunities that used to slip away, all without adding headcount.
The Y Combinator backing signs something bigger! Their bet on Newton suggests that AI-powered practice automation has moved from “interesting” to “inevitable.”
🛠️ Carestream Launches AI-Powered Implant Planning
Carestream Dental just unveiled the CS 3D Imaging Premium, an AI-powered software designed to make implant planning faster, simpler, and more precise.
The software merges CBCT scans with digital impressions and the new AI Auto Implant feature identifies and numbers teeth automatically. Dentists can select an implant from a library of over 100 manufacturers and the system calculates the crown position as well as the implant dimensions and placement. In just a few clicks, treatment options are ready to present, letting patients understand their care and start sooner.
Planning data can also be exported as STL files or sent directly to Smop or BlueSkyBio for surgical guide creation, keeping workflows smooth and connected. For collaboration, Share My Case lets dentists send CBCT data and implant plans to colleagues with a single click, eliminating manual file transfers.
📍Industry Insights
Intiveo just launched Intiveo Direct, a self-serve, PMS-independent patient engagement plan that lets practices start small, automate reminders and forms, and scale without sales pressure.
Planet DDS has partnered with the Dentist Entrepreneur Organization (DEO) to make its LaunchPad Program to more than 550 members across 1,800 practices, combining DEO’s coaching and leadership training with Planet DDS’s cloud-based software suite.
Smartee Denti-Technology has launched the world’s first clear sleep aligner, combining airway therapy and orthodontic correction to offer a comfortable, aesthetic alternative for CPAP-intolerant patients.
HOOTL, an AI-driven company specializing in insurance automation, raised $6.5M in Series A funding led by 5IR Funds to expand it’s real-time claim validation and policy tracking platform.
The University of Michigan’s new Digital Dentistry Center is training students on fully integrated digital denture workflows, signaling that AI-assisted prosthetics will soon be standard practice.
Vyne Dental joined the Plant DDS API program, allowing practices to streamline revenue cycle management, accelerate reimbursements, and securely exchange claims and attachments without leaving Denticon.
ClearChoice Dental Implant Center has launched First Look, an AI-powered smile simulator that lets patients preview their potential new smile before visiting the office.
IntelePeer’s new SmartAnalytics Starter Pack gives multi-location practices AI-driven insights to reduce no-shows, answer more calls, and recover receivables efficiently.
Relu® Cloud secured CE certification for its AI implant planning software in the EU, signaling that Relu’s dental implant planning module meets the European standards for safety and performance.
KELLS launched a membership-based dental platform that offers discounted care, allowing patients to pay providers directly, simplifying administration for practices while creating a new patient acquisition channel.
The Aspen Group is upgrading Aspen Dental offices nationwide with Planmeca digital imaging to boost diagnostic precision and patient care.
LuxCreo secured a strategic investment from Angelalign Technology to co-develop next-generation high-performance 3D printing materials for clear aligner therapy.
Events
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👋 Until next time,
Natasha