Dentech Digest Issue #7: AI Just Took Over Your Front Desk and Your Marketing.

Your TL;DR of Dental Tech, AI, and Innovaton.

May 16, 2025

Hey Fam!

When RevenueWell, a leading patient communication platform, announced its partnership with Mila Health to launch a next-gen AI-powered assistant in May 2025, it sent a clear message: AI agents aren't coming to dentistry, they’re already here.

AI agents can answer messages, confirm appointments, and handle insurance questions. It’s not your old-school chatbot, this is smart automation powered by large language models that can improve your profitability, slash your overhead, and reduce staff burnout.

⚠️ But Beware: AI agents still needs training and oversight, or they could do more harm than good.

🍩 This week in dental tech:

What You Can Learn From a Toothpaste AD
Smarter Screening for Oral Cancer
AI Enters Dental Education
Industry Insights

🧠 What Dentists Can Learn from a Toothpaste Ad

Himalaya’s new campaign used AI and humor to talk about gum disease and people paid attention. Here’s why it worked (and how you can steal the strategy):

1. Start with What Patients Actually Care About
No one wakes up thinking about gum health. But they do care about bad breath, dating anxiety, or the cost of a crown.
👉 Frame your content around real-life consequences, not clinical terms.

2. Be Relatable, Not Technical
The ad was simple and funny but not filled with jargon.
👉 A short reel like “AI calls out your gum game” will go further than a textbook explainer.

3. Use AI as a Hook
Himalaya turned AI into a character, you can too.
👉 Try: “We asked AI what happens if you skip cleanings and it didn’t hold back.”

If an herbal toothpaste brand can make gum health go viral using AI jokes, so can you. Lean into humor, tech, and the real-life stakes to help you market better.

👅 Smarter Screening for Oral Cancer

The University of Hong Kong has launched the world's first AI-powered clinic dedicated to early detection of oral cancer, integrated with OralCancerPredict.

OralCancerPredict is an AI tool that hits 94% accuracy, outperforming traditional methods for assessing oral lesions. It also explains why it made each prediction, giving dentists more confidence in using AI for treatment planning and optimize patient outcomes.

🏫 AI Enters Dental Education: UCLA Integrates Pearl’s Calibrate

The UCLA School of Dentistry has received a grant from the ADEA to incorporate Pearl’s AI tool, Calibrate, into its curriculum. Calibrate is designed to standardize the interpretation of dental x-rays and reduce variability in diagnosis.

Image Source: Pearl

Why This Matters: A consistent framework for reading radiographs helps dental students make more accurate treatment plans, leading to better, more reliable patient care.

Industry Insights

🌎 Planet DDS has broadened its DentalOS™ platform by partnering with Mango Voice and Voicify, introducing advanced voice and AI capabilities. Collaborating with IT consultant, Thinc Forward, provides practices with expert support to optimize their technology infrastructure.

🦷 Pearl and vVARDIS have partnered to combine AI-powered cavity detection with a drill-free treatment, enabling dentists to identify and treat early-stage tooth decay in a single visit.

🚀 VideaHealth has launched VideaInsights, an AI-powered analytics tool that helps dental organizations identify up to $100,000 in additional treatment opportunities per practice each month.

💰 Practice Orbit has introduced a new platform designed to simplify the dental practice buying and selling process.

👁️ At the Australian Dental Congress, new eye-tracking tools are being spotlighted for their role in transforming how dentists train, treat patients, and even design their practices.

📱Teledentistry gets the green light in Georgia and will go into effect Jan 1, 2026.

💻 Marana Health taps athenahealth to transform patient & provider experience with streamlined systems for physicians and empowering patients to take a more active role in their own care.

🏢 U.S. Oral Surgery Management (USOSM) continues its strategic growth by welcoming two new premier oral and maxillofacial surgery practices to its network: Sierra Foothills Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery and Shenandoah Oral & Facial Surgery

📁 A new app developed by IU’s dental informatics team gives dentists real-time access to patients’ medical histories, helping improve safety, streamline care, and reduce reliance on patient memory.

📍Positive Impact Dental, an Oklahoma-based DSO, has expanded its leadership team by appointing healthcare industry veterans, Christopher Blann as COO and Ed Dallwein as CFO.

🦠 Millennium Dental Technologies has introduced the LANAP® AI Workflow, combining their PerioLase® MVP-7™ laser with the Zyris Isolite® Pro System to automate and enhance periodontal treatments.

"The new workflow is especially ideal for general dentists who may have limited staff or want to increase production and provide more efficient treatment to their patients."
-Robert H. Gregg II, DDS, Founder, President and Chairman at Millennium Dental Technologies

📈 Align Technology has received approval from China's National Medical Products Administration for its Invisalign Palatal Expander System. This marks a significant step in expanding Align's presence in China's growing orthodontic market.

🤝 Leixir Dental Laboratory and Heartland Dental have extended their strategic partnership through 2029, ensuring continued support for over 3,000 Heartland-affiliated dentists across the U.S.