It seems we’re living in the age of AI. It’s everywhere! We no longer have to rely on experts and their memories, we can simply ask AI for a solution. That’s great, as long as the solution is the correct one.
I’ve had a toothache for over a week. It wasn’t constant but it was bad enough for me to book an appointment with my dentist. He began by asking me if I was OK with him using AI to assist him in his diagnosis of the problem that was causing me pain. I agreed and off he went. From then on, he made references to what he was doing as well as my reactions.
After a few X-rays and lots of tapping he moved on to a device that sends a low-level electric current through the tooth. That was something new to me. It didn’t seem to work as the only tooth that had a reaction to it was not the one that was hurting. When all the testing was finished, he brought up an image of my molar, the one from the X-ray. There were two yellow marks on it, one was a line and the other was a dot on one of the molar’s roots. These must have been from the AI but my dentist didn’t think there was any problem in those two areas.
So, what’s the end result of all this? My tooth is still a bit sore but better than it was yesterday. That’s because I am not chewing on the side of my mouth. In the night, I had to take an Advil but not because the tooth was aching. All the damn ‘fixings’ that were done yesterday, including getting the X-ray holder in my mouth, must have scraped my gums, the inside of my cheek and somehow upset my top teeth on that side. Crazy, right?
When the dentist ignored the advice of the AI, it made me question what it all meant. Was the AI wrong? Did the dentist’s years of experience add up to a better diagnosis than the AI could come up with? I would say yes. Right now, we can’t depend on AI. It may take years for even one element of the AI world, that of dentistry, to learn enough to allow it to make careful and considered evaluations of a situation.
I’ll let you know what happens next in this saga. I might have to have a root canal, an extraction or an implant. I sure am glad that the Canadian government now provides free dental insurance!
Comment below if you have some advice or a story of your own.
Cheers!
Brian Mahoney
January 14th, 2025