A Q&A With Spotimplant, a Dental Implantology AI

It's a familiar story. A patient comes into an oral and maxillofacial surgeon’s office needing a dental implant evaluated but has no memory of who placed it or its brand. This becomes especially problematic as patients lose additional teeth and the OMS must repurpose their existing implants.

To use them effectively, the surgeon must know the implant's specifics to have the appropriate components for integrating them into a full arch or implant bridge. This process can be time-consuming.

Enter platforms like Spotimplant, which uses artificial intelligence to identify details about an implant. Read ACOMS Review’s Q&A with Lionel Elbaz, dental surgeon and CEO or Allisone — Spotimplant’s parent company — to learn more.

ACOMS: How does Spotimplant’s AI identify unknown dental implants, and what is its accuracy?

Lionel Elbaz (LE): Spotimplant uses deep learning to analyze intraoral X-rays, automatically detecting implant positions and predicting their characteristics and dimensions. The AI assigns a probability score based on a comprehensive database, generating a report with the top 10 most similar implants. Spotimplant’s technology is patented and designed to enhance accuracy in implant identification.

ACOMS: How does Spotimplant improve patient outcomes?

LE: Patients often lose their implant passports, making identification difficult when replacement parts are needed. With over 4,000 implant models available, dentists struggle to recognize implants on X-rays, often leading to unnecessary full replacements. Spotimplant automates implant recognition, providing a report with the original brand, model, specifications, and compatible components, reducing errors and speeding up treatment.

ACOMS: Do you have any examples of how a dentist or OMS professional has incorporated Spotimplant into their workflow?

LE: Dr. Alexis Vilar from Paris faced a challenging situation where a patient had an implant placed abroad with no information about its type. Using Spotimplant, Dr. Vilar uploaded a periapical radiograph of the implant. The AI quickly analyzed the image and identified the implant type within 24 hours, allowing him to proceed with the appropriate treatment. This streamlined his workflow, saved time, and ensured the patient received accurate and timely care. Learn more by reading our full case study of Dr. Vilar.

ACOMS: What are the cost implications and potential return on investment for an OMS or other professional?

LE: According to our last study:

• 80% of dentists have encountered an unknown implant at least once, spending an average of 30 minutes to an hour per case researching and sourcing the right components.
• 50% of dentists have mistakenly ordered the wrong component at least once.
• With 20% of implant manufacturers shutting down, finding compatible parts is becoming increasingly difficult.

Given these challenges, the ROI is obvious: Spotimplant cuts search time by at least half, helping dentists work more efficiently and provide faster, better care for their patients.

ACOMS: What future goals of the Spotimplant platform?

LE: In 2023, Spotimplant was acquired by Allisone. Allisone is a health care software designed for dentists, enhancing patient communication and understanding. Powered by artificial intelligence, Allisone AI highlights all elements on dental X-rays using color coding, making it easier for patients to understand and commit to their treatment plans.

The challenge will be to continue training our AI to make it even more efficient, and faster. As for the Spotimplant marketplace, it will keep expanding to offer an ever more comprehensive reference catalog.

The goal of Spotimplant and Allisone is clear: to make dentists' daily practice more efficient by saving them time on tedious tasks and providing ever more innovative tools to enhance patient care, regardless of their oral health condition.

Lionel Elbaz, DDS

After six years of study at the Diderot Dental Faculty, Paris VII, Lionel Elbaz earned his doctorate in dental surgery in 2017. Following several years of practice in private clinics, he specialized in aesthetic dentistry. During this time, he developed a keen interest in enhancing the patient experience in his practice, striving to personalize it as much as possible through three key pillars: communication, transparency, and clarity of information. At the same time, his personal environment introduced him to the world of startups and technology. By combining his expertise as a dentist, his experience in designing personalized patient journeys, and his passion for technology and startups, he cofounded Allisone, headquartered in Paris, France. Allisone leverages artificial intelligence to enhance the patient experience and journey.